Ghana’s IMF Programme was on the brink of collapse before government intervention – Mahama

President John Dramani Mahama has disclosed that Ghana’s programme with the International Monetary Fund was on the verge of derailing when his administration assumed office, compelling government to implement urgent corrective measures to restore stability.

His remarks come amid Ghana’s ongoing economic recovery efforts following the successful completion of the country’s US$3 billion Extended Credit Facility programme with the IMF.

Speaking during the “Resetting Ghana” tour in the Savannah Region on Saturday, May 23, 2026, President Mahama stated that all agreed performance indicators under the IMF programme had gone off track by the time his administration took over.

“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,” he said.

According to the President, his administration was forced to introduce stringent economic measures within its first quarter in office to realign the programme and ensure Ghana remained compliant with IMF conditions.

“And so in the first quarter, after we took over, we had to take some stringent action to bring the programme back into alignment and bring it back on track,” he added.

President Mahama further revealed that subsequent IMF review missions had given Ghana positive assessments, with the programme now awaiting final board approval for the release of the last tranche of US$380 million.

“It’s now going to the board, and the board will release the last tranche of $380 million to support the Ghanaian economy,” he stated.

Despite the progress made, the President stressed that his administration would not celebrate prematurely, insisting that the economy still requires significant work to achieve full recovery.

“But we’re not going to have a kenkey party because we believe that it is still a work in progress. Unlike others who left the IMF and held waakye and kenkey parties, happy to be free from the IMF, we are not doing that because we know that our economy still needs a lot of work to be done,” he said.