"The economic rebound which started last year, has gathered steam, this year" said head of IMF Mission
October 05, 2022
The International Monetary Fund delegation, which has been in the country for the past 2 weeks, to carry out the third review of the economic reform programme, under the Extended Fund Facility has concluded its mission.
As it is customary, at the end of each mission, a press conference is held, and for this review, the same was held this afternoon.
The Head of the Mission, Mr. Calixte Ahokpossi, said in his opening statement, ‘the economic rebound which started last year, has gathered steam, and has been even stronger this year. Growth is going to be a little bit more robust than anticipated. Inflation has been relatively subdued this year.”
In his opening statement, the Minister for Finance, National Planning and Trade. Naadir Hassan noted that during the past two weeks, they have had ‘good discussions’ with the mission.
“All indicators and benchmarks set under the programme have been met and are positive. The economic growth for the year 2022, will be even better than projected, at 10.6%. This will probably be one of the best economic performance for Seychelles, and most probably for Africa as well.”
Both Minister Hassan and Mr. Ahokpossi, have nonetheless cautioned against downside risks, which could derail the positive growth.
“This country is small, and very sensitive to the internationals shocks, in that sense it is important for the government to keep on making progress in implementing the programme and implementing reforms so that can create buffers in the future”, noted Mr. Ahokpossi.
“Because of these risks, it is important that as a government we exercise discipline in spending”, said Minister Hassan.
Seychelles signed the EFF arrangement with IMF, in July 2021, for a sum of $105 million. Up to now IMF has disbursed $72 million.
For this year, an outstanding sum of $9.5 million is expected to be disbursed in December, with the remaining sum of $17 million to be disbursed in 2023.
To note, the fourth review will be undertaken in June 2023.
Click on the link below to access Mr. Ahokpossi's opening statement to journalists.
Read the full press release issued by the mission.