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US lawmaker urges IMF to direct next Ghana disbursement towards settling debts owed to American firms
The Chairman of the United States House Foreign Affairs Committee, Brian Mast, has called for a portion of Ghana’s next International Monetary Fund (IMF) disbursement to be directly allocated to settling outstanding debts owed to Independent Power Producers (IPPs), including facilities partly owned by U.S. pension funds and taxpayers.
In a letter addressed to U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, Chairman Mast expressed concern over what he described as Ghana’s continued failure to honour financial commitments under its ongoing IMF-supported programme.
“I now recommend that the United States Executive Director to the IMF, once appointed and confirmed, formally request that a specific portion of the next IMF disbursement to Ghana be explicitly directed towards settling outstanding payments owed to the IPPs,” he stated.
The recommendation follows growing disquiet over Ghana’s ballooning arrears to Independent Power Producers, including power generation facilities owned by US pension funds and US taxpayers, a situation many fear threatens the stability of the power sector and investor confidence.
According to Chairman Mast, although recent payments made by the Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG) to American-affiliated IPPs — Twin City Energy and Early Power Ltd. — marked some progress, they fell short of expectations. Each company reportedly received about $5.5 million, below the anticipated $7.5 million. These payments, made in Ghana Cedis, were nonetheless seen as a slight improvement from previous disbursement patterns.
The letter also referenced a recent economic briefing by former President John Mahama’s advisory team, which outlined key priorities for economic recovery.
These include rebuilding reserves, ring-fencing certain funds, and refinancing government obligations. However, Mast expressed scepticism about the government’s actual commitment to tackling the IPP debt burden.
“President Mahama does not appear to be listening to his advisors as proposed solutions – like ring-fencing – remain mere talking points,” Mast stated, adding that the government’s push to rebuild reserves might conflict with the urgent need to clear power sector arrears.
He further warned that continued failure to prioritise these obligations could discourage American investors and deepen the operational crisis faced by IPPs.
“I believe such a measure is essential to keeping American investors interested in Ghana, addressing the ongoing financial strain on IPPs and ensuring the stability of Ghana’s power sector,” he stressed.
The IMF’s next programme review mission to Ghana is expected in April, ahead of potential Board action in June. Chairman Mast’s intervention echoes calls made during the 118th U.S. Congress to condition previous IMF support on the resolution of IPP arrears.
Read the full letter below:
Dear Secretary Bessent,
This letter provides an update on concerning recent developments regarding payments owed to Independent Power Producers (IPPs) in Ghana and the Government of Ghana’s failure to uphold its commitments to IPPs under the terms of its most recent International Monetary Fund (IMF) program. Among these IPPs are two power generation facilities owned by U.S. pension funds and the U.S. taxpayer.
An American investor recently noted that the Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG) processed two payments each to Twin City (TCE) and Early Power Ltd. (EPL) in Ghana Cedis. While these payments, estimated at approximately $5.5 million each, are a significant improvement compared to previous periods they remain below the anticipated $7.5 million due to each entity.
On Wednesday January 29th, President John Mahama’s advisory team outlined his current administration’s economic priorities to investors. These include rebuilding the nation’s creditworthiness, building up reserves, potentially ring-fencing certain funds, and refinancing facilities to improve the government’s repayment profile. They expressed a strong focus on the power sector and highlighted efforts to rebuild the cash waterfall mechanism, taking credit for its original design. While they mentioned actively working to smooth out repayments and possibly moving certain debts to external facilities for greater confidence, they did not specifically commit to applying this approach to the power sector debt.
President Mahama does not appear to be listening to his advisors as proposed solutions – like ring-fencing – remain mere talking points. Additionally, the acknowledged scarcity of government funds suggests that the focus on rebuilding reserves might impede the simultaneous clearing of existing arrears owed to IPPs.
The IMF program, which was designed to stabilize Ghana’s economy and restore fiscal discipline, included explicit commitments to honoring financial obligations to these providers. I understand that the next IMF field report will be completed in April, following an expected in-country mission during the coming days and in preparation for potential IMF Board action in June.
Given this context and recalling House Foreign Affairs GOP engagement from the 118th Congress, which advocated for conditioning the December 2023 IMF tranche on the resolution of IPP arrears, I now recommend that the United States Executive Director to the IMF, once appointed and confirmed, formally request that a specific portion of the next IMF disbursement to Ghana be explicitly directed towards settling outstanding payments owed to the IPPs.
I believe such a measure is essential to keeping American investors interested in Ghana, addressing the ongoing financial strain on IPPs and ensuring the stability of Ghana’s power sector.
Source: Graphic online
General News
Mahama to Host Zimbabwe President Mnangagwa for Three-Day State Visit
President John Dramani Mahama is set to host Zimbabwean President Emmerson Mnangagwa on a three-day State Visit to Ghana from Wednesday, April 1 to Friday, April 3, 2026.
According to a statement from the Presidency, President Mnangagwa will arrive at the Accra International Airport at 3:00 PM on Wednesday, where he will be received with full military honours by President Mahama. The ceremony will feature an inspection of a Guard of Honour mounted by the Ghana Armed Forces, followed by a 21-gun salute.
