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The Democratic Republic of Congo has concluded a program with the International Monetary Fund (IMF), the first step in the disbursement of a credit of 1.5 billion dollars spread over three years, with transparency requirements in the mining sector, official sources said.
“My government has obtained the approval of the IMF program granting an extended credit facility to the tune of 1.5 billion dollars,” wrote Prime Minister Jean-Michel Sama Lukonde.
“This is a great step forward to support our reforms. Continuing to improve the living conditions of our people remains our priority,” he added.
“The first disbursement is immediate: the equivalent of 217 million dollars,” said Gabriel Leost, IMF resident representative in the DRC. There will then be “successive disbursements which will be linked to what is called program review”, i.e. six-monthly assessments of the proper execution of the program, he explained.
These assessments will be based on three commitments made by the Congolese government relating to revenue mobilization and the execution of essential and capital expenditures; the improvement of monetary policy; and the fight against corruption, particularly through “the publication of both past (mining) contracts that have not yet been published and the publication of future contracts,” Leost said.
The goal of the program is to catalyze further financing and attract private investment.
A fragile giant in Central Africa with immense resources, especially mining, the majority of the DRC’s population lives on $1.25 a day, according to the UN. The DRC is ranked 170th out of 179 countries in Transparency International’s 2020 ranking.