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This paved the way for a sign-off on the IMF loan, which was agreed at staff level in December. Some $5.4 billion of debt to official creditors has been earmarked for restructuring, according to government data, as well as $14.6 billion of debt to private overseas creditors. Zambia, the first African country to default in the COVID-19 era, secured an IMF loan in September 2022 and still has not agreed debt restructuring terms with creditors. Analysts expect Ghana's process to be faster and smoother than Zambia's since China holds a smaller proportion of Ghana's debt. China is Zambia's largest bilateral creditor and has been accused of delaying that country's debt restructuring, which it denies.

ACCRA, May 14 (Reuters) - Ghana expects the International Monetary Fund to approve a first loan tranche of $600 million as soon as Wednesday, paving the way for disbursement within a week, Minister of State in the Finance Ministry Mohammed Amin Adam told Reuters on Sunday. Ghana is seeking $3 billion from the Fund to shore up its battered economy. On Friday, IMF Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva said Ghana's official creditors had provided the necessary financing assurances for the IMF Executive Board to look at signing off on the loan. Adam said he expected negotiations with both sets of creditors to go well once the IMF signs off on the loan. Adam said the government was also in talks with the African Development Bank for over $100 million for the stability fund.

☆ Ghana's main opposition party picks Mahama as 2024 presidential candidate
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-14 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

ACCRA, May 14 (Reuters) - Ghana’s main opposition party, the National Democratic Congress, voted overwhelmingly on Saturday to retain former president, John Mahama, as its leader for the 2024 presidential election. This is the third time Mahama will run for the top job in Ghana, one of Africa's most stable democracies. The upcoming presidential vote is expected to be keenly contested. Mahama, 64, secured 297,603 votes, representing 98.9% of votes cast, the electoral commission said early on Sunday. "I am humbled by the overwhelming vote of confidence reposed in me by the party," Mahama said shortly after the declaration.

☆ World Bank Chief Economist Gill calls for new approaches to address 'debt crisis'
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-25 | by ( Andrea Shalal | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

WASHINGTON, April 25 (Reuters) - World Bank Chief Economist Indermit Gill is calling for new approaches to address the mounting debt crisis facing many countries, including steps to factor domestic borrowing into assessment of a country's debt sustainability. Only Chad has reached a debt relief deal with creditors - and it does not include an actual reduction in debt. "Debt levels are already starting to hurt prospects, getting them into the wrong kind of spiral," he said ahead of a World Bank seminar on debt on Wednesday. The Common Framework should be replaced, he said, in the strongest terms used by a World Bank official. He said a new sovereign debt roundtable set up to address challenges in the debt relief process brought in debtor nations and private sector players, but achieved only modest results.

LONDON, April 21 (Reuters) - African countries are lining up to approve a new vaccine for malaria, with 20 million doses available for them to buy this year, the shot’s manufacturer told Reuters. African countries that do not have extensive resources for drug regulation have previously relied on the U.N. agency to initially review new medicines. "We expect many more countries to come through," Mary Hamel, the WHO's malaria vaccine implementation head, told the expert meeting on Tuesday. “We are committed to making the R21 vaccine available to people who need it most,” Poonawalla said. FUNDING DOUBTSThe moves are a further sign that African countries want to exert their own pharmaceutical oversight after COVID-19 exposed inequity in vaccine supply.

☆ Oxford malaria vaccine rollout could have 'major' implications in sub-Saharan Africa, economist says
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-21 | by ( Elliot Smith | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

The University of Oxford Jenner Institute, which developed the vaccine, estimates that malaria kills around 800,000 people per annum. These casualties occur predominantly in sub-Saharan Africa, where one in five childhood deaths is associated with the disease. The WHO assessed that 241 million clinical cases of malaria occurred in 2020, resulting in 627,000 deaths, mostly among children in Africa. A health worker vaccinates a child against malaria in Ndhiwa, Homabay County, western Kenya on September 13, 2019 during the launch of malaria vaccine in Kenya. Brian Ongoro | AFP | Getty ImagesIn 2021, the WHO signed off on GSK's RTS,S malaria vaccine for rollout across sub-Saharan Africa, following pilot programs in Ghana, Kenya and Malawi, which tracked 800,000 children since 2019.

Oxford scientist Adrian Hill said Ghana's drug regulator has approved the vaccine domestically for the age group at highest risk of death from malaria - children aged 5 months to 36 months. Oxford has a deal with Serum Institute of India to produce up to 200 million doses of the vaccine - known as R21 - annually. "This shows how close the world is to having a second approved vaccine to fight malaria," he said. MEETING THE NEEDThe first malaria vaccine, Mosquirix from British drugmaker GSK (GSK.L), was endorsed by the WHO last year after decades of work. Since it began in 2019, 1.2 million children across the three countries have received at least one dose of the Mosquirix vaccine.

