## IMF Executive Board Completes First Review Under the Extended Credit Facility Arrangement and Approves US$212.3 Million Disbursement for the Democratic Republic of the Congo _IMF News, December 16, 2021_ ## Source details **Canonical URL:** [IMF Executive Board Completes First Review Under the Extended Credit Facility Arrangement and Approves US$212.3 Million Disbursement for the Democratic Republic of the Congo](https://www.imf.org/en/news/articles/2021/12/16/pr21381-drc-imf-executive-board-completes-first-review-ecf-arrangement-and-approves-disbursement) ## Other formats - [Markdown version](/en/news/articles/2021/12/16/pr21381-drc-imf-executive-board-completes-first-review-ecf-arrangement-and-approves-disbursement/index.md) - [Structured JSON version](/en/news/articles/2021/12/16/pr21381-drc-imf-executive-board-completes-first-review-ecf-arrangement-and-approves-disbursement/index.json) - [Bundle manifest](/en/news/articles/2021/12/16/pr21381-drc-imf-executive-board-completes-first-review-ecf-arrangement-and-approves-disbursement/bundle-manifest.json) ## Bibliographic details - Published: December 16, 2021 --- ### Review outcome and disbursement - Executive Board completed the first review of the arrangement under the Extended Credit Facility (ECF) for the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) on December 15, 2021. - Completion of the review enables the immediate disbursement of SDR152.3 million (14.3 percent of quota or US$212.3 million) to help meet balance of payment needs. - The DRC’s 36-month ECF arrangement is for SDR1,066 million (100 percent of quota, about US$1.52 billion), approved on July 15, 2021. - Prior IMF emergency support to the DRC under the Rapid Credit Facility (RCF) in December 2019 and April 2020 totaled SDR 533 million (50 percent of quota or US$731.7 million). ### Economic outlook and key statistics - Growth forecasts: 2021 revised to 5.4 percent; 2022 revised to 6.2 percent. - Inflation: has remained anchored at about 5 percent. - Gross international reserves: increased to US$3.3 billion in mid-October 2021 (from US$0.8 billion at end-2020). - Better-than-projected external developments supported by high commodity prices contributed to the reserve buildup. - Higher fiscal revenues provided space for additional spending, mostly on investment, without undermining the end-2021 fiscal deficit. - COVID-19 context: Despite the persistence of the COVID-19 pandemic, the economy is recovering; new COVID-19 containment measures were implemented since the summer and vaccination rates remain very low. ### Program support and objectives - The ECF arrangement supports the authorities’ medium-term reform program to foster macroeconomic stability and sustainable development by: - Stepping up domestic revenue mobilization. - Strengthening governance. - Reinforcing monetary policy. - Half of the recent SDR allocation is expected to be devoted to priority investment projects over the coming years. - Strengthening public investment management is highlighted as crucial to enhance investment efficiency. ### Fiscal policy and public finance recommendations - Fiscal policy described as prudent; the 2022 budget is expected to support economic recovery. - Creating fiscal space by improving domestic revenue mobilization is emphasized as key to the success of the authorities’ reform agenda, notably to address infrastructure and social needs. - Concessional financing should be prioritized. - Continue to avoid monetary financing from the Central Bank of Congo (BCC). - Enhancing public financial management is important to support spending efficiency and fiscal transparency and accountability. ### Monetary policy and financial sector recommendations - The BCC should: - Continue strengthening its monetary policy framework and financial position. - Improve banking supervision and scale up efforts to strengthen safeguards. - Reducing dollarization would help improve the policy transmission mechanism. - Accumulating foreign exchange reserves should continue while allowing the exchange rate to act as a shock absorber. - Continued efforts to promote financial inclusion are needed. ### Structural reforms and governance - Implementation of structural reforms, including on governance, remains critical to support the recovery and promote sustainable and private sector-led growth. - Priority reform areas include: - Anticorruption. - AML/CFT. - Mining and natural resource transparency. - Building capacity for policy formulation and effectiveness is recommended, including on fiscal policy, governance, and the monetary and financial sectors. *IMF press release, December 16, 2021.* --- ## References - [https://www.imf.org/en/about/senior-officials/bios/kristalina-georgieva](https://www.imf.org/en/about/senior-officials/bios/kristalina-georgieva) - [Democratic Republic of the Congo and the IMF](http://www.imf.org/external/country/COD/index.htm) - [IMF Quotas -- A Factsheet](https://www.imf.org/en/about/factsheets/sheets/2022/imf-quotas) - [Special Drawing Rights (SDRs) -- A Factsheet](https://www.imf.org/en/about/factsheets/sheets/2023/special-drawing-rights-sdr) - [Press Releases](https://www.imf.org/en/news/searchnews) - [PRESS CENTER](http://presscenter.imf.org/) - [Extended Credit Facility](http://www.imf.org/en/About/Factsheets/Sheets/2016/08/02/21/04/Extended-Credit-Facility) - [21/217](https://www.imf.org/en/News/Articles/2021/07/15/pr21217-drc-imf-executive-board-approves-us-1-52b-ecf-arrangement) - [Rapid Credit Facility](https://www.imf.org/en/About/Factsheets/Sheets/2016/08/02/21/08/Rapid-Credit-Facility) - [19/465](https://www.imf.org/en/News/Articles/2019/12/17/pr19465-democratic-republic-of-congo-imf-executive-board-approves-disbursement-under-the-rcf) - [20/182](https://www.imf.org/en/News/Articles/2020/04/22/pr20182-democratic-republic-of-congo-imf-approves-disbursement-to-address-covid-19) - [https://www.imf.org/en/home](https://www.imf.org/en/home) _Source: https://www.imf.org/en/news/articles/2021/12/16/pr21381-drc-imf-executive-board-completes-first-review-ecf-arrangement-and-approves-disbursement_