Washington, DC: A team from the
International Monetary Fund (IMF) led by Mr. Albert Touna Mama visited
Bangui from August 29 to September 9, 2023 to conduct a mission in
connection with the first review of the CAR’s program supported by the
IMF’s Extended Credit Facility (ECF) arrangement approved in April 2023
(see
Press Release No.
23/129). Mr. Touna Mama issued the following statement at the conclusion of
the mission:
“The economic situation in Central African Republic (CAR) is stabilizing.
The risks of a major crisis have been eased as a result of the government’s
efforts, supported by the ECF arrangement. The fuel market—where recurrent
disruptions have been one of the factors exacerbating the challenges facing
the country—is beginning to stabilize. The outlook for budget financing has
also improved significantly, as evidenced by the successful outcome of the
recent domestic syndication operation.
“Although these trends are headed in the right direction, the situation
nonetheless remains challenging. The anticipated revival in growth will be
more modest. Growth projections in 2023 have been revised downward from 2.2
percent to 1 percent. Manufacturing industry, forestry, and transportation
have experienced a particularly severe impact. Inflation has stayed at high
levels, driven by fuel and food prices. This situation is continuing to
underscore the seriousness of the humanitarian emergency, particularly in
the prefectures of Vakaga and Bamingui-Bangoran where the Sudanese crisis
is causing severe supply difficulties. In this context, the recent downturn
in pump fuel prices is welcome, as this has helped to provide relief for
the CAR people and business community, while encouraging formal sales at
gas stations.
“Program implementation has been broadly satisfactory. All the reforms
planned for end-October 2023 are being implemented. The domestic revenue
target for end-June 2023 under the program has also been surpassed.
However, the limits for the primary deficit and for net domestic financing
have been overshot, in the former case reflecting the acute social
pressures and in the latter case illustrating the uncertainties which
continue to weigh heavily on the composition of budget financing. The
authorities have adopted corrective measures to mitigate any risk of future
budget overruns.
“The authorities intend to achieve significant improvements in revenue
mobilization throughout FY 2024, increasing the government’s own revenues
by approximately CFAF 20 billion. Major reforms are in progress—in
particular the digitalization of tax and customs agencies, the reform of
administrative fees and charges (menues-recettes), etc.—in an
effort to stabilize government finance, safeguard the sources of budget
financing, and ensure that tax revenue collection allows the government to
meet the general public’s various expectations.
“The adoption of the new Organic Law on the Prevention and Punishment of
Corruption is an important step forward in improving public financial
management. The authorities are committed to implementing the new
provisions of the law, as part of the ECF-supported program, as well as
strengthening the institutions working to ensure respect for good
governance, such as the Audit Office and the Financial Intelligence Unit
equivalent (ANIF).
“As far as the outlook is concerned, we anticipate that economic growth
will accelerate gradually to 1.5 percent in 2024 and to 2.5 percent in
2025. These growth prospects as well as the revenue mobilization plans are
crucially dependent upon the successful outcome of the campaign to import
fuel via the Ubangi River, which unfortunately experienced a major launch
delay. All necessary steps must be taken to remedy this situation, in order
to prevent further fuel shortages during the first half of 2024.
Furthermore, the implementation of tax measures introduced in the 2023
budget law should be improved, as should the monitoring of the various
reforms that are currently being implemented.
“The mission wishes to thank the CAR authorities for their warm welcome and
for the atmosphere of candor and openness in which the discussions were
held.”
The IMF delegation met with President Touadéra, Prime Minister Moloua,
Finance and Budget Minister Ndoba, Minister of Energy Piri, Minister of
Mines Beltoungou, BEAC National Director Chaïbou, other senior officials,
as well as representatives of the private sector and the community of
development partners.
