Dr. Ernest Addison with officials of IMF at the meeting
Bank of Ghana (BOG) Governor, Dr. Ernest Addison, has urged the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to coordinate supports to develop resilient fiscal policies aimed at addressing Africa’s challenges giving its diverse needs.
Speaking at the 2024 Africa Caucus meeting at Washington DC, USA with the Managing Director of the IMF, Kristalina Georgieva, on the theme, “Overcoming Fiscal Challenges in Africa,” Dr Addison said its programmes should be targeted at specific countries with reforms that do not affect vulnerable populations.
“The IMF should leverage its catalytic role and convening power to deepen dialogue with regional multilateral development banks for additional concessional finance and grants, aiding debt restructuring for members at high risk of debt distress”.
He also asked the IMF to provide flexible support adapting to global conditions that meet country specific need while calling for enhanced technical support from the Fund and other international partners to strengthen institutional capacity in Africa.
According to the Governor, such support would go a long way to address the underlying causes of fiscal challenges and other bottlenecks to achieve inclusive economic growth in member countries with a stronger partnership between the IMF and the Africa Peer Review Mechanism that would help boost institutional capacities for country-specific fiscal governance and economic reforms across Africa.
According to the Governor, African Development Bank (AfDB), reports revealed that Africa needs up to $170 billion annually for infrastructure, with a financing gap of up to $108 billion.
He said this, coupled with the rising ratio of interest payments to revenue since the early 2010s, has compromised investment in essential services, leaving about half of Sub-Saharan African countries at high risk or already in debt distress by the end of 2023.
While commending the Managing Director of IMF for her outstanding leadership and support to Africa, he also expressed Africa’s Governors commitment to fiscal reforms, medium term consolidation, improvement in public financial management, rebuilding fiscal buffers, and strengthening governance among others to overcome the challenges.
By Ebenezer K. Amponsah