Later in the evening, President Mahama will host a State Banquet in honour of his Zimbabwean counterpart, in celebration of the long-standing relations between the two countries.
The highlight of the visit will be bilateral talks between the two leaders at the Peduase Lodge. The discussions, which will begin with a tête-à-tête, are expected to focus on strengthening cooperation in key sectors including trade, tourism, health, sanitation, agriculture, anti-corruption efforts, and job creation.
Both leaders are also expected to preside over the signing and exchange of several Memoranda of Understanding aimed at deepening diplomatic and economic ties between Ghana and Zimbabwe.
As part of his itinerary, President Mnangagwa will visit the Sweden Ghana Medical Centre and the Accra Compost and Recycling Plant to gain insight into Ghana’s advancements in healthcare delivery and sustainable waste management.
He will also pay homage to Ghana’s founding father, Dr Kwame Nkrumah, by laying a wreath at the Kwame Nkrumah Memorial Park.
President Mnangagwa is expected to depart Ghana on Friday, April 3, with full departure honours at the Jubilee Lounge.
The visit is anticipated to further strengthen bilateral relations and expand cooperation between Accra and Harare.
Read the statement below;

General News
Global InfoAnalytics: Mahama’s approval rating at 67%; economic optimism slips
President John Dramani Mahama continues to enjoy strong public support, maintaining a 67% approval rating, according to a new poll by Global InfoAnalytics.
The survey released on March 25, 2026, showed that only 26% of voters disapprove of his performance, though it was a slight increase from 24% recorded in December 2025, while approval remains unchanged.
Support for President Mahama, according to the survey, spans all regions, including traditional opposition strongholds.
In the Ashanti Region, which is the stronghold of the opposition, New Patriotic Party (NPP), the poll showed that 56% of voters approve of his performance, while approval stands at 64% in the Eastern Region and 65% in the North East Region.
The poll also indicates that a majority of party affiliates back the president’s performance, except for supporters of the NPP.
In the direction of the country, 65% of respondents in the survey noted that Ghana is headed in the right direction, though there was a marginal drop from 66% in the previous quarter.
Meanwhile, 28% believe the country is on the wrong path, up from 24%, while those with no opinion declined from 10% to 7%.
Living standards appear to have improved for many Ghanaians, with 58% of voters saying their conditions are better than a year ago, compared to 16% who report a decline.
However, optimism about the future has dipped slightly. The poll found that 68% of voters expect their standard of living to improve over the next 12 months, down from 70% in the previous quarter, suggesting growing unease over potential inflationary pressures linked to the Middle East conflict.

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President Mahama Calls for Global Recognition of Slave Trade as Crime Against Humanity
President John Dramani Mahama has called on the global community to acknowledge the transatlantic slave trade as a grave crime against humanity, urging nations to restore dignity and humanity to the millions of Africans who were trafficked and enslaved over 400 years.
High-Level Special Event on Reparatory Justice, convened by President John Dramani Mahama at the UN Headquarters on 24th March 2026, President Mahama emphasized the power of language in shaping consciousness, warning that “violence begins with language. When words are weaponised, or to codify abuse, when people are called out of their names.”
“There’s no such thing as a slave,” he said. “There were human beings who were trafficked and then enslaved by people who believed they could own those human beings as chattels, as their personal property. This is not the same thing if we acknowledge an individual’s humanity and respect their basic rights to dignity.”
President Mahama recounted the horrors of the Middle Passage, the brutal conditions of plantations, and the systematic erasure of African identity. “When slaves were captured, they were always stripped of their clothing, chained, and packed like sardines into the holds of cargo ships. Not all survived the voyage. Those who did were stripped of their names and given new ones like John, Jemima, or Mary, while some were branded like cattle with the plantation’s insignia.”
He cited the staggering scale of the trade: “Roughly six million enslaved Africans were trafficked to Brazil. Almost two million were trafficked to Jamaica, half a million to America, and over 450,000 to Barbados. These are not just numbers – these are human beings, human lives, families, hopes, and dreams stolen from them.”
Mahama also highlighted historical laws and codes designed to dehumanize Africans. “In 1662, the legal doctrine Partus Sequitur Ventrum was established in Virginia, declaring that children born of enslaved women would also automatically be enslaved, stripping them of their paternity and humanity in the eyes of the law.”
Warning against the dangers of historical erasure, the President said, “Earlier when discussing the importance of this resolution, I said it was a safeguard against forgetting. This is the type of forgetting that we are witnessing when black history courses are removed from curricula, and books about slavery, segregation, and racism are banned.”
President Mahama concluded with a call to collective action: “Tomorrow we vote on a historic resolution that will be another step in establishing truth. We stand united as Africans, whether on the continent or in the diaspora, and link up with people of conscience around the world to seek truth and justice, and restore the dignity and humanity of victims of the slave trade.”
“Truth begins with language,” he said. “Reclaiming racial equality, the dignity of Africans, and the humanity of our ancestors is a matter of our own humanity. Let us vote to establish truth so that together we can finally acknowledge the full horrors of these transgressions against humanity.”
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