IMF lends $258m under new three-year agreement

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has approved a new US $258 million loan for Ghana to support the country's economic reform programme over the next three years. The IMF said in a statement on Monday it had also also agreed to provide $22 million of additional assistance under the enhanced Heavily Indebted Poor Countries (HIPC) Initiative. Ghana is saddled with a $6 billion external debt. The new $258m loan will be disbursed under the IMF's Poverty Reduction and Growth Facility (PRGF), a soft loan window available to low-income countries. It carries an annual interest rate of 0.5 percent and will be repayable over 10 years, with a five and a half year grace period on principal payments. The IMF aims to ensure that PRGF-supported programmes are consistent with a comprehensive framework for policies to foster growth and reduce poverty. According to the 2002 Human Development Report produced by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), 44.8 percent of Ghana's 20 million population lives below the poverty line.