IMF says Haiti staff-monitored program may lead to loan deal
By David Lawder
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The Worldwide Financial Fund mentioned on Wednesday its administration had accepted a staff-monitored program for Haiti to determine a monitor file of coverage implementation that might result in an IMF-supported mortgage program.
The monitoring program, which doesn’t embody monetary help and doesn’t require Government Board approval, runs by way of Could 31, 2023, the IMF mentioned.
The IMF mentioned in a press release that shocks to the Caribbean nation, together with assassination of its president in 2021, the COVID-19 pandemic, an earthquake and a surge in gang violence have weakened institutional frameworks and the federal government’s administrative capability.
The monitoring program is geared toward enhancing governance in Haiti, the poorest nation within the Western Hemisphere, and strengthening its public funds and anti-corruption measures, the IMF mentioned.
It added gas subsidies have been absorbing no less than one-third of Haiti’s home revenues, crowding out spending on funding, well being and training.
The staff-monitored program (SMP) goals to rectify this and finish central financial institution financing of fiscal deficits which have been fueling inflation.
“Passable efficiency beneath the SMP may result in an IMF-supported program beneath a multi-year association that will require approval of the IMF’s Government Board,” the IMF mentioned in a press release on this system.
(Reporting by David Lawder; Modifying by Chris Reese and Sandra Maler)
