Former Finance Minister, Seth Terkper, has indicated that the government’s efforts to tackle the unemployment rate in Ghana are being affected by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) programme.

Speaking to the media on Monday, March 24, the situation has forced the government to depend largely on short-term borrowing through treasury bills.

“If you look at the NDC manifesto, there’s a plan to create jobs already. But when you come into an economy where, under the IMF programme we inherited, compared to what we handed over, all you can do is borrow T-Bills. You’ve been shut out of your own domestic bond market, which we set up. You’ve been shut out of the external bond market because you’ve defaulted,” Terkper noted.

Ghana’s programme with the global lender is scheduled to end in May 2026, following a final review slated for April 2026. However, should the IMF’s recommendations be approved, the programme would be extended through August 2026.

Part of the IMF report reads, “The extension through August 16, 2026, would help reach an understanding on the policies supporting completion of the 6th review, while allowing sufficient time to prepare and circulate Board documents.”

So far, Ghana has secured about US$2.8 billion following the successful completion of the fifth programme review. The new development is expected to trigger the release of a sixth tranche of US$380 million. Reacting to the approval, the Minister for Finance, Dr Cassiel Ato Forson, noted that the approval represents meaningful progress in the country’s broader economic recovery agenda.

IMF’s Resident Representative in Ghana, Dr Adrian Alter, has declared Ghana’s programme “solid and on track”.

His comments come nearly a month after the IMF Executive Board completed the fifth review of Ghana’s Extended Credit Facility (ECF) arrangement on 18 December 2025.

During an appearance on Joy News’ PM Express Business Edition on Thursday, January 15, Dr Alter mentioned disbursements and affirmed confidence in Ghana’s economic recovery path.

“Ghana’s program remains solid and on track, with the fifth review completed and the disbursement made at the end of December,” he said.

According to him, following a board meeting at which Ghana’s performance was assessed, it was concluded that “the IMF Board has met and approved the programme on December 17 and categorised the overall performance of Ghana as generally satisfactory,” with all indicative and performance criteria targets met and most of the reform agenda implemented.

He disclosed that total disbursements under the ECF programme had now reached about $2.8 billion.

“All indicative and performance criteria targets have been met,” Dr Alter said. “Most of the reform agenda has been concluded and implemented.”

His comments come amid public debate over whether Ghana’s performance under the programme reflects real economic progress or favourable treatment by the IMF.

Responding to that concern, Dr Alter said the assessment was grounded in measurable outcomes and recent policy actions by the authorities.

“The authorities implemented strong corrective actions in the aftermath of the 2024 fiscal slippages,” he said, adding that “the 2025 macroeconomic outcomes have been better than expected.”

He pointed to improvements across key economic indicators.

“Inflation came down faster than expected,” he said. “Growth exceeded expectations. Reserves have improved. The currency appreciated and stabilised.”

Dr Alter said the gains were occurring alongside progress on debt restructuring.“There are many, many macroeconomic indicators that perform very well at the same time the debt restructuring progress has been advanced,” he said.