## Report on the Incidence of Longer-Term Program Engagement and Request to Reduce the Frequency of Reporting

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### Periodic report: incidence and recent developments
- Longer-term program engagement (LTPE) is defined as when a member has spent at least seven of the past ten years under Fund financial arrangements.
- This is the ninth semi-annual report and provides information through end-March 2008.
- At end-March 2008:
  - 25 members met the LTPE definition.
  - 23 of the 25 members are PRGF-eligible.
  - Since the previous report, Senegal ceased to meet the LTPE definition; no country was added to the LTPE list.
- Executive Board EPAs status:
  - The Executive Board had discussed Ex Post Assessments (EPAs) for 47 members as of end-March 2008.
  - The Executive Board did not discuss any EPAs during October 2007—March 2008.

### When is an EPA required? (Box 1)
- An EPA is required for all members considered as having LTPE.
- Timing and circumstances:
  - The EPA should generally be prepared when the existing arrangement is substantially complete and before negotiations begin on a successor arrangement.
  - It should preferably be discussed by the Executive Board jointly with either the Article IV consultation or the last program review.
  - In rare cases where joint discussion is not feasible, the EPA could be considered in a stand-alone Board meeting.
  - If no successor arrangement is contemplated, the EPA should be discussed with the first post-program Article IV Consultation.
- Successor EPA requirement:
  - A successor EPA is required after an interval of at least five years from the previous EPA for members that continue to meet the LTPE definition.
  - For members that no longer have qualifying Fund arrangements at the expiration of the five-year period—either because they have no program relationship with the Fund, or because they use a PSI or precautionary arrangement—an EPA is not required.
  - If these members later wish to request a qualifying arrangement while still being considered as having LTPE, an EPA would be required ahead of the discussions for a new arrangement.

### EPAs expected and contingent assessments
- EPAs expected in remainder of 2008 and 2009:
  - Two EPAs expected in the remainder of 2008: Kenya and Turkey (these would be the first EPA for these members as of the report).
  - One EPA expected in 2009: Moldova.
  - Up to six additional EPAs could be undertaken in 2009, depending on whether members request successor financial arrangements: Armenia, Benin, Chad, Kyrgyz Republic, Malawi, and Niger.
  - Up to three members without a current Fund financial arrangement might need an EPA in 2008–09 if they request an arrangement: Georgia, Mozambique, and Zambia.
- Timing notes:
  - Kenya’s EPA was due in 2007 but was delayed due to unexpected staffing constraints.
  - Information reflects status as of end-March 2008; the status of certain members may have changed since then.
  - Mali, which completed an EPA in December 2003 and for which the Executive Board approved a new PRGF arrangement in May 2008, will need an EPA near the completion of the new PRGF arrangement.

### Proposal to reduce reporting frequency
- Given the low incidence of LTPE and ongoing efforts to streamline operations and save resources, it is proposed that the frequency of periodic LTPE reports to the Executive Board be shifted from semi-annual to annual.
- Implementation timing:
  - The change to annual reporting would begin with the next report to be prepared in early 2009.

*Source: IMF staff; Report prepared by the Policy Development and Review Department, approved June 18, 2008.*

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_Source: https://www.imf.org/-/media/websites/imf/imported-full-text-pdf/external/np/pp/eng/2008/_061808a.pdf_