☆ Kamala Harris starts Africa tour in Ghana, announces security aid
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-27 | by ( Francis Kokoroko | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

Akufo-Addo reiterated that he was concerned about Wagner's presence in West Africa. Several countries across West Africa and the Sahel region have been struggling to quell Islamist insurgencies that have caused humanitarian disasters and fuelled discontent -- contributing factors to military coups in Mali and Burkina Faso. "We appreciate your leadership in response to recent democratic back-sliding in West Africa," Harris told Akufo-Addo. [1/5] U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris meets with Ghana's President Nana Akufo-Addo during her week-long trip to Ghana, Tanzania and Zambia, in Accra, Ghana March 27, 2023. REUTERS/Francis Kokoroko 1 2 3 4 5After Ghana, Harris will head to Tanzania and Zambia.

☆ In Ghana, Kamala Harris 'excited about the future of Africa'
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-26 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +5 min

U.S. Vice President, Kamala Harris, arrives at the Kotoka International Airport as she begins her trip to Ghana, Tanzania and Zambia, in Accra, Ghana, March 26, 2023. Vice President Kamala Harris was greeted by schoolchildren, dancers and drummers as she arrived Sunday in Ghana for the start of a weeklong visit to Africa intended to deepen U.S. relationships amid global competition over the continent's future. "What an honor it is to be here in Ghana and on the continent of Africa," Harris said. Harris is the highest-profile member of President Joe Biden's administration to visit Africa this year. In the evening, they will attend a state banquet with the Ghanaian president and first lady.

JOHANNESBURG, March 17 (Reuters) - Debt restructuring programmes in Ghana and Zambia are going in "diverging directions" due to Zambia's larger exposure to Chinese lenders and its weaker ability to cope with a large amount of debt, investment bank Citi said on Friday. Ghana was likely to get an International Monetary Fund (IMF)board sign-off for a $3 billion rescue loan in the next few weeks, while Zambia's restructuring had stalled, Citi's analysts said in a note to clients. Ghana defaulted on its external debts in December and has since sealed a domestic debt swap and requested a restructuring of its bilateral debts via the G20's Common Framework vehicle. "Our more positive view (on Ghana) is supported by a strong commitment by the IMF and Paris Club to achieve a quick breakthrough," the Citi note said. "Assuming a 12.5% exit yield... suggests an average price uptick of 10 cents" on bond prices, the note said.

☆ U.S. military conducts first maritime drills with West African forces
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-16 | by ( Cooper Inveen | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

SOGAKOPE, Ghana, March 16 (Reuters) - The West African troops silently pulled their small boats up to a rust-stained ferry and swarmed up its sides on grappling hooks to disarm the mock kidnappers onboard. The drill in Ghana's Volta river on Saturday was carried out during the first ever maritime exercises organised by the U.S. military under its long-running Flintlock programme to bolster the skills of West African forces. Around 350 troops took part in the drills including servicemen from Ivory Coast, Ghana and Nigeria on the Gulf of Guinea. Illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing has spread along West Africa's coasts, sapping an estimated $9.4 billion per year through illicit financial flows, according to a 2022 report by the Financial Transparency Coalition of non-governmental organisations. Of the top 10 companies they found involved in IUU fishing in the region, eight were Chinese and a third of all vessels sported Chinese flags, it said.

Relations between Russia and the U.S. have become more hostile since Moscow invaded Ukraine over a year ago, and Washington and its allies oppose Russian influence in West Africa. This has worried Western governments and the United Nations who say the move has led to a spike in violence. Mali, whose government took power in a 2021 military coup, has previously said Russian forces are not mercenaries but trainers helping local troops with equipment from Russia. The UK, Germany and other nations are pulling troops from a United Nations peacekeeping mission in Mali as security worsens. Armed groups have a foothold in coastal countries including Benin and Togo and threaten economic leaders Ivory Coast and Ghana.

