Business News of Monday, 30 August 2021
Source: www.ghanaweb.com
2021-08-30
Finance Minister, Ken Ofori-Atta
• The Finance Ministry has confirmed it has received US$1 billion in SDR allocation from the IMF
• The Fund is expected to go towards supporting economic recovery programmes
• The recent disbursement for Ghana was approved by the Fund 18 months ago
Government through the Ministry of Finance has said it will ensure that all statutory requirements are complied with in the use of the US$1 billion Special Drawing Rights (SDRs) allocation made available by the International Monetary Fund.
This comes after Ministry in a statement on Friday, August 27, 2021, confirmed Ghana has received a little over US$1 billion into the Bank of Ghana’s account as part of a Special Drawing Right (SDR) allocation to support economic recovery.
Reacting to the development in a statement issued by the Public Relations Unit of the Ministry of Finance said, “the government is grateful to the IMF for this historic advocacy and SDR allocation.”
“It provides additional policy space to support Ghana’s efforts to counter the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on lives and livelihoods. It will support the GHS100 billion Ghana Cares (Obaatanpa) post-pandemic recovery programme. The Ministry of Finance will ensure that all statutory requirements are complied with in the use of the SDR.” the statement read in part.
Meanwhile, Finance Minister Ken Ofori-Atta had earlier said government will withdraw the entire US$1 billion made available to support key areas of the economy in a bid to fast-track growth.
He adds that government is also considering directing some of the funds towards its ambitious Ghana CARES programme.
The SDR allocation was first introduced for all countries as part of an emergency response programme to the global recession following the Great Depression era.
The IMF allows for countries to access emergency financing disbursement under the Rapid Credit Facility.
The recent disbursement for Ghana was approved by the Fund 18 months ago as part of measures in fighting the Coronavirus pandemic.
Read the full statement below: