(MENAFN- Mkakati) The Minister of Finance, Nicolas Kazadi, meets with the Partners Coordination Group (PCG) for the Government's economic program supported by the Extended Credit Facility. The program concluded with the IMF is in line with the vision of His Excellency the President of the DRC, after a thorough diagnosis of the economic situation of the country highlighting the low level of development of human capital, the infrastructure gap, corruption and poor governance and an unappealing business climate to private sector development.
Following nine years of non-existent IMF programs, the Government signed a new Extended Fund Facility (EFF) agreement on Thursday, July 15, 2021, to demonstrate its determination to work towards good governance and transparency to improve the population's quality of life. The program will last three (3) years, from July 2021 to June 2024.
The objective of the program focuses on maintaining macroeconomic stability, promoting sustainable and inclusive growth, and reducing poverty. This will entail key measures and reforms focused on increasing domestic revenue mobilization; fostering social spending and essential investments; strengthening governance and combating corruption and money laundering; enhancing monetary policy effectiveness and consolidating financial stability; and improving the business climate. "Concluding this program is a commitment to transparency," says Finance Minister Nicolas Kazadi.
The Program paves the way for the resolution of the DRC’s structural problems and contributes to the improvement of the country's signature. Through the Program, the IMF financial support of 1.5 billion USD in 7 disbursement tranches will increase Foreign Reserves and the financing expenditures in the social sectors and basic infrastructures, budget support and attract foreign private investment and economic growth to improve the living conditions of the population
The efforts undertaken to date have placed the country in a positive dynamic:
o The real GDP growth rate is currently estimated at 5.1%, compared to 4.9% forecast in the Program and 1.7% achieved in 2020.
o The Congolese franc is stable on the foreign exchange market and inflation is under control, below the target set in the program.
o Domestic revenue projections for 2021 indicate an increase of 40% over 2020 and 30% over 2019.
The Program includes key reforms for post-COVID-19 economic recovery with ambitious targets in the sectors of health and education for human capital development; basic infrastructure to foster private sector development and promote economic growth; governance and anti-corruption to improve the business environment and attract more investors.
Under the leadership of the Head of State, the Government is determined to achieve these objectives and reach, for the first time, the completion of this program. "It is not because of past failures that we should not do better, it is necessary that the action we take be consistent with the message we give" concludes the Minister of Finance.
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