☆ Ghana's finance ministry: debt talks with China 'cordial and fruitful'
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-02 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

ACCRA, March 2 (Reuters) - Ghana's finance ministry said on Thursday that a Chinese delegation had ended a three-day visit to discuss Ghana's request for the restructuring of the $1.9 billion debt it owes China. The ministry said in a statement that the Chinese delegation came to Accra ahead of an upcoming Ghanaian mission to China and that discussions had been "highly cordial and fruitful". External debt was $29.2 billion at the end of November 2022, according to central bank data. China's official bilateral loans involving Ghana account for less than 5% of the West African country's total debt, the Chinese foreign ministry said on Thursday. ($1 = 12.5000 Ghanian cedi)Reporting by Christian Akorlie; Writing by Anait Miridzhanian; Editing by Estelle ShirbonOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ China says its official bilateral loans are less than 5% of Ghana debt
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-02 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

March 2 (Reuters) - China's official bilateral loans involving Ghana account for less than 5% of the West African country's total debt, the Chinese foreign ministry said on Thursday. Multilateral and commercial debt account for the vast majority of Ghana's external debt, ministry spokesperson Mao Ning said at a regular press briefing. Germany's finance minister recently singled out China during a visit to Ghana, as he called on countries that have lent to the embattled nation to form a creditor committee quickly to help it restructure its debt. China has been consistent in criticising multilateral lenders for not taking haircuts on loans extended to debtor countries while Beijing is being asked to do so on credit it has extended bilaterally. Ghana owes China $1.7 billion, according to the International Institute of Finance, a financial services trade association focused on emerging markets.

☆ Female-owned farms and companies are growing Ghana's taste for coffee
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-23 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

As the women worked, Tamakloe walked among them with a device to test the coffee beans' moisture content. Today, Bean Masters coffee is mostly sold in bulk to high-end restaurants and hotels. But Tamakloe aims to expand her production of retail-sized bags this year to make Bean Masters available to all kinds of consumers. At Kozo, an Afro-Asian fusion restaurant in Accra, Tamakloe and the staff sipped espressos made with Bean Masters coffee. The owner visited Pagniw's farm with Tamakloe in 2021, and has exclusively stocked Bean Masters ever since.

☆ Body of Ghana soccer player Atsu arrives home in Accra
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-20 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/4] The body of late Ghanaian soccer player, Christian Atsu Twasam, 31, who died in the earthquake in Turkey, arrives at the Kotoka International Airport in Accra, Ghana. REUTERS/Francis KokorokoACCRA, Feb 20 (Reuters) - The body of Ghana winger Christian Atsu was flown home to Accra on Sunday evening, the day after he was found dead under a collapsed building in southern Turkey. Atsu had been missing since the Feb. 6 earthquake following the collapse of an apartment building in Hatay. "We hoped against hope, every day that passed, we prayed and prayed. "We would like to express our deepest condolences to his wife and children, the family, loved ones and the football community," the Ghana Football Association said on Saturday.

☆ Ghana bilateral lenders in talks to form official creditor committee
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-13 | by ( Jorgelina Do Rosario | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

LONDON, Feb 13 (Reuters) - Ghana's bilateral lenders are discussing the formation of an official creditor committee, a first step needed to engage in debt relief talks for the crisis-hit country, according to two sources with direct knowledge of the matter. The Paris Club of creditor nations has contacted other bilateral creditors, such as China, to engage on forming the committee and deciding who would chair it, one of the sources said. China is Ghana's single biggest bilateral creditor with $1.7 billion of debt, while Ghana owes $1.9 billion to Paris Club members, according to data from the International Institute of Finance. COMMON FRAMEWORK TALKSAn official creditor committee is a key step for Ghana to formally seek financing assurances from bilateral creditors stating they are willing to enter a debt rework process. Ghana has said it hopes for a rapid debt overhaul, though other countries undergoing common framework treatment have faced slow progress.

☆ Ghana seeks Indian investment in oil and gas sector
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-08 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

Companies Aker ASA FollowBENGALURU, India, Feb 8 (Reuters) - Ghana, which is struggling with its worst economic crisis in a generation, is seeking Indian investment in its oil and gas sector, William Owuraku Aidoo, its deputy minister of energy, said on Wednesday. "There are some opportunities in Ghana specially in the oil and gas front. We have some oil blocks available and we came here hoping to attract Indian investments," Aidoo told Reuters after a meeting with Indian oil minister Hardeep Singh Puri at India Energy Week. He said Ghana will award exploration licences through direct negotiations if Indian companies are interested. Apart from offering exploration opportunities, Ghana is also seeking Indian support to build refineries of about 300,000 barrels per day.

☆ Former Newcastle winger Atsu missing after Turkey earthquake
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-06 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

ACCRA, Feb 6 (Reuters) - Ghana international winger Christian Atsu is among those missing after the collapse of an apartment building in Hatay, Turkey, following Monday's huge earthquake. Hatayspor vice president Mustafa Ozat told Turkish TV station Play Spor: "Christian Atsu and (club sporting director) Taner Savut are still under the rubble." Atsu, 31, played in the Premier League for Newcastle United and Everton, on loan from Chelsea, but joined Hatayspor in September. Newcastle, who Atsu helped to promotion from the Championship in the 2016/17, tweeted they were "praying for some positive news". "We pray for Ghana International Christian Atsu and victims of the earthquake in Turkey and Syria," the Ghana Football Association tweeted.

