Chad Request For A Three Year Arrangement Under The Extended Credit Facility Press Release Staff Report And Statement By The Executive Director For Chad

This paper discusses Chad’s Request for a Three-Year Arrangement under the Extended Credit Facility (ECF) and Cancellation of the Current Arrangement. The main elements of the program are the reestablishment of debt sustainability through external debt restructuring, achieving gradual fiscal adjustment by maintaining a tight spending envelope, better mobilizing non-oil revenue, and creating space for domestic arrears clearance. The aim is to stabilize the fiscal position and help achieve a durable economic recovery while supporting regional stabilization efforts. Strengthening public financial management and diversifying the economy are expected to support the efforts to strengthen the fiscal position and boost the non-oil sector. The IMF staff supports the authorities’ request for a new ECF arrangement.

The COVID-19 pandemic, the volatility in oil prices, heightened insecurity, and a looming food crisis due to climate change have severely stressed an already vulnerable Chadian economy. The two Rapid Credit Facility (RCF) disbursements in April and July 2020 allowed Chad to meet its immediate financing and urgent balance of payment needs in the early stages of the pandemic. The authorities have requested Fund assistance under the ECF to support their post-COVID recovery and their plan to reduce debt vulnerabilities through a combination of a debt workout and a multi-year fiscal consolidation program. However, due to the death of the president following a resurgence of fighting with rebel groups in April and the delayed delivery of donor support, the treasury situation has become extremely tight, threatening social stability.

The COVID-19 pandemic, the volatility in oil prices, heightened insecurity, and a looming food crisis due to climate change have severely stressed an already vulnerable Chadian economy. The two Rapid Credit Facility (RCF) disbursements in April and July 2020 allowed Chad to meet its immediate financing and urgent balance of payment needs in the early stages of the pandemic. The authorities have requested Fund assistance under the ECF to support their post-COVID recovery and their plan to reduce debt vulnerabilities through a combination of a debt workout and a multi-year fiscal consolidation program. However, due to the death of the president following a resurgence of fighting with rebel groups in April and the delayed delivery of donor support, the treasury situation has become extremely tight, threatening social stability.

The COVID-19 pandemic, the volatility in oil prices, heightened insecurity, and a looming food crisis due to climate change have severely stressed an already vulnerable Chadian economy. The two Rapid Credit Facility (RCF) disbursements in April and July 2020 allowed Chad to meet its immediate financing and urgent balance of payment needs in the early stages of the pandemic. The authorities have requested Fund assistance under the ECF to support their post-COVID recovery and their plan to reduce debt vulnerabilities through a combination of a debt workout and a multi-year fiscal consolidation program. However, due to the death of the president following a resurgence of fighting with rebel groups in April and the delayed delivery of donor support, the treasury situation has become extremely tight, threatening social stability.

The current ECF arrangement (access of 160 percent of quota or SDR 224.32 million) was approved on June 30, 2017 in the context of a very difficult and deteriorating social, economic, and financial situation. The crisis was precipitated by the oil price and security shocks that began in 2014, and the heavy burden of external commercial debt with Glencore. The restructuring of this debt in June 2018 paved the way for the completion of the second review in July 2018. Chad’s stability is key for the regional security situation given its regional peace-keeping efforts.

This paper discusses Chad’s Third and Fourth Reviews Under the Extended Credit Facility (ECF) arrangement, and Requests for Waivers of Nonobservance of Performance Criteria (PCs), Augmentation of Access, Extension of the Current Arrangement, and Rephasing of Disbursements. The authorities in Chad have implemented substantial fiscal adjustment to balance the budget and contain the accumulation of arrears. Nonetheless, liquidity conditions remain very tight, and social tensions have risen recently owing to the large cuts in current spending. IMF staff supports the completion of the third and fourth reviews under the ECF arrangement, the waivers of nonobservance of PCs on the nonaccumulation of domestic arrears and nonaccumulation of external arrears.

For most post-conflict countries, the transition to peace is daunting. In countries with high-value natural resources – including oil, gas, diamonds, other minerals, and timber –the stakes are unusually high and peacebuilding is especially challenging. Resource-rich post-conflict countries face both unique problems and opportunities. They enter peacebuilding with an advantage that distinguishes them from other war-torn societies: access to natural resources that can yield substantial revenues for alleviating poverty, compensating victims, creating jobs, and rebuilding the country and the economy. Evidence shows, however, that this opportunity is often wasted. Resource-rich countries do not have a better record in sustaining peace. In fact, resource-related conflicts are more likely to relapse. Focusing on the relationship between high-value natural resources and peacebuilding in post-conflict settings, this book identifies opportunities and strategies for converting resource revenues to a peaceful future. Its thirty chapters draw on the experiences of forty-one researchers and practitioners – as well as the broader literature – and cover a range of key issues, including resource extraction, revenue sharing and allocation, and institution building. The book provides a concise theoretical and practical framework that policy makers, researchers, practitioners, and students can use to understand and address the complex interplay between the management of high-value resources and peace. High-Value Natural Resources and Post-Conflict Peacebuilding is part of a global initiative led by the Environmental Law Institute (ELI), the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), the University of Tokyo, and McGill University to identify and analyze lessons in natural resource management and post-conflict peacebuilding. The project has generated six edited books of case studies and analyses, with contributions from practitioners, policy makers, and researchers. Other books in the series address land; water; livelihoods; assessing and restoring natural resources; and governance.

This paper discusses the common policies of the member countries of the Central African Economic and Monetary Community (CEMAC). CEMAC’s medium-term outlook remains challenging. It foresees a gradual improvement in the economic and financial situation in the region, assuming full implementation of policy commitments by CEMAC member states and regional institutions. Policies to diversify the economies by improving the business environment, including through enhanced governance and transparency, would support higher growth in the medium term. The monetary policy stance would be kept tight as needed to support external stability and reserves accumulation.