Washington, DC – April 3, 2025: An International Monetary Fund (IMF) staff team led by Mr. Albert Touna Mama visited Bangui between March 19 - 28, 2025 to hold discussions with the Central African Republic (CAR) authorities as part of the combined third and fourth reviews of the program supported by the Extended Credit Facility (ECF). Discussions will continue, virtually, over the coming weeks.
Mr. Touna Mama made the following statement at the end of the discussions:
"Despite notable improvements in several areas, such as security, CAR continues to suffer from persistent strains on public finances. The strains stem from CAR’s structurally low domestic revenues, which left the country exposed following the suspension of budget support programs by development partners in 2021. Although some development partners have resumed their budget support since 2023, the overall envelope remains well below the levels required to stabilize public finances (only 2% of GDP vs 5% pre-crisis). Moreover, domestic revenues have grown in recent years but failed to cover the residual financing needs.
"The current socio-political context, marked by pressing social and humanitarian needs, election costs, and the government's ambition to boost state presence outside Bangui, has exacerbated budgetary pressures. The partial suspension of US aid may add further strain. The revised 2025 budget discussions will require difficult trade-offs to balance public spending, refine financing strategies, and ensure sustainable public finances.
"Despite improved supply, the fuel sector still underperforms with high pump prices, impacting household consumption and economy activity. Relative to the pre-crisis situation in 2021, government fuel revenues dropped from FCFA 24 billion to FCFA17 billion in 2024 whereas pump prices remain about 40% higher when global fuel prices have largely returned to their pre-crisis levels. Authorities plan to audit fuel price structures to address cost and margin opacity.
"In this context, the government’s announcement of a 30,000-ton fuel grant from the Russian Federation represents a major opportunity to alleviate CAR’s financial challenges and provide some relief to Central African households and businesses.
"Our estimate of real GDP growth in 2024 has been revised upward to 1.8%, reflecting a rebound in fuel consumption and the resilience of sectors such as telecommunications and forestry. In terms of outlook, we anticipate a gradual acceleration of economic activity, around 2.9% in 2025. This growth will be driven by a combination of factors including the ongoing 4G rollout, an expected rebound in the mining sector following the lifting of the diamond embargo, and works under the Corridor-13 project, among others. However, these prospects are subject to significant downside risks, including from the US aid suspension, potential election-related pressures, and persistent challenges in the energy sector.
"The authorities continue to make progress in public finance reforms, especially in the digitalization of the tax administration. We commend the efforts that have led to the recent rollout of telepayment procedures, which should help facilitate and secure taxpayer transactions with customs and the domestic tax administration. Encouraging results have also been noted in limiting exceptional tax exemptions at customs as well as the effective application of import and domiciliation procedures.
"We reiterate our call to the international community to support the government’s efforts in stabilizing its public finances. More highly concessional financing would help mitigate public debt vulnerabilities and reduce the crowding-out of social expenditures by debt service.
“The staff team would like to express its deep appreciation to the authorities for their excellent collaboration and the open atmosphere that prevailed during the discussions.”
The IMF delegation met with President Touadéra, Prime Minister Moloua, Finance Minister Ndoba, the Interministerial Committee in charge of Monitoring and Implementing Reforms in the Fuel Sector chaired by Justice Minister Djoubaye, Economy Minister Filakota, Mining Minister Beltoungou, National Director of BEAC Chaïbou, other senior officials, as well as representatives from the development partners.