☆ Ghana govt and capital market operators agree on domestic debt exchange terms
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-28 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

ACCRA, Jan 27 (Reuters) - Ghana's government and the Ghana Securities Industry Association (GSIA) have reached an understanding on the terms of participation by capital market operators in the country's domestic debt exchange (DDE) programme, they said on Friday. Under the new agreement, capital market operators will participate in the exchange programme on the same "improved terms" agreed with banks earlier this week. "GSIA believes this agreement is necessary to restore market normalcy and confidence in the economy," the statement said. Ghana needs around 80% of bondholders to sign up for the DDE program. Reporting by Cooper Inveen Writing by Sofia Christensen Editing by Louise Heavens, Kirsten DonovanOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Ghana's balance of payments deficit worsens to $3.64 billion
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-28 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

ACCRA, Jan 28 (Reuters) - Ghana's balance of payments further deteriorated to a deficit of $3.64 billion in December from a $3.4 billion deficit the previous quarter, central bank data showed on Saturday. The West African nation is facing an economic crisis that saw consumer inflation rise to 54.1% last month. The cedi currency has depreciated around 50% annually, and interest payments on government debt have swelled to between 70% and 100% of GDP. Recent balance of payments woes have been largely driven by a sharp reversal in capital flows, with Ghana's capital account deficit having worsened to $2.18 billion in December from $1.64 billion in September. At the same time last year, Ghana had a capital account surplus of more than $3.3 billion.

☆ G20 creditors on board for Ghana debt relief talks - Paris Club
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-19 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

PARIS, Jan 19 (Reuters) - All member countries of the G20 group of economic powers are on board for a restructuring of Ghana's debt and Paris Club members are ready to take the first step toward forming a creditor committee, an official from the Paris Club said on Thursday. Ghana last week requested a restructuring of debt it owes to other governments, becoming the fourth country after Chad, Ethiopia and Zambia to do so under a G20 Common Framework. We know that all the G20 members are committed to undertake the debt treatment under the Common Framework," the Paris Club official told journalists. Forming a creditor committee took a couple months for previous cases, however the official said the Paris Club members were all ready to do so for Ghana and hoped it could be done in a month. Reporting by Leigh Thomas; editing Tassilo Hummel, Jason Neely and Frank Jack DanielOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ MTN Ghana hit with bill of $773 mln for back taxes
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-14 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

JOHANNESBURG, Jan 13 (Reuters) - The Ghanaian subsidy of South African mobile operator MTN Group (MTNJ.J) has received a bill for back taxes of around $773 million, including penalties and interest charges, the parent company said on Friday. The Ghana Revenue Authority issued MTN Ghana (MTNGH.GH) with the bill after auditing it for the years 2014 to 2018 and inferring that the company under declared its revenue by about 30% during the period, MTN said in a statement. The carrier, which has a presence in 19 countries in Africa and the Middle East, said it disputes the "accuracy and basis" of the assessment and that it would fight it. "MTN Ghana believes that the taxes due have been paid during the period under assessment and has resolved to defend MTN Ghana's position on the Assessment," the company said. Reporting by Bhargav Acharya; Editing by Kirsten DonovanOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

REUTERS/Francis KokorokoLONDON/ACCRA, Jan 10 (Reuters) - Ghana requested on Tuesday to restructure its bilateral debt under the common framework platform supported by the Group of 20 major economies, a source familiar with the situation told Reuters. Ghana's debt restructuring under the common framework aims to include non-Paris club members, such as China in debt relief talks. Reuters reported first on Thursday that Ghana was seeking debt treatment under the G20 programme. Some bondholders said Ghana opting to go down the common framework route put the prospect of a swift resolution further out of reach. "With the common framework and the poor track record on the timeline for that, it just makes things more uncertain," said Anders Faergemann, portfolio managers at PineBridge Investments.

LONDON/ACCRA, Jan 4 (Reuters) - Ghana is poised to request debt relief via the G20 Common Framework programme and has sought reassurances that the negotiations can be expedited before proceeding, sources told Reuters. In December, Ghana launched a domestic debt exchange and later said it would default on nearly all of its $28.4 billion of external debts. If it received such assurances, the government would quickly sign onto the Common Framework, the source said, speaking on condition of anonymity. Another source with knowledge of Ghana's debt restructuring said it was hard to see any other outcome for Ghana than signing up to the Common Framework as they have left themselves no other options. The Common Framework, designed to allow for speedy debt reworks, has been widely criticised for its glacial progress.

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