Mozambique president to cooperate on debt audit - IMF

President of Mozambique Filipe Nyusi on Thursday pledged to work with the International Monetary Fund on the terms of an international audit of the country’s dept.

Nyusi recently met with IMF Managing Director, Christine Lagarde in Washington.

The president reassured the international institution and investors over a debt scandal involving more than $2 billion in secret loans that came to light this year.

The IMF has suspended lending to the South African country, one of the world’s poorest, insisting on external scrutiny as a means to resuming financial aid to the country and decisive efforts to improving transparency.

The international institution also welcomed the initial steps being taken on the agreed reform and policies and stressed the need for further policy action at stabilizing the country’s economy.

In particular an international and independent audit of the companies that were funded under the loans disclosed in April 2016.

Debt crisis and aid suspension has hit Mozambique hard, with its currency losing nearly 40 percent against the dollar since January.

With foreign debt soaring toward 100 percent of gross domestic product, Mozambique’s government has been forced to revise its 2016 budgets which currently show a deficit equal to 11.3 percent of GDP.