Africa-Press – Mozambique. The representative of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) in Mozambique, Alexis Meyer-Cirkel, said today that talks with the country’s government for a long-term financial program are underway.
“We are there, talking to the [Mozambican] government. There was a demonstration of interest in a longer-term financing program; there is this conversation and the materialisation of a financial program will depend on this dialogue and interest” on the part of the Mozambican executive, Meyer-Cirkel said.
The IMF representative was answering a question by Lusa after an online presentation on the country and the region’s economic outlook
At the same time, he explained that work relating to consultation with Mozambique under the ‘fourth article’ of the IMF statutes, which provides for consultations with member states, even without a financial program in place, is entering the “final stage”.
Pending tasks “should be completed in the coming weeks” and the corresponding report must be published during the first quarter of 2022.
Talks about a financial support program were affected by the Covid-19 pandemic
In March of this year, discussions between the Fund and Mozambique were postponed at the request of the Mozambican government, “not for lack of interest, but because of the difficulty of doing the necessary work in the context of the pandemic,” said the director of the IMF’s African department, Abebe Selassie.
Despite having suspended support to the country in 2016, after the state’s US$2.7 billion ‘hidden debts’ came to light, the IMF lent the country €104 million in 2019 in support of humanitarian and reconstruction efforts after cyclones Idai and Kenneth hit.
After the Covid-19 pandemic was declared, the IMF provided €564 million in support to Mozambique, about half of it in a loan to be repaid “only after the production, export and tax revenues of liquefied natural gas start”, the organization announced at the time.
The help in the context of Covid-19 concerns three items.
One is a loan of US$309 million (€275 million) through the rapid credit facility (RCF), to be repaid “only after the production, export and tax revenues of liquefied natural gas take off”.
Another is a US$13.4 million contribution (€12 million) from the IMF’s Catastrophe Containment and Relief Trust (CCRT) that provides debt relief to the poorest and most vulnerable countries affected by natural or public health disasters.
Mozambique also had access to US$312 million (€22 million) of proportional Special Drawing Rights, which are intended to strengthen the country’s financial system.
For More News And Analysis About Mozambique Follow Africa-Press
