IMF approves US $26 million disbursement

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) on Monday completed the third review of Tanzania's arrangement under the Poverty Reduction and Growth Facility (PRGF), according to a press release. As a result, Tanzania is now immediately able to draw up to 20 million Special Drawing Rights (SDR) (worth about US $26 million) under the arrangement. "Tanzania's implementation of macroeconomic policies continues to be strong. Real GDP grew by 4.9 percent in 2000, and inflation declined further to 5.1 percent at end-June 2001," IMF Executive Board Chairman Shigemitsu Sugisaki was quoted as saying in the press release.

The overall balance of payments position strengthened in 2000, mainly on account of a sharp increase in exports (especially gold), a slight decrease in imports, and lower service related payments. As a result, the release stated, gross official reserves of the Bank of Tanzania rose to the equivalent of about five months imports of goods and non-factor services. "Tanzania's good performance has encouraged the international community to provide a steady flow of highly concessional assistance and debt relief," Sugisaki said. He noted that recent tax reforms and structural reforms in the petroleum sector were starting to bear fruit, and contributed to the strong revenue performance in 2000/2001.