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· The IMF Executive Board approved US$130 million (SDR 95.680
million) to Mauritania under the Rapid Credit Facility to help the
country to grapple with the COVID-19 pandemic.
· The fragile economy of the country is projected to shrink by
2 percent this year. Because of the heavy spending by the government
on healthcare and food items, the fiscal deficit could also rise to
3.4 percent of GDP.
The IMF Executive Board approved US$130 million (SDR 95.680 million)
to Mauritania under the Rapid Credit Facility to help the country to
grapple with the COVID-19 pandemic. The IMF’s emergency support will
provide resources for health services and social protection programs
of the country, besides providing a cushion for its balance of
payments position, which is greatly stressed. it is estimated that the
country may need close to US$ 370 million to overcome the financial
crisis caused by the pandemic.
The economic and social impact of the crisis is substantially high in
Mauritania. The fragile economy of the country is projected to shrink
by 2 percent this year. Because of the heavy spending by the
government on healthcare and food items, the fiscal deficit could
also rise to 3.4 percent of GDP.
The IMF funding has come with the usual conditions , such as
reporting of resources deployed for the emergency response, auditing
of crisis-mitigation spending once the crisis abates, publishing the
results and importantly, continuance of economic reforms. IMF also
says that additional concessional and grant financing from the
international community will be critical to close the remaining
resource gap and help Mauritania respond effectively to the COVID-19
crisis.
