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The International Monetary Fund has appointed Dr. Leandro Medina to serve as the new country representative for Ghana.

According to a Joy Business report, Mr Medina takes over from Dr. Touna Mama whose ‘Duty Tour’ was completed last week after serving in the position since 2018.

Prior to his appointment, Dr. Medina served as the senior economist in the Strategy, Policy, and Review Department and the Macro Policy Division at the IMF.

He has also served in various IMF departments in countries such as the Middle East, Central Asia and the African Department of the Fund, particularly in Mozambique and Ghana.

Before joining the IMF, Dr. Leandro Medina worked as an international consultant at the Inter-American Development Bank, participating in Portfolio Review and Policy Dialogue missions to Argentina and Uruguay.

Dr Medina comes to the position at a time that Ghana is seeking US$3 billion from the fund to help stabilize the economy which has been impacted by both internal and external factors such as the depreciation of the cedi, revenue generation constraints, the COVID-19 pandemic, Russia-Ukraine war and among others.

On July 1, 2022, President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo ordered Finance Minister, Ken Ofori-Atta to present an economic rescue programme to the IMF following the current economic conditions in the country.

A team from the Fund led by Carlo Sdralevich subsequently visited Ghana between July 6 – 13, meeting with relevant stakeholders.

Meanwhile, Managing Director of the IMF, Kristalina Georgiva, recently said her outfit is determined to reach an agreement with the Government of Ghana by the end of this year.

She added that constructive discussions have so far been held with Ghanaian authorities for a possible economic support programme.