The seven-month Staff-Monitored Program (SMP) will help the authorities address the economic challenges caused by the security crisis and the Covid-19 pandemic. Its satisfactory implementation would pave the way for the resumption of discussions under an Extended Credit Facility (ECF) supported program in mid-2022; the SMP will also support the government’s reform agenda, which aims at strengthening public financial management and fiscal transparency, enhancing domestic revenue mobilization, and improving governance.
On December 17, 2021, Management of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) approved a seven-month (December 2021 - June 2022) Staff-Monitored Program (SMP) for the Central African Republic. [1]
The deterioration of the security situation in late 2020–early 2021 deepened further the economic, financial, and social challenges C.A.R is facing, thereby compounding the adverse effects of the Covid-19 pandemic. Despite recent improvements, the outlook remains fragile and securing additional donor financing is paramount to help the authorities achieve their development objectives.
Since the pandemic stroke, support from the IMF and the donor community has been significant, including disbursements following the completion of the first and second reviews under the Extended Credit Facility (ECF) supported program in January 2021, the emergency financing under the Rapid Credit Facility (RCF) approved in April 2020, C.A.R.’s participation in the debt service relief approved under the Catastrophe Containment and Relief Trust , and the G20 Debt Service Suspension Initiative . The 2021 General Special Drawing Rights Allocation significantly complemented these efforts.
The authorities’ top priority now is to foster the recovery from the security crisis and the pandemic. This requires accelerating ongoing initiatives aimed at restoring peace, sustainably financing high-priority expenditures, and deploying reforms that improve public financial management and fiscal transparency, domestic revenue mobilization, and governance, including through the fight against corruption.
The SMP will provide a roadmap to do so, as well as to improve, the track record of policy implementation and bring the structural reform agenda back on track . Its satisfactory implementation would pave the way for the resumption of discussions under an ECF-supported program in mid-2022.
[1] SMPs are informal agreements between country national authorities and IMF staff to monitor the authorities’ economic program. As such, they do not entail endorsement by the IMF Executive Board (with the exception of SMPs under the Heavily Indebted Poor Countries (HIPC) process). SMP staff reports are issued to the Board for information.
Distributed by APO Group on behalf of International Monetary Fund (IMF).
© Press Release 2021
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