The International Monetary Fund on Wednesday completed the sixth and final review of the Extended Credit Facility (ECF) agreement for Zambia.
The institution thus paves the way for an immediate disbursement of approximately $190 million.
This southern African country concluded a $1.3 billion financing agreement with the IMF in 2022 to support its economy as it emerged from a debt default, an amount later increased to 1.7 billion dollars.
The results of the program were generally satisfactory, according to the IMF, despite some delays in the implementation of structural conditions.
All quantitative performance criteria (QPC) and indicative targets (IT) set for the end of June 2025 have been achieved, with the exception of the indicators concerning net international reserves and those relating to the settlement of payment arrears.
Eight of the nineteen structural benchmarks (SBs) were met, and six more SBs were achieved with delays. The submission to Parliament of the revised Banking and Financial Services Act (BFSA), largely aligned with international standards, met the precondition set for this review. The Board also granted a waiver for non-compliance with the QPC on net international reserves at the end of June 2025.
