IMF lauds Senegal for strengthening economy, amending debt position

The IMF praised Senegal for acting to engage reforms to strengthen its economy, while also working with the IMF to clarify and amend it’s debt position after it uncovered misreporting of how much the African country owed creditors, Kozack said citing comments by the Fund’s First Deputy Managing Director Gita Gopinath.

The IMF, a key financier for the debt-laden country, froze disbursements on its program with Senegal last year after an audit under new President Bassirou Diomaye Faye found the previous administration had understated deficits, pushing its end-2023 debt ratio to roughly 100 per cent of GDP, versus the previously reported 74 per cent.

At the time, the IMF had a loan programme underway with Senegal to monitor the country's financial situation.

The IMF also praised efforts by Ghana to shore up its fiscal positions as it unveiled its budget proposals Thursday.

“With respect to the budget, here I can say, that, the IMF has welcomed the government's corrective actions, including a strong 2025 budget and an audit of payables to quantify and address the pre-election fiscal slippages. The authorities have recently implemented changes to their public financial management and public procurement acts. And this helps improve the overall fiscal responsibility framework in Ghana. And the authorities have also adopted a strategy to address issues in the energy sector. I can add that the mid-year budget, review is fully in line with parameters and objectives of the IMF, supported program,” said Kozack.