Engagement
with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) through providing technical
assistance would help establish growth-friendly policies for Sub-Saharan
Africa, an official has said.
Speaking at an IMF meeting
recently in Washington DC, South African Finance minister Pravin Gordhan made
the remarks on behalf of sub-Saharan African countries that include Angola,
Botswana, Burundi, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Gambia, Kenya, Lesotho, Liberia, Malawi,
Mozambique, Namibia, Nigeria, Sierra Leone, Somalia, South Africa, South Sudan,
Sudan, Swaziland, Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia and Zimbabwe.
“The engagement with the Fund will help in establishing a
growth-friendly policy environment and rebuilding of policy buffers. As
economies in the region evolve to forward-looking monetary policy frameworks we
urge the Fund to provide technical assistance to support in smoothing the
transition, and in building sufficient capacities,” he said.
“We welcome the upcoming review
of the debt sustainability framework for low income countries to support in
maintaining sustainable debt in pursuit of growth-enhancing fiscal policies. In
addition to deepening structural reforms, infrastructure spending remains a key
priority in creating an enabling environment for private sector growth.”
Gordhan said prospects for the region are weaker and uneven due
to trade growth slowing, investment levels declining, continuing currency
depreciation, increasing inflationary pressures, and financial conditions have
tightened.
The IMF meeting was chaired by the governor of the Bank of
Mexico AgustÃn Carstens, who said the fund supported efforts to assist low
income countries in boosting their domestic resource mobilisation efforts.
“We support efforts to integrate capacity development and policy
advice more closely, in particular, plans to assist low-income countries in
boosting their domestic resource mobilisation efforts, alongside international
tax issues,” Carstens said.
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