By Muhammad Amaan
The African Caucus and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) have reaffirmed commitment to strengthening the continent’s economic resilience.
This is contained in a joint statement issued by Nigeria’s Minister of Finance and Chair of the African Caucus, Mr Wale Edun and Managing Director of the IMF, Ms Kristalina Georgieva, after a meeting in Washington DC.
The discussions focused on reinforcing Africa’s economic resilience amid a challenging global economic environment.
“We held a constructive discussion focused on making progress towards the shared goal we hold for raising living standards across Africa.
“The region is navigating a complex economic landscape. Geopolitical fragmentation, elevated borrowing costs, and the ongoing high cost of living are creating a challenging backdrop for policy making.
“Some countries have also faced social instability and insecurity which imposes heavy human costs on populations while also undermining growth prospects and exacerbating economic vulnerabilities.
“This creates acute trade-offs in policy-making, further complicating the objectives of promoting inclusive development.”
They noted that progress had been made in bringing down inflation, stabilising public debt, and pressing ahead with reforms.
They said looking ahead, growth was expected to soften next year, with significant variation across the region.
“Together we are committed to strengthening Africa’s resilience to address the many challenges facing the continent.
“Policy priorities in the region are focused on securing the economic recovery, continuing to address imbalances, and creating space for much-needed development-focused investment.
“In countries where inflationary pressures are receding and inflation is near target, there is space to gradually ease towards a more neutral stance in close cooperation with other policies.”
They said in countries where inflation was still elevated, further tightening may be required.
Mr Edun and Ms Georgieva said the exchange rate, where appropriate, should be allowed to play its shock absorber role while mitigating the second-round effects of depreciation.
They added that Fiscal policy needs to find the right balance to address debt vulnerabilities and spending pressures.
“Renewed focus on enhancing domestic resource mobilisation is critical and it should be supported by governance reforms to improve public financial management, fiscal transparency, and enhance accountability.
“We welcome the launch of the Joint Domestic Resource Mobilisation Initiative (JDRMI) by the IMF and World Bank which seeks to improve domestic revenue mobilisation, enhance spending efficiency, and develop domestic financial markets.
“We support a joint effort to channel more affordable financing for development, including for climate change adaptation and mitigation.”
They said the urgent need for scaling up concessional financing for Africa needs the support of all partners.
“The recently approved Review of the Poverty Reduction and Growth Trust (PRGT) allows the fund to maintain adequate financial support to low-income countries while restoring the self-sustainability of the Trust.
“The Review of Charges and the Surcharge Policy has substantially reduced the cost of borrowing under the General Resource Account (GRA).
“Once the reform becomes effective on November 1, 2024, eight countries will not be subject to surcharges because their credit outstanding will be below the new threshold, four of which are in Africa.”
They said the Resilience and Sustainability Trust (RST) was providing longer-term affordable financing to address longer-term challenges, including climate change and pandemic preparedness.
“We encourage continued support to ensure that the RST has the financing available to meet growing needs.
“We welcome the IMF Executive Board approval of the use of Special Drawing Rights (SDRs) for the acquisition of hybrid capital instruments issued by prescribed holders.
“This will allow members to channel SDRs to Multilateral Development Banks as part of their capital.
“We welcome the conclusion of the 16th General Review of Quotas (GRQ) with the approved increase of IMF members’ quotas by 50 per cent.
“We encourage more work on quota realignment towards developing economies, including through a new quota formula, under the 17th GRQ.
“We look forward to welcoming the 25th Executive Board Chair intended for Sub-Saharan Africa next month,” they said.
