"The credible steps the government has taken in the reforms have improved the chances of a sustainable economic recovery and this justifies the support the creditors have given to the authorities," writes analyst Irmgard Erasmus in a commentary on the International Monetary Fund's approval of the third review of the program and the increase in the amount of financial aid to Angola, sent to clients, and to which Lusa had access.
Last week the IMF board approved Angola's request for increased financial assistance, immediately disbursing a billion dollars and raising the program's total to almost 4.5 billion dollars.
"The board's decision allows for an immediate disbursement of one billion dollars to Angola and an increase of about 765 million dollars by the end of the program," to almost 4.5 billion dollars, the IMF then announced.
In the press release accompanying the announcement, the IMF explains that this third positive evaluation of the financial aid provided under the Extended Fund Facility allows for the disbursement of an additional one billion dollars, making up some 2.5 billion dollars already delivered since the signing of the agreement on 7 December 2018.
"The external shock caused by the covid-19 pandemic is a triple blow to Angola's economy in the form of lower external demand, reduced oil prices and a health crisis that hit Angola when the country was in recession four years ago, which will last another year," adds the analyst at NKC African Economics, the African branch of British Oxford Economics.
"Angola was succumbing to the burden of a public debt of tears, which should exceed 120 percent this year," wrote Irmgard Erasmus, considering that IMF support and debt restructuring under the Debt Service Suspension Initiative (DSSI) organized by the G20 "will help to meet external financing needs.
The Angolan authorities, the analyst concluded, "are delivering on promises to improve governance and external and fiscal sustainability," pointing to the conservative supplementary budget, monetary policy, and improvements for consumers and businesses as examples.
