(2 minutes read)
· The executive board of the IMF approved a disbursement of
US$363.27 million under the Rapid Credit Facility (RCF) to help the
Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) address the critical balance of
payments situation on account of the COVID-19 pandemic.
· Apart from dampening domestic revenue mobilization and
causing export constraints, which have depleted foreign exchange
reserves, there are fallouts in the manufacturing and services
sectors
· The Banque Centrale du Congo (BCC) has taken several
liquidity support measures to pump in liquidity.
The executive board of the IMF approved a disbursement of US$363.27
million under the Rapid Credit Facility (RCF) to help the Democratic
Republic of Congo (DRC) address the critical balance of payments
situation on account of the COVID-19 pandemic. The funds allocated
will help DRC to respond quickly, scaling up health-related spending
and deploying a series of containment and mitigation measures.
The national response plan of DRC includes an increase in
health-related spending and putting in place measures to help contain
the spread of the disease. Apart from dampening domestic revenue
mobilization and causing export constraints, which have depleted
foreign exchange reserves, there are fallouts in the manufacturing
and services sectors. Employment has taken a drastic dip, particularly
in the informal sector. The government is taking a number of steps to
increase the liquidity in the system by way of allocating more
resources aimed at ingraining dynamism in industry and agriculture.
The Banque Centrale du Congo (BCC) has taken several liquidity support
measures to pump in liquidity. Part of the resource gap will be met
through IMF funding. But the big question is how the cash challenged
country will meet additional resources, which are committed for
sectors like healthcare, manufacturing etc.
