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Business and Economics > Public Finance

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Cover IMF Staff Country Reports
Ghana: Third Review Under the Arrangement Under the Extended Credit Facility, Request for Modification of Performance Criteria, and Financing Assurances Review-Press Release; Staff Report; and Statement by the Executive Director for Ghana
International Monetary Fund. African Dept.
This page presents Ghana’s Third Review under the Arrangement under the Extended Credit Facility, Request for Modification of Performance Criteria, and Financing Assurances Review. Ghana’s performance under the program has been generally satisfactory, and reform efforts are paying off. Good progress has been made on debt restructuring. Growth is recovering rapidly, inflation has declined, although at a slower pace, and the fiscal and external positions have continued to improve. Steadfast implementation of the policy and reform agenda, including before and after the upcoming general elections, remains essential to fully restore macroeconomic stability and debt sustainability. The Ghanaian authorities have continued to make remarkable headways on their public debt restructuring. After successfully restructuring domestic debt last year and reaching agreement on a Memorandum of Understanding with Ghana’s Official Creditors Committee under the G20 Common Framework in June 2024, the government has completed the exchange of its Eurobonds at conditions consistent with program parameters. The authorities have taken appropriate actions to ensure implementation of banks’ recapitalization plans and start recapitalizing state-owned banks.
Keywords:
Ghana Financial sector fund; Policy adjustment; flagship program; cash management framework; tenacious implementation; Debt restructuring; Energy sector; Debt sustainability analysis; Global; Middle East
Cover IMF Staff Country Reports
Sierra Leone: 2024 Article IV Consultation and Request for a 38-Month Arrangement Under the Extended Credit Facility-Press Release; Staff Report; Staff Statement; and Statement by the Executive Director for Sierra Leone
International Monetary Fund. African Dept.
This paper presents Sierra Leone’s 2024 Article IV Consultation and Request for a 38-Month Arrangement under the Extended Credit Facility (ECF). The ECF-supported program will help Sierra Leone restore stability by bolstering debt sustainability, addressing fiscal dominance, bringing down inflation and rebuilding reserves; support inclusive growth through reforms and targeted social spending; confront corruption, and strengthen governance, institutions, and the rule of law. The new ECF arrangement integrates well with the National Development Plan 2024–30 in addressing these challenges. It aims to tighten fiscal policy by enhancing revenue mobilization, boosting spending efficiency, and strengthening public financial management and debt management. Monetary policy will remain appropriately tight, while maintaining a flexible exchange rate, and strengthening financial sector oversight and regulation, and building a strong financial safety net. The ECF arrangement will also support inclusive growth through targeted social spending and structural reforms, including by promoting gender equality, strengthening customs administration, building a strong social safety net, and bolstering governance, institutions, and the rule of law.
Keywords:
staff appraisal; cabinet minute; IMF staff representative; BSL rate; review of bank; Arrears; Budget planning and preparation; Global; Africa
Cover Regional Economic Outlook, Sub-Saharan Africa, October 2024
Regional Economic Outlook, Sub-Saharan Africa, October 2024
Reforms amid Great Expectations
International Monetary Fund. African Dept.

Abstract

Sub-Saharan African countries are implementing difficult and much needed reforms to restore macroeconomic stability, and while overall imbalances have started to narrow, the picture is varied. Policymakers face three main hurdles. First, regional growth, at a projected 3.6 percent in 2024, is generally subdued and uneven, although it is expected to recover modestly next year to 4.2 percent. Second, financing conditions continue to be tight. Third, the complex interplay of poverty, scarce opportunities, and weak governance--compounded by a higher cost of living and short-term hardships linked to macroeconomic adjustment--are fueling social frustration. Within this environment, policymakers face a difficult balancing act in striving for macroeconomic stability while also working to address development needs and ensure that reforms are socially and politically acceptable. Protecting the most vulnerable from the costs of adjustment and realizing reforms that create sufficient jobs will be critical to mobilize public support.

