Browsing: Rapid Credit Facility (RCF)

The Executive Board of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) approved the disbursement of $171.9 million to the Republic of Madagascar under the Rapid Credit Facility (RCF).

This is the second emergency disbursement to Madagascar after the IMF approved $ 165.99 million on April 3, 2020, bringing the total IMF COVID-19 support to Madagascar to $337.9 million. This fund will help finance the country’s urgent balance of payments and fiscal needs.

Since the approval of the first Rapid Credit Facility, the economic outlook of Madagascar has worsened due to a further deterioration of the global environment and a deepening of the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, with the 2020 GDP now projected to contract by one per cent.

The financing gap is now estimated at about $580 million due to an increase in urgent balance of payments needs arising from the pandemic. Revenue losses and redirecting budget resources to address critical …

The Executive Board of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) approved $49.1 million disbursements to Lesotho to help meet the urgent balance of payment needs stemming from the COVID-19 pandemic.

Under the disbursement, about $16.5 million is under the Rapid Credit Facility (RCF) while about $32.6 million from the Rapid Financing Instrument (RFI).

The Pandemic comes at a time when the economy of Lesotho was already facing challenges. For several years, Lesotho’s growth has been subdued reflecting a weak regional environment while its government finances have struggled to cope with the volatility of transfers from the Southern African Customs Union (SACU) that account for around half of total revenues.

Despite Madagascar relatively well-developed social assistance framework that partially mitigates the high levels of poverty, unemployment remains high while the population suffers from one of the highest rates of HIV infection in the world.

As a measure to cushion the impact on …

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) Executive Board approved $165.99 million to help the Republic of Madagascar to address the urgent balance of payment that needs stemming from the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The funds were under the Rapid Credit Facility (RCF). RCF provides rapid concessional financial assistance with limited conditionality to low-income countries (LICs) facing an urgent balance of payments need.

Madagascar’s economy has largely been affected by the coronavirus pandemic with the country’s tourism dramatically declining, trade and investments declining as well as interferences in the manufacturing and mining exports.

The government of Madagascar is taking immediate actions to mitigate the shock of the COVID-19 pandemic by putting immediate fiscal measures to strengthen social protection and support the most vulnerable in society.

Suspension of fees and social contributions to aid the private sector in the country, donating staple food and also providing liquidity to preserve the stability of …