The Executive Board of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) has completed the first review of the arrangement under the Extended Credit Facility (ECF) for Benin.
The Completion of the review enables the disbursement of about US22.58 million, bringing total disbursements under the arrangement to about US$45.16 million.
The Board also approved Benin’s request to set program conditionality for 2018, and to modify the end-December 2017 performance criteria.
Benin’s three-year arrangement for about US$158.1million or 90 percent of the country’s quota at the time of approval of the arrangement, was approved on April 7, 2017.
It aims at supporting the country’s economic and financial reform program and focuses on raising living standards and preserving macroeconomic stability.
Executive Board discussion, Mr. Mitsuhiro Furusawa, Deputy Managing Director and Acting Chair said Benin authorities have been steadfast in implementing their ECF-supported program.
“A stable macroeconomic environment was maintained in 2016, despite negative regional spillovers. Continued implementation of the right mix of macroeconomic and structural policies is needed to preserve hard-won gains, address financial sector vulnerabilities, and contribute to meeting the regional fiscal convergence criteria” he added.
Source: Africafeeds.com / Fred Dzakpata
