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Sierra Leone: More IMF Fund for Country
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Concord Times (Freetown)
9 July 2008
Posted to the web 9 July 2008
Olusegun Ogundeji
An additional US$7.2 million would be given out to Sierra Leone by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) bringing total disbursements under the Poverty Reduction and Growth Facility (PRGF) to about US$22.1 million.
The decision was made after IMF executive board completed the second review of Sierra Leone's performance under the PRGF arrangement.
Economic growth in Sierra Leone remained robust in 2007 and early 2008, led by solid agriculture and mining production and buoyant activity in the construction and service sectors, says Mr. Murilo Portugal, Deputy Managing Director and Acting Chair of the board, after their discussion.
"Inflation, though rising, was relatively contained in the face of surging global food and energy prices," he said.
Portugal said significant revenue shortfalls, exacerbated by delayed external budgetary assistance, had complicated budget execution and these developments contributed to a severe compression of priority spending and the accumulation of domestic arrears.
He added that the Sierra Leonean government's strong commitment to address the sources of these setbacks and move forward with key structural reforms in the period ahead is welcomed.
"The authorities are committed to staying the course, with wide-ranging measures to make the National Revenue Authority more efficient and broaden the tax base. Firm control over expenditure commitments by ministries, departments, and agencies will provide critical support to the objective of domestic arrears clearance while creating fiscal space to address essential social needs," he said.
The board also approved a year extension of the PRGF arrangement to 2010. The arrangement for Sierra Leone was approved on May 10, 2006 in an equivalent of about US$50.9 million to support the government's 2006-08 economic programme.
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PRGF loans carry an annual interest rate of 0.5 percent and are repayable over 10 years with a 5½-year grace period on principal payments.
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