IMF disburses over US$23m to Liberia
Monrovia, Liberia (PANA) - The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has disbursed US$23.4million to the Liberian government as the first tranche of the Fund's support program agreed early December under an external credit facility (ECF) with the West African nation.
On December 11, the IMF's executive board announced the approval of a four-year arrangement under the ECF for Liberia in the sum of US$213.6 million.
The money, the Fund said, was to "help the country restore macroeconomic stability, provide a foundation for sustainable growth, and address weaknesses in governance".
The payment, which was disclosed through an official statement released by Liberian Information Minister Lenn Eugene Nagbe on Saturday, indicated that the government of Liberia had already received the said amount.
The information minister noted that the disbursement showed that Liberia had met pre-requisite triggers and benchmarks, and was on course to meeting other conditions upon which further disbursements were based.
Nagbe also revealed that the IMF board, during the approval of the US$213.6 million under the ECF, extolled the reform policy under the George Weah-led government.
Meanwhile, Liberian Minister of Finance and Development Planning Samuel Tweah has welcomed the latest development and given the assurance that the government would continue exerting every effort to ensure that it met all the stipulations of the program in an effort to revive the country's ailing economy.
The move by the government of Liberia to institute monetary reform policies recommended by the IMF has been tipped by many financial experts in and out of Liberia as the turning point in the Liberian economy, the statement observed.
-0- PANA PTK/RA 29Dec2019
