Simon Ateba is Chief White House Correspondent for Today News Africa covering President Joe Biden, Vice President Kamala Harris, U.S. government, UN, IMF, World Bank and other financial and international institutions in Washington and New York.
The executive board of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) has approved a 3-month extension for Somalia’s extended credit facility. The arrangement, which would have automatically expired on May 17 will now end on August 17 unless a new review is conducted by that date.
“On May 9, 2022, the IMF Executive Board approved an extension of the date on which the arrangement under the Extended Credit Facility (ECF) will automatically expire unless a review is completed to August 17, 2022,” the IMF wrote in a statement. “Without the extension, the ECF arrangement would have automatically expired on May 17, 2022, in line with the rule on automatic expiration of ECF arrangements if no review has been completed for 18 months.”
IMF said the extension “will provide the time needed to confirm policy understandings with the new government and confirm financing assurances with development partners, which are required for the completion of the second and third reviews under the ECF arrangement.”
The ECF arrangement for Somalia in the amount equivalent to SDR 253 million (155 percent of quota) was approved by the IMF’s Executive Board on
March 25, 2020.