The IMF is close to a new loan agreement with Senegal
The International Monetary Fund announced that significant progress has been made with Senegal regarding a new loan program agreement, at a time when the Fund continues an internal investigation to reveal the reasons for its failure to monitor billions of dollars in unreported debt, which raised questions about the transparency of financial data in the country, and audit mechanisms within the international institution.
Senegal is trying to control public debt levels, which the Fund said amounted to 132% of GDP at the end of 2024, after the current leadership revealed huge debts that were not announced by the previous administration.
The fund’s communications director, Julie Kozak, said in a statement that the two sides are working “intensely” To design the new program and the required procedures to address the root causes of hidden debts.
Although the Fund confirmed that Senegal faces “high debt risks,” it stressed Kozak stressed that the Senegalese government is the party that will make the decision on whether or not to begin restructuring its debts.
Kozak indicated that the Fund is also conducting an internal review to find out how these unreported debts were not discovered, while Senegal was benefiting from a financing program worth $1.8 billion, a program that was frozen last year.
She added that the Fund is conducting an internal review to understand how these gaps went undetected, and to strengthen guarantees in its procedures, explaining that the investigation includes reviewing data integrity frameworks, developing internal audit mechanisms to monitor any future imbalances, in addition to raising the efficiency of employee training.
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