Mahama: Ghana’s IMF Programme Was on the Brink of Derailment Before NDC Took Office

President John Dramani Mahama has revealed that Ghana’s programme with the International Monetary Fund was close to collapse before his administration assumed office in January 2025.

Speaking during the “Resetting Ghana” tour in the Savannah Region on Saturday, May 23, President Mahama said the previous administration had failed to meet several key performance targets under the IMF-supported programme, placing the country at risk of falling off track.

According to him, the National Democratic Congress (NDC) government was compelled to implement difficult but necessary corrective measures within its first few months in office to restore confidence in the economy and stabilise the programme.

“We have also come to the end of the IMF programme. We inherited the IMF programme from the previous government. At the time we took over from the previous government, all the agreed performance indicators were off track. It meant that the programme was in danger of derailment,” President Mahama stated.

He explained that the interventions introduced by his administration helped reverse the situation, leading to positive feedback from subsequent IMF review missions and renewed confidence in Ghana’s economic management.

The President further disclosed that Ghana is currently awaiting approval from the IMF Executive Board for the release of the final $380 million tranche under the programme.

Despite the progress made, Mahama cautioned against premature celebration, stressing that the country’s economic recovery process remains ongoing.

“But we’re not going to have a kenkey party because we believe that it is still a work in progress,” he remarked.

The IMF programme, which was introduced to support Ghana’s economic recovery and debt restructuring efforts, has remained a central pillar of the country’s fiscal stabilisation agenda amid inflationary pressures, currency depreciation, and rising public debt.