{
  "title": "Press Briefing Transcript: African Department, Annual Meetings 2025",
  "publication": "IMF News, October 16, 2025",
  "sourceUrl": "https://www.imf.org/en/news/articles/2025/10/17/tr-101725-press-briefing-transcript-african-department-annual-meetings-2025",
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  "summary": "MR. AKUAMOAH-BOATENG: Good morning to everyone here and those joining us online. I am Kwabena Akuamoah-Boateng with the Communications Department, and I will be your moderator for today.",
  "publishDate": "2025-10-16",
  "sections": [
    {
      "heading": "Regional growth outlook and macroeconomic environment",
      "content": "- Sub-Saharan Africa economic growth:\n  - \"expected to hold steady at 4.1 percent this year, with a modest pickup expected in 2026.\"\n- Global external conditions noted:\n  - \"weaker demand, softer commodity prices, and tighter financial markets.\"\n  - \"oil prices are declining while the price of copper, coffee, and gold are fairly elevated.\"\n- External financing and trade landscape:\n  - \"external financing conditions have improved somewhat, allowing a few countries, Kenya and Angola most recently, to access international capital markets.\"\n  - \"Tariffs on exports to the United States have increased, and preferential access under the Africa Growth & Opportunities Act (AGOA) has expired.\"\n  - \"The projected sharp decline in foreign aid also leaves some lower-income and fragile countries particularly exposed.\"\n- Inflation and external buffers:\n  - \"inflation that has eased at the regional level but remains in double digits in quite a few countries in the region.\"\n  - \"external buffers that are under pressure and need to be rebuilt.\""
    },
    {
      "heading": "Key vulnerabilities and risks",
      "content": "- Debt and domestic financial linkages:\n  - \"about half of the total public debt is held by domestic institutions.\"\n  - \"we estimate about 20 countries to be in a situation of high risk of debt distress. This comprises about 14 countries at high risk of debt distress and another six in actual debt distress.\"\n  - Rising \"debt service costs, which are crowding out development spending\" and \"a shift towards domestic financing that has deepened the Sovereign Bank nexus.\"\n- Aid and financing risks:\n  - \"The projected sharp decline in foreign aid ... leaves some lower-income and fragile countries particularly exposed.\"\n  - Countries have \"limited fiscal space\" to reallocate budgetary resources in response.\n- Country-specific notes raised in Q&A:\n  - Zimbabwe: progress toward restoring macroeconomic stability; \"recourse to Central Bank financing has diminished quite a bit.\"\n  - Senegal: IMF \"have actively started engaging\" and \"a team that's going to be going to Dakar next week to advance discussions\" following government disclosure of problematic public debt numbers.\n  - Kenya: active \"liability management exercise\" referenced, including debt redenomination example; staff-level agreement discussions ongoing with missions in Nairobi.\n  - Ghana: stabilization signs—\"the economy is beginning to recover, inflation is beginning to decelerate\"—but trade-offs on exchange-rate competitiveness noted.\n  - Sierra Leone: \"impacted the most\" by declining ODA; higher domestic borrowing and domestic debt increases described.\n  - Nigeria: decelerating inflation consistent with tightening monetary policy and exchange rate adjustment; structural reliance on oil and need for domestic revenue mobilization emphasized.\n  - Rwanda: noted ability to \"maintain the microeconomic stability\" queried in context of global slowdown and trade policy shifts."
    },
    {
      "heading": "Policy priorities and recommendations",
      "content": "- Domestic revenue mobilization (priority 1):\n  - Modernize tax systems through digitalization.\n  - Streamline inefficient tax expenditures.\n  - Strengthen enforcement via targeted compliance strategies.\n  - \"Build public trust in tax institutions, strengthen institution capacity, and conduct careful impact assessment, including distributional analysis.\"\n- Debt management and public finance (priority 2):\n  - \"Enhancing debt transparency, and strengthening public finance management can help reduce borrowing costs and unlock innovative financing.\"\n  - Publish comprehensive public debt data and reinforce budget oversight.\n  - Encourage active liability management (lengthening maturities, currency/denomination choices) while assessing cross-currency risks and export-currency alignments.\n  - Ensure robust regulatory frameworks and capitalization plans for banks to limit sovereign-to-bank spillovers.\n- Transparency and scrutiny for innovative financing:\n  - Assess contingent liabilities from securitization of future revenues, PPPs, and similar instruments.\n  - Prioritize transparency and parliamentary/public scrutiny for novel financing to avoid hidden fiscal risks.\n- Balance short-term stabilization and long-term transformation:\n  - Address macroeconomic imbalances as a prerequisite for sustainable growth, job creation, and long-term investments.\n  - Use stabilization to create conditions for private investment and structural transformation, including promoting intra‑African trade (AfCFTA) and addressing non-tariff barriers."
    },
    {
      "heading": "IMF engagement and support",
      "content": "- Financial support and capacity development:\n  - \"Since 2020, we have dispersed nearly $69 billion, including about 4 billion so far this year.\"\n  - \"Capacity development efforts also remain substantial, with countries in the region amongst the largest recipients of technical assistance.\"\n- Country engagement examples:\n  - Active program discussions initiated with Senegal; mission planned to Dakar.\n  - Ongoing staff-level discussions and missions in Kenya.\n  - Continued close engagement with Zimbabwe on policy reforms and reduction of Central Bank financing.\n\nSource: Press Briefing Transcript: African Department, Annual Meetings 2025 (October 16, 2025), IMF Communications Department.\n\n---\n\n\n References\n\n- Ghana and the IMF\n- Kenya and the IMF\n- Nigeria and the IMF\n- Senegal and the IMF\n- Sierra Leone and the IMF\n- Transcripts\n- PRESS CENTER\n- https://www.imf.org/en/home\n\nSource: https://www.imf.org/en/news/articles/2025/10/17/tr-101725-press-briefing-transcript-african-department-annual-meetings-2025"
    }
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    "Published: October 16, 2025",
    "Sub-Saharan Africa economic growth:",
    "Global external conditions noted:",
    "External financing and trade landscape:",
    "Inflation and external buffers:",
    "Debt and domestic financial linkages:",
    "Aid and financing risks:",
    "Country-specific notes raised in Q&A:",
    "Domestic revenue mobilization (priority #1):",
    "Debt management and public finance (priority #2):",
    "Transparency and scrutiny for innovative financing:",
    "Balance short-term stabilization and long-term transformation:",
    "Financial support and capacity development:",
    "Country engagement examples:",
    "[Ghana and the IMF](http://www.imf.org/external/country/GHA/index.htm)",
    "[Kenya and the IMF](http://www.imf.org/external/country/KEN/index.htm)",
    "[Nigeria and the IMF](http://www.imf.org/external/country/NGA/index.htm)",
    "[Senegal and the IMF](http://www.imf.org/external/country/SEN/index.htm)",
    "[Sierra Leone and the IMF](http://www.imf.org/external/country/SLE/index.htm)",
    "[Transcripts](https://www.imf.org/en/news/searchnews)",
    "[PRESS CENTER](http://presscenter.imf.org/)",
    "[https://www.imf.org/en/home](https://www.imf.org/en/home)"
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