"For Angola, according to estimates from the financial department, the reform of the surcharge policy implies savings, over the next fiscal year, that is, between May 2025 and April 2026, of 36.5 million units of Special Rights of Withdraw, more or less 48.5 million dollars of initial savings", which is equivalent to 45.4 million euros at the current price, said Victor Lledo.
Speaking to Lusa following the announcement of the new policy on these surcharges, announced at the annual meetings of the IMF and the World Bank, in October in Washington, the resident representative stressed that in addition to savings next year, Angola will also benefit from a reduction payment time, which goes from 2028 to 2026.
"Angola would have to pay these surcharges until 2028, which is the year until which the rate would remain above the limit of 187.5 percent of the quota, but as now it is enough to drop 300 percent, the country is exempt from payment, or in other words, it is paid for a shorter period, and in 2026 it stops paying surcharges", added the resident representative of the IMF in Angola.
IMF estimates, he highlighted, point to "a 57.4 percent reduction in payments compared to the old policy".
Surcharges are additional fees on top of the interest rates and profit margins that the IMF charges on its loans, and are imposed on countries that owe the IMF an amount well above their quota, which is each country's contribution to the IMF.
These surcharges have been the target of much criticism from activists and non-governmental organizations, who argue that charging these amounts to the most indebted countries further harms countries that have more financial difficulties.
At the beginning of the Annual Meetings, the IMF's executive director announced that the board of directors had approved a board proposal to improve the conditions under which countries pay this surcharge, reducing not only the amounts, but also improving the conditions under which they apply these payments.
"The new policy was, first, to reduce the amount paid in surcharges, and then to reduce the size of the quota on which the surcharges apply, from 19 percent to 18 percent", stressed the IMF representative in Angola, one of the countries that, according to activists and NGOs, was one of the most harmed by this policy.
In recent statements to Lusa, the Minister of Finance, Vera Daves de Sousa, said that the amount that Angola pays annually to the IMF is between 24 and 30 million dollars, that is, between 22.5 and 28.1 million euros.
"We pay between 24 and 30 million dollars per year; how much will be reduced, we are not yet sure, we are working with the IMF team to reach these numbers", said the governor.
Asked why the interest amount is in the order of millions of dollars, Vera Daves de Sousa said, referring to the financial adjustment program worth 4.5 billion dollars, ending in 2022: "It's because of the program we had, which had a considerable amount".
