Governor of the Bank of Ghana(BoG) Dr. Johnson Asiama, has urged the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to be more proactive, flexible, and aggressive in supporting low-income and vulnerable countries like Ghana facing economic crises.
Dr Asiamah was speaking at the African Consultative Group Meeting with IMF Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva and members of the IMF Board. when he made the remarks.
According to him IMF should move away from its what could be described as “traditionally slow and rigid” approach and to make better use of its substantial financial resources to provide timely assistance to countries in need.
“We reiterate the need for a fit-for-purpose LIC DSF, the mainstreaming of the Integrated Policy Framework in program design, and a fast-tracked, more tailored implementation of the Three Pillar Approach to more effectively support members already in, or at high risk of, crisis,” Dr. Asiama stated.
The Governor specifically charged the IMF to expand its lending toolkit by making bolder use of its resources. He emphasized the need for the Fund to scale up concessional financing (soft or cheaper loans) to help poorer countries that cannot afford high-interest borrowing.
He further called for the institutionalisation of Special Drawing Rights (SDR) rechanneling, saying rich countries should make it a permanent practice to channel their unused SDRs to countries that desperately need them.
“The fund should scale up concessional financing, institutionalising Special Drawing Rights (SDR) rechanneling, and making the Resilience and Sustainability Trust faster and more responsive to liquidity and climate-related challenges.”
Dr. Asiama also pushed for urgent improvements to the IMF’s Resilience and Sustainability Trust, stressing that it must become faster and more responsive in addressing liquidity challenges and climate-related shocks.
His remarks come at a time when many developing nations, including several in Africa, continue to grapple with high debt burdens, rising inflation, currency pressures, and the growing impact of climate change.