Accra: The Integrated Social Development Centre (ISODEC) has warned that Ghana risks losing economic sovereignty under the International Monetary Fund's (IMF) new 36-month Policy Coordination Instrument (PCI).
According to Ghana News Agency, the Civil Society Organisation pointed out that the PCI creates a parallel review mechanism whose market signalling function carries more practical authority than Parliamentary debate. During a press briefing, Mrs Charlotte Kpogli-Dzadey, Policy Analyst at ISODEC, emphasized that the PCI imposes the same 'upper credit tranche' conditionality as a regular IMF loan programme, with periodic six-month reviews determining Ghana's access to international capital markets.
"This is not simply a technical economic matter. It is a governance matter. It is a sovereignty matter. When Ghana's borrowing capacity and therefore its development financing depends on IMF approval every six months, the centre of gravity for economic decision-making shifts away from Accra and toward Washington," she stated.
Mrs Kpogli-Dzadey further noted that the Government's fiscal strategy relies on continued international borrowing as a substitute for domestic fiscal capacity. "This is the debt treadmill. The IMF does not get Ghana off the treadmill. It manages the treadmill," she added.
ISODEC also contended that the assumptions underpinning IMF frameworks for developing countries, such as the belief that 'fiscal deficits are inherently dangerous' and 'government must earn before it can spend', often result in austerity measures like cuts to public services, wage freezes, and subsidy removals. The organisation argued that such assumptions might stifle developmental initiatives financed through deficit spending.
ISODEC highlighted that a deficit used to build schools, fund a Job Guarantee programme, or invest in renewable energy infrastructure is fundamentally different from a deficit used to service external debt or subsidise import-dependent consumption. Mrs Kpogli-Dzadey recommended that Ghana strengthen domestic fiscal capacity through structural transformation policies. These include expanding the tax base by formalising the economy, plugging leakages from illicit financial flows, investing in productive sectors to reduce import dependency, and deploying targeted public employment programmes.
She urged the country to explore alternative financing options, such as the African Export-Import Bank, the African Development Bank's domestic resource mobilisation windows, Sukuk bonds, and South-South development financing partnerships that do not require upper credit tranche conditionality.
Ghana officially concluded its 3-billion-dollar Extended Credit Facility bailout programme with the IMF on May 15, 2026. However, the Government has chosen to engage the IMF under the PCI, a non-financing mechanism intended to provide technical guidance rather than direct financial support. The Government indicated its intention to use the arrangement to promote transparency, attract private investment, and improve Ghana's sovereign credit rating.