Congo Republic to cut 2018 spending by 9% as growth lags
BRAZZAVILLE – Congo Republic's government said on Wednesday it planned to cut spending next year by 8.6% to 1.38-trillion CFA francs ($2.5-billion), following a 45% cut to the 2017 budget this month, as it seeks an International Monetary Fund bailout.
The economy has been badly hit by low oil prices and poor fiscal management, causing total government revenue to slide by nearly a third since 2015 and public or publicly-guaranteed debt to surge to around 110% of GDP.
In a statement announcing the budget proposal, government spokesperson Thierry Moungalla said the economy would contract by 4.6% this year but should recover to grow by 0.7% in 2018 as crude production picks up at Total's Moho Nord offshore field.
Moungalla said the government planned to run a 219 billion-CFA franc surplus in order to reduce public debt and adhere to principles agreed with the IMF during a two-week mission earlier this month.
That visit ended without a deal as the IMF said the government needed to do more to restore debt sustainability and strengthen governance. Congo is regularly singled out by anti-corruption groups for the opaque management of its oil sector.
Holders of Congo's Eurobond are closely following the government's efforts to get back on top of its debt, which have been complicated by a $1-billion legal dispute in a US court.
Comments
The
content
you are trying to access is only available to subscribers.
If you are already a subscriber, you can Login Here.
If you are not a subscriber, you can subscribe now, by selecting one of the below options.
For more information or assistance, please contact us at subscriptions@creamermedia.co.za.
Option 1 (equivalent of R125 a month):
Receive a weekly copy of Creamer Media's Engineering News & Mining Weekly magazine
(print copy for those in South Africa and e-magazine for those outside of South Africa)
Receive daily email newsletters
Access to full search results
Access archive of magazine back copies
Access to Projects in Progress
Access to ONE Research Report of your choice in PDF format
Option 2 (equivalent of R375 a month):
All benefits from Option 1
PLUS
Access to Creamer Media's Research Channel Africa for ALL Research Reports, in PDF format, on various industrial and mining sectors
including Electricity; Water; Energy Transition; Hydrogen; Roads, Rail and Ports; Coal; Gold; Platinum; Battery Metals; etc.
Already a subscriber?
Forgotten your password?
Receive weekly copy of Creamer Media's Engineering News & Mining Weekly magazine (print copy for those in South Africa and e-magazine for those outside of South Africa)
➕
Recieve daily email newsletters
➕
Access to full search results
➕
Access archive of magazine back copies
➕
Access to Projects in Progress
➕
Access to ONE Research Report of your choice in PDF format
RESEARCH CHANNEL AFRICA
R4500 (equivalent of R375 a month)
SUBSCRIBEAll benefits from Option 1
➕
Access to Creamer Media's Research Channel Africa for ALL Research Reports on various industrial and mining sectors, in PDF format, including on:
Electricity
➕
Water
➕
Energy Transition
➕
Hydrogen
➕
Roads, Rail and Ports
➕
Coal
➕
Gold
➕
Platinum
➕
Battery Metals
➕
etc.
Receive all benefits from Option 1 or Option 2 delivered to numerous people at your company
➕
Multiple User names and Passwords for simultaneous log-ins
➕
Intranet integration access to all in your organisation