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Chad secures $49.9 m IMF poverty-reduction loan

WASHINGTON: The International Monetary Fund(IMF) said on Friday it agreed to lend Chad $49.9 million for poverty reduction and economic growth, and urged the North African country to boost efforts to improve its fiscal condition.

The fund said in a statement the three-year loan will be paid in six months instalments, with the first payment of about $7.1 million available immediately.

Chad completed a similar three-year IMF structural adjustment programme last April. The fund said the nation had performed satisfactorily under the previous programmes despite occasional problems.

In its statement, the fund stressed the need for Chad to build on the fiscal foundations laid under the previous loan programme. The key challenges for Chad, as it attempts to improve its fiscal position, are strengthening the use of its revenue, containing non-essential spending while also providing adequate resources to social programmes such as health and education.

The fund praised Chad's commitment to reforming its cotton sector and encouraged more work on privatisation, strengthening the judicial and regulatory systems while also enhancing transparency and accountability.

"Chad's stated commitment to poverty reduction ... is commendable," said Shigemitsu Sugisaki, deputy managing director of the IMF. "The importance of this process can not be underestimated and the authorities are urged to proceed quickly with the poverty reduction strategy."

According to World Bank data, almost two thirds of Chad's population live in abject poverty.-Reuters