## IMF Executive Board Completes the Final Reviews of Côte d’Ivoire’s Extended Credit Facility and Extended Fund Facility Arrangements

_IMF News, December 9, 2020_

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## Bibliographic details
- Published: December 9, 2020

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### Disbursement and Program Details
- Completion of the 7th and 8th reviews of ECF/EFF arrangements enables an immediate disbursement of US$278.2 million.
- The three-year ECF/EFF arrangements had a total access of SDR 650.4 million (about US$896.7 million) and were approved on December 12, 2016.
- The arrangements were augmented by about US$278.2 million, and extended by one year on December 6, 2019.
- Completion of the final reviews enables the immediate disbursement of SDR 193.572 million (about US$278.2 million), bringing total disbursements under the arrangements to SDR 844 million (about US$1,207.71 million or 129.8 percent of Côte d’Ivoire’s quota).
- Waivers approved for nonobservance of performance criteria on:
  - the overall budget balance
  - the new external debt

### Economic Performance and Projections
- The four-year program performance was satisfactory.
- Côte d’Ivoire is weathering the economic consequences of the pandemic reasonably well so far, reaping the rewards of sound pre-COVID macroeconomic policies and a decisive policy response to the pandemic.
- Growth in 2020 is currently projected to stand at 1.8 percent.
- Assuming global conditions gradually normalize, growth is projected to revert to 6½ percent in 2021.
- The authorities intend to gradually consolidate the fiscal deficit to 3 percent of GDP by 2023.
- Several program targets were missed at end-June 2020 due to the pandemic response.
- Return to the WAEMU norm of a fiscal deficit of 3 percent of GDP by 2023 is emphasized as key for regional stability.

### Policy Recommendations and Priorities
- Implement a much more ambitious strategy for domestic revenue mobilization, centered on:
  - bringing the informal economy into the fiscal net
  - limiting the proliferation of tax exemptions
  - complementing ongoing efforts to strengthen the revenue administration
- Carefully monitor state-owned enterprises and public banks.
- Debt management should balance recourse to financing on the regional market and from external commercial sources.
- Reinforce the statistical apparatus to timely identify policy priorities.
- Strike the right balance between supporting the recovery and re-anchoring the fiscal path through gradual fiscal consolidation over the next three years.

### Board Statement Highlights (Mr. Mitsuhiro Furusawa, Acting Chair and Deputy Managing Director)
- “Strong record of sound macroeconomic policies, a swift COVID response, and substantive government support to the most impacted has helped Côte d’Ivoire in weathering the immediate consequences of the pandemic reasonably well.”
- Performance under the Fund-supported program was satisfactory through end-2019 although several program targets were missed at end-June 2020 due to the pandemic response.
- “Provided global economic conditions gradually normalize, growth is projected to revert to its medium-term trend in 2021, but with substantial downside risks.”
- “The authorities appropriately responded to the COVID shock by relaxing the fiscal stance to accommodate revenue setbacks, implement the government’s emergency spending plan and limit the growth deceleration.”
- “Over the medium term, it is essential to address pressing development needs, build buffers, and limit debt vulnerabilities.”

### Next Steps and Surveillance
- The completion of the current program will be followed by Post-Program Monitoring discussions.
- It is recommended that Côte d’Ivoire returns to the standard 12-month cycle for Article IV consultations and engages in Post-Program Monitoring, as outstanding credit to the Fund exceeds the 200 percent of quota threshold.

*IMF Executive Board Completes the Final Reviews of Côte d’Ivoire’s Extended Credit Facility and Extended Fund Facility Arrangements, December 9, 2020. IMF Communications Department.*

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## References

- [Mitsuhiro Furusawa](http://www.imf.org/external/np/omd/bios/mf.htm)
- [PRESS CENTER](http://presscenter.imf.org/)
- [ECF](https://www.imf.org/external/np/exr/facts/ecf.htm)
- [EFF](http://www.imf.org/en/About/Factsheets/Sheets/2016/08/01/20/56/Extended-Fund-Facility)
- [https://www.imf.org/en/home](https://www.imf.org/en/home)

_Source: https://www.imf.org/en/news/articles/2020/12/09/pr20367-cote-divoire-imf-executive-board-completes-final-reviews-ecf-eff-arrangements_