The International Monetary Fund said on Wednesday it views Senegal’s plan to enhance tax compliance and cut reliance on external financing as a positive step, but it will have no bearing on the handling of a misreporting case.
The West African nation, which is engaging with the IMF to find a resolution after misreporting debt and deficit levels, has had a year without any disbursements from the Fund after its $1.8 billion programme was suspended.
The experience has shown the country can manage its finances and the economy without external help, domestic media on Tuesday cited Prime Minister Ousmane Sonko as saying. The prime minister’s office has not responded to a request for comment.
“The IMF welcomes the Senegalese government’s efforts to enhance domestic revenue mobilization. These initiatives can support fiscal sustainability and strengthen economic resilience,” an IMF spokesperson said.
“While the reported ambition to fund expenditures through internal resources is a positive step, it does not directly impact the ongoing process to resolve the misreporting case.”
The Fund said it was committed to working with the government to secure an acceptable resolution to the misreporting case as soon as possible.
The government will make all Senegalese pay their fair share of taxes, the prime minister was quoted as saying by the Le Soleil newspaper, to avoid raising taxes.
The revelations of Senegal’s hidden debt have hammered its assets, with its dollar bonds ranking as the worst performer among African issuers this year.
They have also forced the government to increase borrowing from the regional debt market, angering the opposition, which has called for government transparency over debt.
