The International Monetary Fund (IMF) loan of $ 3.7 billion to Angola is the largest loan made available to a sub-Saharan African country, the Director-General, Christine Lagarde has said.
The IMF director, who was speaking to journalists at the Presidential Palace, at the joint press conference with President João Lourenço, said that it was sufficient value to support the ongoing reforms, with emphasis on fiscal consolidation and macroeconomic stability.
Christine Lagarde, who answered a question as to whether the financing program could lead to a reduction in civil servants’ work, emphasized that, unlike past action, which required austerity policies, such funding was made available in a different context, is a program with attention to the income of the poorest.
He said that before the adoption of any measure that requires hard sacrifices, such as the reduction of fuel subsidies, the Fund should ensure that there is a program of income transfer for the poorest, with a view to protecting them.
Christine Lagarde’s visit comes two weeks after the Executive Board of the International Monetary Fund approved the $ 3.7 billion Expanded Financing Facility (EFF) support the ongoing economic reforms in Angola.
On August 1 this year, the Government requested the Fund to initiate discussions on an economic program financed under the PFA (Extended Fund Facility – EFF) and requested the adjustment of the IMF support program, adding financing component.
The request for financial aid comes after the agreement negotiated by the Angolan Executive in 2008, which culminated in 2009 with the signing of the financial assistance agreement called the $ 1.4 billion Stand-By Arrangement to tackle balance of payment imbalances resulting from the country’s economic and financial crisis.
Other African countries, such as Mozambique, Congo and Ghana, have recourse to International Monetary Fund funding.
Financial assistance programs on the continent reached around € 6 billion by the end of 2017, four times more than in 2014.
