The Washington-based International Monetary Fund (IMF) has predicted that Mozambique’s 2015 economic performance will be robust and stronger than most other sub-Saharan African countries, APA learns here on Wednesday.An IMF delegation, which has just ended a visit to discuss with Mozambican officials the preparation of the fourth review of the Policy Support Instrument (PSI) approved in June 2013, said Mozambique was expected to remain one of the most dynamic economies on the continent.
A PSI is an instrument for countries that are not asking the IMF to lend them any money but are still seeking IMF endorsement for their policies, often necessary to persuade other donors or funding agencies to provide support.
“The authorities are making progress on structural reform implementation, and are to be commended for becoming the first country in sub-Saharan Africa to request and publish a Fiscal Transparency Evaluation (FTE) from the IMF,” head of the IMF delegation Alex Segura said in a statement.
Segura said the IMF team met with the Minister of Economy and Finance, Adriano Maleiane, Bank of Mozambique governor Ernesto Gove and leading figures of the private sector, civil society and Mozambique’s development partners.
“Over the medium-term, Mozambique is expected to remain one of the most dynamic economies in the continent, with rates of growth that could average eight percent over the 2016-19 period,” he said.
Mozambique is preparing to begin the development of a massive natural gas processing industry in the north of the country.
Although the first gas will not be produced from the Rovuma basin until 2019 at the earliest, the IMF points out that up to a hundred billion US dollars will be spent on its development which could transform the country into the third largest liquefied natural gas, LNG exporter in the world.
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