Abstract
GABON
Title Page
GABON
FIRST AND SECOND REVIEWS OF THE EXTENDED ARRANGEMENT UNDER THE EXTENDED FUND FACILITY, REQUESTS FOR WAIVERS FOR NONOBSERVANCE OF PERFORMANCE CRITERIA, AND ESTABLISHMENT OF PERFORMANCE CRITERIA—SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION
June 23, 2022
Approved By
Vitaliy Kramarenko (AFR) and Geremia Palomba (SPR)
Prepared by the African Department
This supplement provides an update on the status of the prior actions (PAs) and the authorities’ efforts to clear external arrears, based on new information that has become available since the staff report was issued to the Board. The clearance of external arrears to private creditors removes the need for a financing assurance review to be completed.
The update does not alter the thrust of the staff appraisal.
1. The authorities have implemented the three PAs for the first and second reviews under the EFF Arrangement:
Supplementary 2022 Budget. Following Cabinet approval, the government submitted on June 9 the supplementary 2022 budget to the Parliament in line with IMF staff recommendations. As agreed with staff, the revised budget projects the non-oil primary deficit at 6.2 percent of non-oil GDP, with non-oil revenue and grants at 16.7 percent of non-oil GDP and total primary expenditure at 22.9 percent of non-oil GDP.
Publication of the names and nationalities of beneficial owners awarded public procurement contracts. On June 17, 2022, the authorities issued a ministerial decree requiring that legal persons bidding on public procurement contracts declare the names and nationalities of their beneficial owners, and that those names and nationalities be published online for all legal persons awarded such contracts.
Publication on the website of the government of the results of the audit for all COVID-19 related expenditures. The audit reports of all COVID-related expenditure for 2020–21 have been published on the Ministry of Economy and Recovery website on June 17, 2022. Staff will discuss the results of the audit with the authorities and their action plan going forward in the context of the next program review.4
2. The authorities have cleared external arrears as committed in their MEFP. They have cleared all external arrears with multilateral, bilateral and commercial non-insured creditors as of June 14, 2022 (CFAF 11.09 billion) and remained current on their external debt service since then.
3. As Gabon no longer has external arrears to private creditors, completion of a financing assurances review is no longer required.