Negotiations underway between the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and Mozambique could pave the way to the country getting a loan, Alex Vines, head of the Africa program at London’s Chatham House think tank, has said.
“The IMF was in Mozambique for conversations about, at least, preparing a programme,” he told journalists on the sidelines of a conference on Angola in Lisbon.
“There won’t be any loans yet, but it is a step ahead to have a technical programme that focusses on fiscal transparency and that prepares the ground for there to be, perhaps, discussions about a longer-term loan. And that means progress for Mozambique,” the analyst added.
Vines also said discussions were moving on from the hidden debt scandal and that there was also progress in negotiations with creditors.
His comments come after the IMF recently presented its latest report in Mozambique’s capital Maputo on economic perspectives for sub-Saharan Africa.
The IMF suspended financial aid to the country in 2016 following the discovery of debts secretly endorsed by the previous Mozambican government on behalf of public companies linked to fishing and maritime safety.
The World Bank expects the economy of Mozambique to grow 3.3% this year, lower than the estimates from the government (4.1%) and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) of 3.5%.
Source: Lusa via Club Of Mozambique
