The IMF board on Monday approved a three-year, $455 million loan for the Republic of Congo to help undergird the African nation’s economic recovery against the effects of the global pandemic Covid-19.
The decision will enable an immediate disbursement from the global crisis-lender to the Central African oil producer of about $90 million to aid in supporting the economy a which is expected to pick up later in the year.
The economy “is expected to strengthen in the second half of the year, supported by vaccine rollout, social spending, and domestic arrears, payments…..However, the nascent recovery is facing significant risks, including a possible worsening of the pandemic (and) continued volatility in oil prices.” IMF Deputy Managing Director Kenji Okamura said in a statement
However, Kenji Okamura noted that the government of Congo is working on restructuring its debt hence reducing the nation’s debt vulnerabilities will be key
Meanwhile, the IMF is set to release its World Economic Outlook today, a week later than planned, to factor in the latest COVID-19 developments, amid signs another downgrade is coming.
In October, the IMF had forecast global economic growth of 5.9% in 2021 and 4.9% this year, while underscoring the uncertainty posed by the new coronavirus variants. However it is expected to downgrade its global economic growth projections to reflect the emergence of the Omicron variant of the coronavirus.
The IMF estimates the economy of the Democratic Republic of Congo will grow 2.4 percent this year after a slight contraction in 2021.
