The IMF technical team and the Mozambican authorities have agreed on policies that may support the board’s approval of the first assessment of the financial assistance program and lead to the disbursement of about US$63.8 million.
In the note released yesterday in Washington, and quoted by Lusa, the IMF says that “the economic recovery continues”, forecasting a growth of 3.8% this year, but warns of the challenge posed by rising international food and fuel prices.
The IMF approved in May the first financial assistance program after the case of “undeclared debts”, paving the way since then for an upward revision of the ‘rating’ by Fitch Ratings and the return also of direct budget support by the World Bank.
In the statement released and quoted by Lusa, which confirms the positive statements of the head of the IMF mission in Mozambique, Álvaro Piris, the IMF technical team recognises the global difficulties, but stresses that the government has reacted well and proactively, as have the measures of the central bank.
“All quantitative and qualitative targets set for the first assessment have been met and good progress has been made on the structural agenda overall; for the future, the macroeconomic environment remains challenging,” reads the statement, which concludes, “The authorities want to continue implementing their ambitious reform agenda, including the new law on the sovereign wealth fund, reform of public administration salaries, and amendments to the public probity law.”