Keywords:
Sub-Saharan Africa; Fiscal consolidation; Policy adjustment; Structural reforms; Macroeconomic imbalances; Growth; Inflation; Funding squeeze; Poverty; Governance; Social acceptability of reforms; Political pressures; Job creation; IMF staff calculation; IMF financing arrangement; headline inflation; balancing act; financing constraint; countries in Sub-Saharan Africa; Government debt management; Emerging and frontier financial markets; Global; Africa
Cover Policy Papers
Supplement to 2018 Guidance Note on the Bank-Fund Debt Sustainability Framework for Low Income Countries
International Monetary Fund. Strategy, Policy, & Review Department
and
World Bank
This Supplement provides additional guidance to IMF and World Bank staff on the implementation of the Bank-Fund Debt Sustainability Framework for Low Income Countries (LIC-DSF) approved in 2017 by the IMF and World Bank Boards. It complements the 2018 Bank-Fund Guidance Note on the LIC-DSF. Since the publication of the 2018 Guidance Note, several issues have increased in significance, requiring more tailored guidance on the implementation of the LIC-DSF to address these issues, including: • Greater prominence of risks from climate change. • Further increase in borrowing on commercial terms and in domestic markets. • Increased number and complexity of debt restructurings. This Supplement to the 2018 Guidance Note on the LIC-DSF provides further guidance on how to address these issues within the current framework. All aspects of the 2018 LIC-DSF Guidance Note remain in effect, except as modified in this Supplement.
Keywords:
climate change; Climate finance; Debt sustainability; Debt sustainability analysis; Domestic Public Debt; Environment; External Public Debt; Stress testing; IMF poverty reduction; IMF resilience; transparency policy; WB country climate; burden indicator; Domestic debt; Debt restructuring; Global; Pacific Islands
Cover IMF Working Papers
Managing Foreign Exchange Rate Risk: Capacity Development for Public Debt Managers in Emerging Market and Low-Income Countries
Thordur Jonasson
,
Sheheryar Malik
,
Kay Chung
, and
Michael G. Papaioannou
This paper presents some sound practices for foreign-currency risk management in developing countries and outlines instruments for managing sovereign debt portfolio currency exposures. Adoption of a debt management strategy with well-defined targets for foreign exchange risk is a critical element of public debt risk management. To this end, public debt managers often need to face with complex strategic and operational matters related to public debt hedging practices, including the use of derivatives. In this context, we highlight the main institutional challenges in the management of foreign exchange risk in sovereign debt portfolios and discuss the overall implementation of a foreign exchange risk-management strategy.
Keywords:
exchange rate risk risk management; debt portfolio; public debt manager; currency exposure; risk-management strategy; Government debt management; Debt management; Currencies; Exchange rate risk; Foreign currency debt; Asia and Pacific; Sub-Saharan Africa; Middle East; North Africa; Central Asia; Africa
Cover Policy Papers
Macroeconomic Developments and Prospects For Low-Income Countries—2024
International Monetary Fund
and
World Bank
The outlook for Low-Income Countries (LICs) is gradually improving, but they face persistent macroeconomic vulnerabilities, including liquidity challenges due to high debt service. There is significant heterogeneity among LICs: the poorest and most fragile countries have faced deep scarring from the pandemic, while those with diversified economies and Frontier Markets are faring better. Achieving inclusive growth and building resilience are essential for LICs to converge with more advanced economies and meet the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Building resilience will also be critical in the context of a more shock-prone world. This requires both decisive domestic actions, including expanding and better targeting Social Safety Nets (SSNs), and substantial external support, including adequate financing, policy advice, capacity development and, where needed, debt relief. The Fund is further stepping up its support through targeted policy advice, capacity building, and financing.
Keywords:
Low-Income Countries; Heterogeneity; Debt vulnerability; Resilience building; Inclusive growth towards SDGs; Financing needs and external support; Social Safety Nets; poverty rate; means testing; poverty gap; aggregate poverty gap; SSNS spending; prospects in low-income countries; poverty threshold exit poverty; reform scenario; transparency policy; FAD financing tool; financial support; Poverty reduction; Household consumption; Inflation; Global; Sub-Saharan Africa
Cover Technical Notes and Manuals
A Framework for Monitoring of and Reporting for External Project Loans in Developing Countries
Emre Balibek
,
Guy T Anderson
, and
Kieran McDonald
To produce timely and accurate debt reports at the central government level, it is essential to have a sound legal, administrative, and operational framework in place for debt data compilation, reconciliation, accounting, monitoring, and reporting. This note focuses on the arrangements for external project-based debt, which present distinctive challenges in debt reporting particularly in low-income and developing countries. The discussion complements existing literature and guidance on debt transparency by focusing on stages prior to the production of debt reports. The note also identifies the links between the management of project loans and other public financial management (PFM) processes, such as public investment management, budget preparation, fiscal and financial reporting. It shows that a comprehensive approach that considers these linkages can improve efficiency and transparency in fiscal and debt management. Although the focus is on the central government’s debt obligations, the ideas can be extended to cover government-guaranteed loans and public sector debt in general.
