The Executive Board of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) has approved US$26.5 Million following completion of Article IV Consultation and successful Second Review of Liberia’s Extended Credit Fund (ECF) Arrangement. According to a release, the IMF’s Executive Board on Wednesday, October 1, 2025 approved the immediate disbursement of the money in Special Drawing Rights (SDR) granted to Liberia. The ECF arrangement is a 40-month program approved by the IMF Board on September 25, 2024, affirming disbursements under the ECF program to mainly bolster the Central Bank of Liberia’s reserves and maintain the country’s overall macro-economic stability.
The latest disbursement, the release noted, brings total disbursements under the ECF arrangement to US$79.4 million or SDR 57.9 million. The release also quotes IMF Acting Board Chair and Deputy Managing Director, Mr. Bo Li, as saying the decision is based upon notable progress by Liberia in implementing sound macroeconomic policies and key structural reforms in the first year of their Fund-supported program; measures to reduce the large fiscal deficit, mitigate debt vulnerabilities, and strengthen foreign exchange reserves have yielded encouraging results.
Other measures include swift policy responses to the termination of large grant support through rationalizing low-priority spending and mobilizing additional domestic revenues have also safeguarded critical social programs previously financed by USAID.” The IMF Executive Director also commended the Government of Liberia for maintaining a prudent fiscal stance, particularly in light of reduced foreign aid, fiscal strategy aimed at further increasing tax revenues to meet social and development needs, rebuilding fiscal space, and mitigating debt vulnerabilities, among others. The IMF official also stressed the importance of ongoing fiscal reforms, notably through improving the quality of public spending and strengthening public financial and investment management.
They underlined the importance of mobilizing revenues and catalyzing donor support especially through grants and concessional financing to address the large infrastructure gap while safeguarding debt sustainability, urging the need to maintain a robust debt management policy to prevent the accumulation of new external arrears. In appreciation to the IMF’s move, Liberia’s Finance and Development Planning Minister, Augustine Kpehe Ngafuan, commended the IMF Board for reposing confidence in the country’s sound economic management, especially during this challenging period of declining Overseas Development Assistance (ODA).
Minister Ngafuan noted that the successful review of Liberia’s performance by the IMF Board under the ECF Arrangement puts the country firmly on track to possibly benefit from significant additional support in 2026 under the IMF’s Resilience Sustainability Facility (RSF) responsible for providing funding to qualifying countries to improve their resilience and adaptation to climate-related vulnerabilities. Minister Ngafuan also lauded Central Bank Executive Governor, Henry F. Saamoi and his team at the (CBL) for the excellent cooperation and coordination with the fiscal authorities under the overall guidance of President Joseph Nyuma Boakai.
He reiterated the government’s commitment to remaining on track and taking the necessary measures to expand the economy and mobilize the required resources to support the achievement of the ambitious targets set under the ARREST Agenda for Inclusive Development (AAID). Under the ECF Arrangement, a total of approximately US$223 million or SDR 155 million (60 percent of quota) was approved by the IMF Executive Board on September 25, 2024 to be disbursed in tranches to Liberia over the 40 -month duration of the program.
