IMF Staff Completes Review Mission to Niger

IMF News, November 12, 2019

Source details

Press Release No. 19/409; November 12, 2019.
An IMF staff team led by Christoph A. Klingen visited Niamey from October 29 to November 12, 2019.
Purpose: conduct discussions on the fifth review of the program supported by the Extended Credit Facility (ECF) arrangement.
Niger’s program was approved by the IMF Board on January 23, 2017.
Staff-level agreement reached for the completion of the fifth review; it could be considered by the Executive Board of the IMF in early-January 2020.

Implementation of the government’s reform program has been satisfactory despite a challenging environment.
Macroeconomic stability remains firmly in place on the back of prudent fiscal policy and solid growth.
Economic activity benefits from:
- the government’s success in attracting foreign investors;
- scaling-up of donor support;
- favorable harvests;
- large-scale projects (including pipeline construction).
Growth projections and milestones:
- Growth should reach 6.3 percent this year.
- Growth should average more than 7 percent over the next five years.
- The construction of the pipeline for crude oil and the expected onset of oil exports in 2022 are highlighted as an important boon for the economy.
Fiscal revenue impact from oil:
- Fiscal revenues should rise by at least 2 percent of GDP from 2022.

Fiscal policy is geared toward striking the difficult balance between attending to public needs and supporting macroeconomic stability.
The fiscal situation remains broadly satisfactory:
- The overall deficit is on track to improve this year.
- The overall deficit is on track to comply with the WAEMU deficit ceiling of 3 percent of GDP in 2020.
Revenue mobilization challenges:
- Revenue mobilization remains an uphill battle, especially considering the Nigeria border closure.
Policy emphasis:
- Prudent expenditure management and unrelenting reform efforts help keep public finances solid.
- The 2020 budget is described as an important step toward generating fiscal space for priority expenditures.
- High quality and transparency in public spending remains imperative.

Ensuring that the local private sector benefits from large-scale projects is central to improving living standards.
Key priorities and actions:
- Improve conditions for the formal local private sector to enable it to benefit from large-scale projects.
- Improve readings of business environment indicators (government efforts are commended).
- Improve access to financing for the private sector.
- Formalize the informal sector to level the playing field and spread the tax burden more widely.
Governance measures welcomed by the mission:
- Strengthening of HALCIA.
- Application to rejoin the EITI.
- Plans to upgrade the asset declaration regime for high-ranking public officials.
Importance of careful design:
- It will be important to carefully design the contracts and institutional arrangements governing the petroleum sector to make Niger’s impending oil exporter status an unqualified success.

The IMF team met with:
- Prime Minister Brigi Rafini;
- Minister of State for Petroleum;
- the Ministers of Finance and Justice;
- the Minister Delegate for the Budget;
- the Special Presidential Advisor in charge of the business environment;
- other senior government officials.
Staff also exchanged views with representatives of the private sector and the donor community.
The IMF team thanked the authorities for their hospitality and for the fruitful dialogue.

IMF Communications Department — MEDIA RELATIONS; Press Officer: Meera Louis; Phone: +1 202 623-7100; Email: MEDIA@IMF.org