<\/p>\n
The agreement requires approval from IMF Management and the Executive Board.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Approval would raise total disbursements under the Extended Credit Facility to approximately $53.9 million. \u201cI am pleased to announce that we have reached staff-level agreement with the Guinea-Bissau authorities,\u201d IMF Mission Chief Niko Hobdari said.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Guinea-Bissau\u2019s economy is projected to grow by 4.8% in 2026, supported by a successful cashew export campaign.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Cashew export volumes exceeded 2025 levels by nearly 12%, while stronger customs controls supported farmers\u2019 incomes and wider economic activity.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Inflation stood at minus 0.7% year-on-year in September despite higher international fuel prices. Lower food prices and controlled domestic fuel prices helped contain inflation.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
The fiscal deficit is projected to remain at 4.2% of gross domestic product in 2026, while public debt is expected to remain broadly unchanged at about 74%.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Compensation to fuel importers increased because government-controlled pump prices generated losses, but higher cashew revenue, lower foreign-financed project spending and tighter expenditure controls supported the fiscal position.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
The draft 2027 Budget seeks to preserve fiscal discipline while creating space for investment supporting economic growth and development.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
The IMF warned that adverse weather, weaker terms of trade, political instability and tighter financing conditions continued to threaten the outlook.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Guinea-Bissau has reduced the fiscal deficit from 8.2% of gross domestic product in 2023 to a projected 4.2% in 2026.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
The IMF said the programme had strengthened domestic revenue mobilisation, public financial management and debt management.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Future reforms should strengthen tax compliance, improve public investment implementation and address vulnerabilities in the financial sector.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Guinea-Bissau should also develop stronger social-assistance and safety-net programmes to reduce poverty. \u201cSustained fiscal discipline and prudent borrowing will be essential to preserve the fiscal consolidation gains and keep public debt on a firm downward trajectory,\u201d Hobdari said.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
–IMF\/ChannelAfrica–<\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":45135,"template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_members_access_role":[],"_members_access_error":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"news-type":[44],"class_list":["post-49983","news","type-news","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","news-type-finance","entry"],"acf":{"short_description":"Guinea-Bissau could receive a further $1.6 million after reaching a staff-level agreement with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) on the final review of the country\u2019s economic reform programme.","published_date":"","news_description":"Guinea-Bissau could receive a further $1.6 million after reaching a staff-level agreement with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) on the final review of the country\u2019s economic reform programme.","form_embed":"","author":"","image_caption":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news\/49983","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/news"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news\/49983\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":49985,"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news\/49983\/revisions\/49985"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/45135"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=49983"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"news-type","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news-type?post=49983"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}