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Democratic Republic of Congo is a rare "bright spot" in Africa's economic performance as high commodity prices and government reform improve finances, the head of the International Monetary Fund said on Wednesday.

*Excellent ! Just to add, after doing the rounds of my usual nightly research,

IMF pledges USD 1.5 billion to DRC to support foreign exchange reserves



The International Monetary Fund (IMF) promises to disburse the sum of one and a half billion in terms of foreign reserve support to the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

"It is not a debt but rather a support which is provided within the framework of the strengthening of the country's currency reserves," said Wednesday, December 8 the director general of this Bretton Woods institution, Kristalina Georgieva.

At the end of her exchange with Prime Minister Sama Lukonde, she recalled that the IMF has already provided the DRC with 1.5 billion US dollars as part of the program with its institution, concluded in July 2021 with the Congolese government.

This framework agreement is accompanied by an Extended Credit Facility (ECF) of 1.5 billion USD to be disbursed in 7 tranches over 3 years.

The IMF disbursed in July 2021 a first tranche of USD 216 million.

Following the first review carried out by the staff of the IMF, everything is conclusive because the DRC has reached the quantitative and structural objectives agreed in this three-year program, indicates the communication unit of the Prime Minister.

This would entitle the Congolese government to benefit at the end of this first review, which runs until December 2021, from a second tranche estimated at nearly USD 230 million.
Progress

Kristalina Georgieva also praised the governance progress made by the government within the framework of the three-year program with her institution.

“We had a very constructive discussion. We reflected on the results of our joint work.

The IMF program here has progressed very well and the government's economic team has worked with us, with a common goal of reforming the economy for the people of the DRC, ”said the Managing Director of the IMF.

She stressed that her visit to the DRC was "at the right time, because the Board of Directors of the IMF, which I chair, will be able to hold a meeting on December 15 of this year."

"And so I could have the opportunity to be able to speak during this meeting of December 15 about the progress that the country has made in the framework of the program with the IMF, but also to speak not only of the questions of expenditure in the social field," but also the question of the fight against corruption and progress in the field of governance ”, continued Kristalina Georgieva.

The Managing Director of the IMF has been staying in Kinshasa since Tuesday, December 7.