Keywords:
public debt management; public debt transparency; debt reporting; fiscal transparency; external debt; project loans; public investment management; maturity status template; debt transparency; core loan term; IMF Library; loan disbursement advice; Government debt management; Loans; Debt service; Global
Cover IMF Working Papers
The Legal Foundations of Public Debt Transparency: Aligning the Law with Good Practices
Karla Vasquez
,
Kika Alex-Okoh
,
Alissa Ashcroft
,
Alessandro Gullo
,
Olya Kroytor
,
Yan Liu
,
Mia Pineda
, and
Ron Snipeliski
Debt opacity burdens the public and can exacerbate debt vulnerabilities in many countries. Both low-income and developing countries and emerging market economies have critical gaps in debt transparency, and the implementation of international standards and guidelines has lagged. The paper surveys the legal frameworks of sixty jurisdictions and reveals the critical weaknesses that hinder debt transparency, which include weak reporting obligations, limited coverage of public debt, inadequate monitoring, unclear borrowing and delegation processes, unfettered confidentiality arrangements and weak accountability mechanisms. Because laws entrench practices and bind the discretion of policy makers and debt managers alike, subjecting them to public scrutiny, legal reform is a necessary part of any solution to the problem of hidden debt, though it may entail a difficult and time intensive process in many jurisdictions.
Keywords:
sovereign debt; transparency; disclosure; legal institutions; debt transparency; debt opacity; statistics guide; debt bulletin; debt manager; address debt vulnerability; debt Registry; Government debt management; Debt management; Securities; Middle East and Central Asia; Global; Asia and Pacific
Cover IMF Staff Country Reports
Ghana: 2023 Article IV Consultation, First Review Under the Extended Credit Facility Arrangement Under the Extended Credit Facility, Request for Modification of Performance Criteria, and Financing Assurances Review-Press Release; Staff Report; Staff Supplement; and Statement by the Executive Director for Ghana
International Monetary Fund. African Dept.
This paper presents Ghana’s 2023 Article IV Consultation, First Review under the Extended Credit Facility Arrangement under the Extended Credit Facility, Request for Modification of Performance Criteria, and Financing Assurances Review. Ghana’s performance under the program has been strong. All quantitative performance criteria for the first review and almost all indicative targets and structural benchmarks were met. The authorities’ reforms are bearing fruit, and signs of economic stabilization are emerging. Growth in 2023 has proven resilient, inflation has declined, and the fiscal and external positions have improved. Progress is also being made on debt restructuring, with the domestic debt exchange completed over the summer and an agreement recently reached on the restructuring of official bilateral debt. Sound policies and reforms should foster a recovery and further reduce inflation over the medium term. Downside risks include slippages in program execution, delays in restructuring debt, and deterioration in the external environment.
Keywords:
monetary policy consultation; inflation data release; Ghana team; staff appraisal; economic activity data; flagship program; Debt restructuring; Domestic debt; Debt sustainability; Global; Africa
Cover Technical Notes and Manuals
IMF Engagement on Health Spending Issues in Surveillance and Program Work
Mauricio Soto
,
Geremia Palomba
,
Carolina Bloch
,
Nick Carroll
,
Tohid Atashbar
,
Deeksha Kale
,
Baoping Shang
,
Kiichi Tokuoka
,
Ruud de Mooij
, and
Guillaume Chabert
IMF country teams have become increasingly engaged on health spending issues in surveillance and program work, and more so since the COVID-19 pandemic. The primary objectives of health spending are to improve health outcomes and provide protection to households against high financial costs of health care. The Fund’s engagement on health spending issues is guided by an assessment of its macro-criticality, with the scope and purpose of engagement varying across countries and depending on whether it occurs in surveillance or program contexts. This technical note discusses how to assess the macro-criticality of health spending and reviews appropriate policy responses. The design and implementation of macro-critical health reforms often require specific sectoral knowledge and experience. Thus, this note emphasizes the importance of collaborating with development partners on health policy issues.
Keywords:
Fiscal Policy; Health spending; Spending adequacy; Spending Efficiency; Fiscal Sustainability; policy reform; data IMF Library; IMF engagement; policy option; health system; Health care spending; Health care; Health care reform; Global