IMF Clears Way for $50 mln in Fresh Liberia Funding

July 30, 2026
By Mintesinot Nigussie

Liberia is set to receive about 50 million US dollars from the International Monetary Fund after reaching a staff-level agreement on the latest reviews of its economic reform programme, with the country's fiscal performance continuing to exceed expectations despite a more uncertain global environment. The agreement covers the fourth review of Liberia's 40-month Extended Credit Facility (ECF) arrangement and the first review of its Resilience and Sustainability Facility (RSF). It remains subject to approval by IMF management and the Fund's Executive Board, which is expected to consider the reviews in late September.

Once approved, Liberia will gain access to 26.1 million US dollars under the ECF and 23.9 million US dollars through the RSF. The IMF said prudent macroeconomic management has continued to strengthen Liberia's economic and financial resilience, with programme implementation remaining broadly on track. Performance against quantitative targets remained strong, while fiscal outcomes surpassed programme expectations.

The Fund expects economic growth to accelerate to 5.5 percent in 2026 from an estimated 5.1 percent in 2025, supported by mining, construction and manufacturing. Growth is projected to remain around that pace over the medium term before a temporary slowdown to 5.1 percent in 2027. Inflation averaged 4.5 percent during the first half of 2026 but is expected to rise to 6 percent later in the year, partly reflecting spillovers from the conflict in the Middle East. The Liberian dollar has remained broadly stable after appreciating modestly in 2025.

While the current account deficit is projected to widen over 2026 and 2027 because of stronger import demand, the IMF said it is expected to remain fully financed through foreign direct investment and concessional borrowing. Fiscal performance has continued to improve. The primary fiscal surplus, excluding grants, is projected to increase by one percentage point to 2.4 percent of gross domestic product this year, supported by stronger domestic revenue collection and continued fiscal discipline. In a statement issued after discussions with the authorities, IMF mission chief Daehaeng Kim said staff and the Liberian government had agreed on the policy measures required to complete both programme reviews.

The Fund said sustaining fiscal reforms will require stronger domestic revenue mobilisation, including the planned introduction of value-added tax in 2027 and changes to the mining tax regime to finance priority development spending. It also called for maintaining a tight monetary policy stance to contain inflation amid heightened global uncertainty and oil price volatility, while urging further restructuring of weak banks and continued efforts to reduce non-performing loans to support credit growth. The IMF said Liberia has also made progress under its climate-focused reform programme. Authorities completed a key reform measure by developing and publishing a database that tracks the fiscal costs of disaster response, a step the Fund said would strengthen climate- and pandemic-related fiscal risk management and improve transparency. Liberia's ECF arrangement, approved in September 2024, provides total access of about 210 million US dollars, while the RSF programme, approved in April 2026, makes available about 265 million US dollars to support climate resilience and long-term economic reforms.

Source: FSX Business News