![]() Ensuring macroeconomic stability and debt sustainability in the near term will require closing the large fiscal gap remaining in the current fiscal year and pursuing a prudent monetary policy, including sustainably bolstering international reserves. ![]() “The authorities have taken determined steps since the recent months to restore fiscal discipline and rein in monetary growth. The authorities’ commitment to work with international partners to ensure that part of the disbursement will provide immediate humanitarian assistance to address food insecurity is welcome. Looking ahead, emergency financial assistance under the Rapid Credit Facility’s new food shock window will help address urgent balance-of-payments needs and mitigate the impact of elevated food prices. Performance under the Staff-Monitored Program was mixed but recent corrective actions have been taken. “Over the last three years, South Sudan has had to contend with overlapping economic shocks from COVID-19, historic flooding, and Russia’s war in Ukraine, which have compounded an already-difficult economic and humanitarian situation driven by weak economic management and institutions. Kenji Okamura, Deputy Managing Director and Acting Chair, issued the following statement: The PMB also sets targets to safeguard priority social spending and public sector salaries.įollowing the Executive Board’s discussion, Mr. The PMB will guide policies that safeguard macroeconomic stability, ensure debt sustainability and provide a framework for the authorities to deepen and broaden public financial management (PFM) and governance reforms. The Board and Management welcomed the steady steps the authorities have taken since the Article IV Consultation in July 2022 to stabilize the economy, clear domestic salary arrears, mobilize additional non-oil revenue, and increase the transparency of public finances by publishing budget execution reports, oil revenue data, and the results of an independent stock-take of South Sudan’s external debts. The authorities also requested a Staff-Monitored Program and Program Monitoring with Board (PMB) involvement to build a track record of policy implementation, possibly paving the way to an IMF-supported Upper Credit Tranche (UCT)-quality program. Transparency in the use of the portion of the disbursement made available to the budget will be ensured through regular reports and an audit, which will be published. The authorities are committed to using resources transparently and intend to channel US$20 million of the disbursement through the existing systems of trusted development partners to provide immediate humanitarian assistance that addresses food insecurity. The disbursement is expected to provide South Sudan with fiscal space to address food insecurity while maintaining social and growth-enhancing spending as well as boosting reserves. A combination of flooding and the rising price of staples have exposed 8.3 million people (about two-thirds of the population) to acute food insecurity. Four consecutive years of intense flooding and the fallout from Russia’s war in Ukraine, on the heels of the COVID-19 pandemic, have exacerbated an already-dire humanitarian situation in South Sudan. Washington, DC : The Executive Board of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) today approved a disbursement of SDR 86.1 million (about US$114.8 million) under the Food Shock Window of the Rapid Credit Facility (RCF) to help South Sudan address urgent balance of payment needs arising from heightened food insecurity. Its implementation is aimed at helping the authorities establish a track record toward an IMF-supported upper credit tranche (UCT) program. Concurrently, the Executive Board discussed a 9-month Staff-Monitored Program with Board Involvement (PMB) for South Sudan, which was approved by the Management of the IMF on Februand assessed that South Sudan’s policy program is sufficiently robust to meet the key objectives of the PMB. ![]()
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