Press Release: IMF Executive Board Completes Fifth Review Under Burkina Faso's PRGF Arrangement and Approves US$4.9 Million Disbursement

March 13, 2006

Press Release No. 06/51

The Executive Board of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) completed today the fifth review under the Poverty Reduction and Growth Facility (PRGF) arrangement for Burkina Faso (see Press Release No. 05/207). The completion of the review, which was undertaken on a lapse of time basis1, enables the release of a further SDR 3.44 million (about US$4.9 million) under the arrangement. This will bring the total amount drawn under the arrangement to SDR 20.6 million (about US$29.6 million).

The PRGF is the IMF's concessional facility for low-income countries. PRGF-supported programs are based on country-owned poverty reduction strategies 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 it is agreed by the Board that a proposal can be considered without convening formal discussions.

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