IMF Executive Board Completes the Second Review under the Extended Credit Facility Arrangement and the First Review under the Resilience and Sustainability Facility Arrangement for the Democratic Republic of the Congo
IMF News, December 19, 2025
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- IMF Executive Board Completes the Second Review under the Extended Credit Facility Arrangement and the First Review under the Resilience and Sustainability Facility Arrangement for the Democratic Republic of the Congo
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- Published: December 19, 2025
Overview and Key Decision
- The Executive Board completed the second review under the Extended Credit Facility (ECF) Arrangement and the first review under the Resilience and Sustainability Facility (RSF) Arrangement for the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), both approved on January 15, 2025.
- The decision allows for an immediate total disbursement of US$442 million.
- Press Release No. 25/439; publication date: December 19, 2025.
Disbursements and Program Performance
- ECF second review disbursement: 190.4 million SDR (approximately US$ 260.0 million).
- Aggregate ECF disbursement to date: 570.9 million SDR (about US$ 779.7 million).
- RSF first review disbursement: 133.25 million SDR (approximately US$ 182.0 million).
- Program performance under the ECF-supported arrangement: satisfactory.
- All end-June 2025 performance criteria (PC) were met, except:
- Nonobservance of the continuous PC not to introduce or modify multiple currency practices; authorities requested a waiver of nonobservance. The measure was temporary and has been discontinued.
- Most indicative targets were met, except:
- Floor on social spending (not met).
- Ceiling on spending executed through emergency procedures (not met), owing to elevated exceptional security spending linked to the persistence of the conflict.
- Structural reform implementation: satisfactory.
- Seven out of eight non-continuous benchmarks due at the second review were met; the one not met—related to generalizing the standardized VAT invoicing system—was implemented with a short delay.
- All three continuous structural benchmarks were met.
- Performance under the RSF arrangement: satisfactory.
- Two RSF reform measures—analysis on climate-related fiscal risks in the budget and adoption of a disaster risk management policy—were implemented ahead of the review.
Economic Outlook, External Sector, and Monetary Developments
- Security and humanitarian context:
- The armed conflict in the eastern part of the country persists and continues to exert significant pressure on public finances.
- Recent developments: presidential-level endorsement of a U.S.-brokered peace accord between the DRC and Rwanda; signing of a Qatar-mediated “Framework for a Comprehensive Peace Agreement” between the DRC government and the M23 rebel group. Renewed violence has further deepened the humanitarian crisis.
- Growth:
- Real GDP growth is projected to exceed 5 percent in 2025 and 2026, driven by the extractive sector.
- External sector and reserves:
- External stability strengthened on the back of high copper exports and prices, notwithstanding the temporary suspension of cobalt exports for most of 2025.
- Improvement in the current account balance enabled continued reserve accumulation, though reserves remain below the recommended adequacy level.
- Inflation and monetary policy:
- Inflation fell from 11.7 percent at end-2024 to 2.2 percent in November 2025.
- The Congolese franc sharply appreciated.
- The Central Bank of the Congo (BCC)’s Monetary Policy Committee reduced the policy rate from 25 percent to 17.5 percent in early October.
- IMF view: a cautious, data-dependent monetary policy is appropriate; continued efforts to accumulate reserves while safeguarding the exchange rate as a shock absorber remain paramount.
Risks and Policy Priorities (Executive Board Summary by Mr. Okamura)
- Downside risks:
- Security and humanitarian challenges.
- Deeper and more prolonged cuts in official development assistance.
- Renewed commodity price volatility.
- Fiscal policy and public finances:
- Persistently elevated security spending and other shocks have weighed on budget execution and the outlook.
- Security spending is expected to remain elevated in the near term.
- Need for sustained fiscal discipline and a gradual move toward a resource-based fiscal framework.
- Targeted public financial management reforms— including enforcement of spending chain controls—are needed to curb procyclicality, create space for investment and social spending, build resilience to shocks, and strengthen fiscal credibility.
- Ensuring adequate social spending, given the humanitarian crisis, is critical.
- Monetary and external policies:
- Carefully monitor liquidity conditions and be ready to adjust monetary policy as needed.
- Strengthen the monetary policy framework and implement safeguards assessment recommendations.
