This paper examines the Democratic Republic of the Congo’s 2003 Article IV Consultation, First Review Under the Poverty Reduction and Growth Facility (PRGF), and Request for Waiver of Performance Criteria. Through September 2002, overall performance under the PRGF-supported program was...

This paper presents an Ex Post Assessment of Longer-Term Program Engagement for Sierra Leone. Sierra Leone has had almost continuous involvement with IMF programs since 1994 under a variety of arrangements. All the IMF-supported programs in Sierra Leone during 1994–2004 had the same...

This paper evaluates Tajikistan’s 2002 Article IV Consultation and a Request for a Three-Year Arrangement Under the Poverty Reduction and Growth Facility (PRGF). Tajikistan’s previous IMF-supported program went off track in mid-2001 largely because of poor progress with structural...

Nigeria’s 2005 Article IV Consultation reports that the authorities made good progress in implementing their structural reform program. Given favorable terms of trade, gross international reserves are projected to increase substantially. The economy is expected to benefit from improved...

The government has fully complied with all the elements of the fourth floating completion point condition, which calls for the implementation of reforms to develop human capital and social protection. Investment in human capital development represents the second pillar of Nicaragua’s...

This paper discusses Iraq’s request for Stand-By Arrangement for 15 months from December 2005 through March 2007, which they intend to treat as precautionary. The authorities’ policies have succeeded in promoting overall macroeconomic stability despite the extremely difficult...

Zambia’s 2005 Article IV Consultation and Third Review Under the Poverty Reduction and Growth Facility are discussed. Expenditure restraint, including on the wage bill, has helped to put the fiscal operations of the government on a sustainable course and contributed to the attainment of...

Lao People's Democratic Republic (Lao PDR) showed commendable growth owing to its strong macroeconomic performance and structural reforms under the economic program. Executive Directors commended the fiscal performance, bank restructuring, and the private sector developments, and stressed the...

For the past two years, the Democratic Republic of Congo has made considerable progress in consolidating its peace process, stabilizing its economic situation, and creating the conditions for sustainable economic growth and poverty reduction. The macroeconomic and fiscal performances under the...

The draft 2004 budget passed by the assembly is consistent with the Financial Sector Assessment Program (FSAP). Achieving the programmed strengthening of the tax effort remains a challenge. On the expenditure side, the aim is to improve the anti-poverty and pro-growth orientation of public...