During a press briefing in Kinshasa on Friday, June 21, the governor of the Central Bank of Congo (BCC), Deogratias Mutombo Mwana Nyembo, said he was confident about the continuation of the cooperation between the DRC and the IMF . He indicated, as to a likely conclusion of a formal program, that it could only come after the review and evaluation of the working report presented to the IMF’s Executive Board by the IMF. team who stayed in the DRC.

Once the formal program has been concluded, the request may be formulated by the DRC government, if it so wishes, in the sense of seeking support from the Government Economic Program (PEG). This may make the 2020 finance law eligible for support from the International Monetary Fund (IMF).

With the exception of IMF support, the state budget for budget year 2020 can also benefit from the support of other partners if necessary. But only the IMF’s budget support to the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) can only come in the third quarter of 2019.

In the meantime, the IMF team of experts who have been in the DRC from May 22 to June 5, is preparing its working report to be submitted to the IMF’s Executive Board in the third quarter of this year for further consideration.

« It is true that the DRC is waiting for the review and evaluation of this report in the third quarter of 2019 by the Board of Directors of the International Monetary Fund. It is at the end of this evaluation that the DRC will begin negotiations with this institution for the conclusion of the Government’s Economic Program that will be supported by IMF resources. It goes without saying that when you have a program supported by IMF resources, it is not just these resources. Other financial partners such as the World Bank, the World Bank, the African Development Bank, the European Union and others can also accompany the country in this context, « said the governor of the BCC.

As a reminder, IMF experts began Wednesday, 22 May in Kinshasa, consultations under Article IV. These consultations focused mainly on priority areas to allow IMF experts to have a clear picture of the state of the national economy as well as public finances of the DRC.

The five main thrusts that were the subject of these consultations concern the strengthening of the institutional governance framework; domestic resource mobilization; management of government capital expenditures; public debt management and the business climate.

Among the recommendations resulting from the mission were the improvement of the business climate and the promotion of private sector investments; streamlining tax expenditures and maximizing non-mining mining revenues; greater transparency in the management of natural resources.

Raising the level of foreign exchange reserves; and strengthening controls based on risk and the quality of financial data are also among the recommendations made by the World Bank team.

Olivier KAMO