Contents -- I. INTRODUCTION: SUSTAINING AND ADVANCING RECENT GAINS -- II. A FAVORABLE ECONOMIC BACKDROP TO THE NEW PROGRAM -- III. THE AUTHORITIES' THREE-YEAR PROGRAM -- IV. PROGRAM MODALITIES -- V. STAFF APPRAISAL -- APPENDIX I -- APPENDIX II -- APPENDIX III -- ATTACHMENT

A 9-month Staff Monitored Program (SMP) combined with a disbursement under the Rapid Credit Facility (RCF) of 50 percent of quota (about USD 174 million) was approved on March 30, 2021 to address BOP challenges and build a track record towards an upper credit tranche financial arrangement. This...

Burundi is a fragile state with a history of political tensions and weak institutions. Before the Covid-19 pandemic, Burundi was recovering from an economic recession triggered by the 2015 political crisis stemming from the late President Nkurunziza's decision to run for a third term. Real GDP...

Comoros is a small, fragile island state (population: 850,000) with persistently low and shock-prone growth. The last Article IV Consultation (completed in early 2020) assessed Comoros' fragility as arising from two vicious circles: economic fragility manifests in low fiscal revenue,...

Sao Tome and Principe has maintained macroeconomic stability in the period since the previous ECF review (February 2021). International support and the authorities' swift actions helped mitigate the impact of the pandemic so far. Growth is estimated at 3 percent in 2020, supported by...

The Gabonese economy was gradually recovering from the 2014 oil price shock when it was hit by the Covid-19 pandemic. Decisive confinement measures have helped save lives, but the pandemic and the fall in oil prices have severely hit the economy, increasing unemployment and poverty. With a weak...

At the request of His Excellency the President of the Republic and Head of State, the Legal (LEG) and Fiscal Affairs (FAD) Departments of the IMF conducted an assessment of governance and corruption mission in Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) from December 9 to 20, 2019 (the...

Ghana has been hit hard by the pandemic. The government's proactive response helped contain the spread of COVID-19, protecting lives and limiting the impact on economic activity. However, partly because of the pandemic, the fiscal position worsened considerably last year, with a sharp increase...

The purpose of the mission was to improve the understanding of the conduct of monetary policy in an inflation targeting (IT) central bank. During the September visit, the mission provided capacity building through daily morning seminars, giving an introduction to modern theory of monetary policy...

Sierra Leone has made significant strides to rebuild its public infrastructure after the devastating civil war, but the desperate infrastructure needs remain. At the end of the conflict in 2002, the country was left with virtually no infrastructure. Redevelopment of public infrastructure was...