Ghana's economic well-being and recovery program were closely tied to significant levels of foreign loans and assistance, especially from the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund. Altogether, between 1982 and 1990 foreign and multilateral donors disbursed a total of approximately US$3.5 billion in official development assistance; at the same time, the country's external debt reached US$3.5 billion. By 1991, the largest bilateral donors were Germany, the United States, Japan, and Canada, which together provided Ghana with US$656 million in development assistance. The largest multilateral donors in 1991 included the European Community, the IMF, and the International Development Association, which furnished almost US$435 million to Ghana.
In addition, the government obtained five IMF programs amounting to approximately US$1.6 billion: three standby loans, simultaneous Extended Fund Facility and Structural Adjustment Facility loans, and an Enhanced Structural Adjustment Facility loan in 1988. The government signed more than twenty policy-based program loans with the World Bank. The World Bank also sponsored six consultative group meetings; the first, held in November 1983, resulted in pledges of US$190 million. Between 1984 and 1991, almost US$3.5 billion more was raised at five additional meetings.
In 1991 Ghana successfully raised the country's first syndicated loan in almost twenty years in the amount of US$75 million. The loan's collateral was a proportion of the country's cocoa crop. Special arrangements were made to ensure that a specific amount of the crop was purchased using letters of credit. Then in March 1992, the IMF announced that following the expiration of Ghana's third and final arrangement under the Enhanced Structural Adjustment Facility, Ghana needed no further IMF financing. Even so, the Ghanaian government asked the IMF to monitor progress on the country's economic program and to continue policy dialogue.
In early 1994, Ghana accepted the obligations of Article VIII of the IMF's Articles of Agreement. According to the IMF, Ghana will no longer impose restrictions on payments and transfers for current international transactions or engage in discriminatory currency arrangements or multiple currency practice without IMF approval. Ghana's decision undoubtedly will enhance its image with foreign investors and bankers.
Data as of November 1994