Ghana’s government has asked the International Monetary Fund to push back the end date of its $918 million aid programme from April 2018 to December 2018, IMF and government sources told Reuters on Wednesday.

The request is expected to lead to talks aimed at a revised deal to include more money and fresh targets for fiscal consolidation, according to senior government officials.

An extension would further reassure investors that the government of President Nana Akufo-Addo that took office in January is serious about restoring macroeconomic stability, they said.

“Ghanaian authorities released a memorandum of economic and financial policies to the IMF this week. It included a letter of intent requesting an extension of the Fund programme to December 2018,” one of the sources said.

IMF officials say they are open to extending the programme.

The government has outlined an ambitious programme of job creation through the private sector and rural development including pledging to build a factory in every district in order to restore the economy.

But officials say the plans cannot be realised unless the economy is stable and gross domestic product (GDP) growth increases.

GDP stood at 6.6 percent in the first quarter of 2017, the statistics office said on Wednesday. The figure compares with full-year GDP growth for 2016 of 3.5 percent and first quarter GDP last year of 4.4 percent.

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