This paper discusses Malawi's Second Review under the Staff-Monitored Program with Executive Board Involvement (PMB) and Request for an Arrangement under the Extended Credit Facility (ECF). Malawi continues to face a challenging macroeconomic environment. Years of unsustainable domestic and...

This paper presents Central African Republic's First Review under the Extended Credit Facility Arrangement, Requests for Waivers of Nonobservance of Performance Criteria, Modification of Quantitative Performance Criteria, Rephasing of Access, and Financing Assurances Review. Program...

Burkina Faso faces large balance of payments (BoP) and security needs aggravated by acute food insecurity and political instability. In March 2023, the authorities obtained Fund emergency financing under the Food Shock Window (FSW) of the Rapid Credit Facility to address the ongoing food...

Guinea-Bissau is a fragile state facing significant development challenges, including sustaining the recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic, supply disruptions, and the global economic slowdown. The IMF Board approved the First Review of the Extended Credit Facility (ECF) arrangement in May 2023....

On the occasion of the World Bank-IMF Annual Meetings' return to the African continent after 50 years-specifically to Marrakech, Morocco-this Special Issue on Africa discusses economic developments for the entire continent. After four years of crises and at the close of another difficult year,...

Still emerging from the COVID-19 pandemic, countries in sub-Saharan Africa have been hit by a sluggish global economy, worldwide inflation, high borrowing costs, and a cost-of-living crisis. In many cases, inflation is still too high, borrowing costs are still elevated, exchange-rate pressures...

This Selected Issues paper discusses reforming the state-owned enterprises (SOE) sector in Botswana. The authorities are committed to diversifying the economy and growing the relative size of the private sector but, until now, progress has been limited. Compared to other emerging markets, SOEs...

The 2023 Article IV Consultation highlights that following a strong recovery of almost 12 percent growth in 2021, Botswana's economy grew by 5.8 percent in 2022, significantly above the long-run average of 4 percent. The authorities plan a fiscal expansion in FY2023 followed by two years of...

This paper presents Malawi's First Review under the Staff-Monitored Program with Executive Board (PMB) Involvement. In light of a series of shocks, program performance was mixed. The authorities are taking corrective actions to establish a record of accomplishment of policy implementation,...

This paper presents Republic of Congo's Third Review under the Three-Year Arrangement under the Extended Credit Facility, Requests for Modification of Performance Criteria, Waivers of Nonobservance of Performance Criteria, and Financing Assurances Review. Strengthened economic recovery remains...