The International Monetary Fund (IMF) Thursday noted Angola’s “progress” during the implementation of its financial assistance programme for Africa’s largest Portuguese-language country and said that it was willing to provide it with technical support as part of its economic diversification agenda.
The executive director of the IMF’s board of directors for Africa, Willie Nakundyada, speaking in Luanda, noted Angola’s progress, particularly in the areas of fighting inflation and currency adjustment, after the financial assistance programme that ended last December.
Nakundyada, who is part of the joint IMF mission working in Angola for the next two weeks on a day to monitor the framework of the post-financing programme, stressed the need for the visit to assess the country’s current macroeconomic framework.
“Today’s meeting was initial, as part of routine fact-finding visits, to assess the macroeconomic framework of the country, in several policy areas and to see how the IMF can continue to provide technical support and the discussion was initial,” he said, adding that over the next two weeks the team would “see how the Angolan economy is doing, how the IMF can help and how the authorities should position themselves within the framework of ongoing reforms.”
Speaking at the end of a meeting with Angola’s minister of finance and other government officials, held at the Ministry of Finance, in the centre of Luanda, Nakundyada also signalled the satisfaction of the body he represents with the reforms now underway in Angola.
“Our task is to listen to both sides – the IMF in the country and the Angolan authorities – and know if the discussions are in line with the objectives,” he said. “However, we are satisfied with the progress that Angola has made especially during the [financial assistance] programme.”
He highlighted in particular the fight against inflation and the adjustments made to the foreign exchange market as notable measures that “are having results” as required.
“Look at the IMF as a doctor that needs information from the patient,” he said. “What will happen in these weeks is that the IMF will request data from the authorities and when it has the data it will have a picture and make recommendations.”
Asked about the possibility of Angola’s requesting a new funding programme, the IMF executive director said that “at the moment the Angolan authorities are satisfied with the outcome of the programme that ended in December of last year.
“Taking into account the agenda of diversification of the economy, they are looking at technical support for reforms on the structural side of the economy,” Nakundyada stressed. “At the moment the [Angolan] authorities are not looking for financial support.”
