Press Release No. 06/158

Press Release: IMF Executive Board Completes Fourth Review Under Mali's PRGF Arrangement and Approves US$2.0 Million Disbursement

July 19, 2006

The Executive Board of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) completed on July 14, 2006, the fourth review under the Poverty Reduction and Growth Facility (PRGF) arrangement for Mali. The completion of the review, which was undertaken on a lapse of time basis,¹ enables the release of a further SDR 1.3 million (about US$2.0 million, or 1.4 percent of Mali's quota in the Fund) under the arrangement (see Press Release No. 04/125). This will bring the total amount drawn under the arrangement to SDR 6.7 million (about US$9.8 million).

In completing the review, the Executive Board granted a waiver for the nonobservance of a structural performance criterion on civil service pension reform.

The PRGF is the IMF's concessional facility for low-income countries. PRGF-supported programs are based on country-owned poverty reduction strategies that are adopted in a participatory process involving civil society and development partners and articulated in the country's Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper. This is intended to ensure that PRGF-supported programs are consistent with a comprehensive framework for macroeconomic, structural, and social policies to foster growth and reduce poverty. 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.

¹ The Executive Board takes decisions under its lapse of time procedure when the Board agrees that a proposal can be considered without convening formal discussions.