Bank of Ghana Governor Johnson Asiama has called on the International Monetary Fund to fundamentally rethink its approach to Africa’s worsening economic pressures, warning that the continent is confronting overlapping crises that existing policy tools are too slow to resolve.
Addressing the African Consultative Group meeting at IMF headquarters, Johnson Pandit Asiama delivered a firm message that gradual adjustments will not be sufficient to address current challenges.
The session, which included IMF Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva, gathered African central bank governors at a time when many countries are struggling with rising debt levels, climate-related disruptions, and tighter global financial conditions.
While recognising the IMF’s stabilisation role, Dr. Asiama argued that its current framework particularly for sovereign debt restructuring has become outdated and inadequate.
He placed emphasis on the need for quicker and more predictable debt resolution processes.
He urged the Fund to apply greater leverage under the G20 Common Framework to ensure debt restructuring is completed within defined timelines and with stronger involvement from private creditors.
He also pointed out a structural weakness in IMF programme design, where delays caused by creditor negotiations are treated in the same way as domestic policy shortcomings.
According to him, this approach unfairly penalises reforming countries that are still implementing difficult economic adjustments while stuck in prolonged restructuring talks.
The consequences, he noted, are far-reaching.
Across African economies, slow debt resolution is increasingly weighing on growth, extending uncertainty, deterring investment, and restricting access to global capital markets.
Dr. Asiama described the current macroeconomic environment as “exceptionally challenging,” pointing to elevated borrowing costs, weak fiscal positions, and repeated external shocks.
He also highlighted spillover effects from geopolitical tensions in the Middle East, which are adding inflationary pressure and worsening external account imbalances in several countries.
While expressing support for the IMF’s overall direction, he emphasised the need for a “step-change” in how the institution responds to interconnected crises.
He called for a review of key policy tools and frameworks.
Among his proposals were reforms to the low-income country debt sustainability framework, broader application of the IMF’s Integrated Policy Framework, and faster, more flexible deployment of crisis-response instruments for vulnerable economies.
“Recent shocks, including the Middle East conflict, have also exposed the need for emergency financing that is adequately resourced and readily accessible to members confronting acute balance-of-payments pressure,” he noted.
The Bank of Ghana chief also advocated for more active use of the IMF’s balance sheet.
He suggested scaling up concessional lending, speeding up Special Drawing Rights reallocations, and making mechanisms such as the Resilience and Sustainability Trust more adaptable to countries facing liquidity constraints and climate-related risks.
He further stressed the importance of quicker emergency funding access, warning that recent global disruptions have exposed weaknesses in the speed of financial assistance during balance-of-payments crises.
Beyond financial support, Dr. Asiama emphasised the value of continued IMF technical assistance in areas including domestic revenue mobilisation, debt management, financial supervision, and emerging risks tied to digital finance and cybersecurity.