The International Monetary Fund (IMF) Monday approved a three-year Extended Credit Facility (ECF) arrangement for Liberia in an amount equivalent to the Special Drawing Right (SDR) 51.68 million (about US$78.9 million), an IMF statement said.
The statement said the overall amount of the programme represents 40 percent of Liberia’s quota in the IMF and approval enables the immediate disbursement of SDR 7.382 million (about US$11.3 million).
”The IMF’s Executive Board also concluded the 2012 Article IV consultations with Liberia, which will be detailed in a Public Information Notice in due course,’’ it stated.
The statement quoted Mr. Min Zhu, IMF’s Deputy Managing Director, as saying Liberia made strong macroeconomic gains under the recent Extended Credit Facility (ECF) arrangement supported by the Fund.
He noted that economic growth has been robust, inflation has been largely contained, international reserves have been built up and external debt has been reduced through substantial debt relief.
”However, further reforms are needed to promote broad-based growth, reduce poverty, and create jobs, particularly for the youth,’’ he said.
The new ECF arrangement aims to support the authorities’ second poverty reduction strategy. The policy priorities focus on safeguarding macroeconomic stability and laying the basis for faster and diversified growth through a substantial scaling up of infrastructure and social
investments.