- Improve monetary policy transparency and communication and strengthen central bank independence to help anchor expectations.
- Avoid multiple currency practices.
- Structural and governance reforms:
- Advance reforms to improve governance and transparency, strengthen anti-corruption and AML/CFT frameworks, and enhance the business climate.
- Implementation of RSF reforms will help mitigate climate change impacts on longer-term balance of payments stability.
Executive Board Assessment — Selected Economic and Financial Indicators, 2023–26 (table highlights)
- Real GDP (annual percent change):
- 2023 Act.: 8.5
- 2024 CR No. 25/195: 6.5
- 2025 Prel. Proj.: 6.1
- 2026 Proj.: 5.3 and 5.6 (two projected columns shown)
- Extractive GDP (annual percent change):
- 2023 Act.: 20.2
- 2024: 12.2
- 2025: 11.9 and 8.2 (two projected columns)
- 2026: 10.1 and 5.8 (two projected columns)
- Non-extractive GDP (annual percent change):
- 2023 Act.: 3.4
- 2024: 3.5
- 2025: 3.1 and 3.6
- 2026: 5.4
- GDP deflator (annual percent change):
- 2023 Act.: 11.3
- 2024: 19.9
- 2025: 19.6 and 7.9
- 2026: 6.7
- Consumer prices, period average (annual percent change):
- 2023 Act.: 17.7
- 2024: 8.8
- 2025: 7.7 and 7.1
- 2026: 4.4
- Consumer prices, end of period (annual percent change):
- 2023 Act.: 23.8
- 2024: 11.7
- 2025: 7.8 and 4.3
- 2026: 7.0
- Money and credit (annual change in percent of beginning-of-period broad money):
- Net foreign assets: 23.0 (2023 Act.), 14.5 (2024), -0.2 (2025), 22.7 and 30.1 (2026 columns)
- Net domestic assets: 20.3 (2023 Act.), -1.0 (2024), 3.7 (2025), -10.5 and -21.0 (2026 columns)
- Domestic credit: 34.3 (2023 Act.), 15.2 (2024), 10.5 (2025), 4.2 (2026)
- Broad money: 40.3 (2023 Act.), 28.1 (2024), 28.2 (2025), 13.8 and 4.0 (2026 columns); 12.3 and 9.1 appear in subsequent rows of the table
- Central government finance (percent of GDP):
- Revenue and grants: 14.3 (2023 Act.), 14.8 (2024), 14.4 and 14.9 (2025–26 columns)
- Expenditures: 15.9 (2023 Act.), 16.0 (2024), 16.4, 16.5, 16.7, 16.6, 17.1 (multiple columns shown)
- Domestic fiscal balance: -0.7 (2023 Act.), -0.8 (2024), -1.2 (2025), -1.3 (2026)
- Investment and saving (percent of GDP):
- Gross national saving: 10.3 (2023 Act.), 9.6 (2024), 9.7, 11.2, 12.5 (projection columns)
- Investment: 15.5 (2023 Act.), 13.5 (2024), 13.3, 13.9 (projection columns)
- Non-government: 12.0 (2023 Act.), 10.0 (2024)
- Balance of payments (percent of GDP):
- Exports of goods and services: 42.5 (2023 Act.), 47.4 (2024), 45.9, 46.1, 40.0, 46.6, 37.1 (multiple columns)
- Imports of goods and services: 47.5 (2023 Act.), 50.3 (2024), 48.0, 41.5, 47.0, 37.4 (multiple columns)
- Current account balance, incl. transfer: -5.3 (2023 Act.), -3.9 (2024), -4.2, -3.2, -3.6, -2.4, -2.2 (multiple columns)
- Current account balance, excl. transfers: -6.3 (2023 Act.), -5.0 (2024), -5.2, -3.4, -2.6, -2.1 (projection columns)
- Gross official reserves (weeks of imports): 8.4 (2023 Act.), 11.8 (2024), 12.8, 12.9 (projection columns)
- External debt: (value not listed in the excerpt)
- Debt service in percent of government revenue: 7.6 (2023 Act.), 7.4 (2024)
- Sources for table: Congolese authorities and IMF staff estimates and projections.
International Monetary Fund press release No. 25/439, December 19, 2025.