At the request of the Haitian authorities, an International Monetary Fund (IMF) team led by Patrizia Tumbarello held discussions with senior Haitian officials from April 10-17 in Washington, D.C. on a 9-month staff-monitored program (SMP ). Discussions continued remotely thereafter, with the last meeting taking place on June 27, 2023. At the conclusion of the mission, Ms. Tumbarello made the following statement :

"The Haitian authorities and IMF staff have reached a staff-level agreement on a new SMP, covering the period June 2023-March 2024. The agreement is subject to the approval of IMF Management. The SMP policies are designed to support the authorities’ economic policy objectives and build a track record of reform implementation, and provide short extensions, if needed.

“Haiti faces a challenging macroeconomic outlook amid a dire humanitarian crisis. The country has been hit hard by economic spillovers from Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, with food price inflation triggering a hunger crisis. This global shock has been compounded by a highly volatile security situation, which has heightened the economy’s fragility.

"Despite the very challenging environment, signs of resilience have emerged. Net international reserves have been rebuilt, although from a low base; custom duties helped boost fiscal revenue by almost 50 percent in the first six months of FY2023, the monetary financing of the budget has declined; and the exchange rate has recently stabilized.

"Building on the satisfactory outcome of the 2022 SMP, which concluded in May 2023, the new SMP would help strengthen Haiti’s domestic revenues mobilization and raise taxes by supporting the implementation of the tax code, thereby continuing lowering the monetary financing of the budget. It would also help further enhance transparency and accountability in the use of public spending, continue to enhance the Anti-Money Laundering/Combating the Financing of Terrorism (AML/CFT) framework, and build administrative and institutional capacity through capacity development.

"The forthcoming Governance Diagnostic will further identify priorities for future reforms. Its recommendations will help inform governance and anti-corruption strategy going forward.

"The IMF team wishes to thank the authorities for their excellent cooperation and candid and constructive discussions and for the continued productive dialogue, including with the Comité de Suivi (SMP high-level Monitoring Committee)."

Learn more about the SMP :

Staff-controlled programs (SMPs) are informal arrangements between country authorities and IMF staff to monitor the authorities' economic program. As such, they do not imply IMF Executive Board approval. SMP staff reports are forwarded to the Board for information.

See also :

https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-39803-haiti-economy-the-imf-approved-the-last-review-of-the-staff-monitored-program-with-haiti.html

HL/ HaitiLibre