An International Monetary Fund staff team led by Chris Walker, IMF Mission
Chief for Haiti, visited Port-au-Prince from February 20-25, to carry out
discussions with the Haitian authorities on a Staff-Monitored Program
(SMP).
At the conclusion of the mission, Alejandro Werner, Director of the IMF’s
Western Hemisphere Department, met with President Jovenel Moïse, Minister
of Economy and Finance, Governor of Central Bank and Senior Officials to
mark the accord and discuss Haiti’s development strategy and continuing
engagement with the IMF. Mr. Werner hailed the agreement as an important
sign of commitment to improving the living conditions and increasing the
economic opportunities of the Haitian people.
President Moïse shared his vision for development of Haiti with the IMF
delegation. He asked the IMF to play a leadership role in bringing together
the country’s development partners to support his reform and development
plans, including strengthening the social safety net.
Mr. Walker issued the following statement at the end of the visit:
“Following extensive discussions, the IMF team has reached a staff-level
agreement with the authorities on an SMP covering the period of
March-August, 2018. The government of Haiti, under the leadership of
President Moïse and Prime Minister Lafontant, and with support of the
Minister of Finances and the Central Bank Governor, is committed to carry
out economic and structural reforms to promote economic growth and
stability, and alleviate poverty, in Haiti. The international community and
key donors welcome the government’s resolve to implement reforms to ensure
sustainable and inclusive growth.
“Under the SMP, fiscal policy will focus on mobilizing revenues and
rationalizing current expenditure, to make room for critical public
investment in infrastructure, health, education and social services. This
will include measures to improve tax collection and efficiency, and to
eliminate excessive subsidies, including on retail fuel. Other reforms will
focus on stemming the losses of the public electricity company (EDH), which
in recent years have amounted to a sizeable portion of the public deficit,
by improving the efficiency of billing, and by reforming contracting
practices. Fiscal reforms also aim to increase the transparency of public
accounts. These reforms are to be accompanied by a substantial package of
mitigating measures to protect the most vulnerable members of society.
“The Central Bank of Haiti (BRH) will continue to protect international
reserves and preserve exchange rate flexibility, while acting as necessary
to contain disorderly market conditions. Under the SMP, the authorities
will limit recourse to monetary financing of the government deficit, and
BRH will align monetary policy to keep inflation in check, while
maintaining an adequate flow of credit to the private sector.
“IMF staff will work closely with the authorities to monitor progress in
the implementation of their economic program. The IMF will also continue to
provide technical assistance to support Haiti’s capacity-building efforts
and structural reform agenda. The SMP is designed to help the authorities
build a credible track record, and successful implementation of the program
will catalyze critical flows from development partners as well as support a
future request for an Extended Credit Facility (ECF) arrangement.”