"Ghana will not quit the IMF program, elections or no elections," Terkper said, adding that Ghana had drafted legislation to restrict the central bank from lending to the government to ensure it sticks to it. "We remain optimistic about this three-year program and will ensure that all program reviews are successfully completed through to 2017, given the enormous benefits to the economy," Seth Terkper told reporters in Accra. Ghana, the world's second largest cocoa exporter which also exports gold and oil, signed a three-year austerity program with the IMF in April 2015 to fix its economy, plagued by deficits, high public debt and inflation consistently above target. Under the deal, the West African country will receive up to $940 million from the Fund as balance of payments support. Ghana's public debt stood at 71 percent of gross domestic product at the end of 2015.

Source: Standard Digital June 27, 2016 22:18 UTC