US $82 million for poverty reduction

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) approved on Wednesday a financial package worth US $82 million to support Guinea’s government in implementing poverty-reduction measures. The three-year funding aims at increasing economic growth and lowering inflation by the year 2004 by promoting, inter alia, economic activities, especially in the private sector, institutional reforms, governance and budget control. However the Fund’s First Deputy Managing Director, Stanley Fisher, appealed to the international community to help Guinea so that an ongoing conflict involving forces in Guinea, Sierra Leone and Liberia does not hinder the implementation of this new economic programme. “Guinea has been adversely affected by an ongoing border conflict that has had severe humanitarian costs which the government has been helping to offset,” Fisher said on Wednesday. “This conflict could endanger economic and social progress and jeopardize implementation of Guinea’s poverty reduction strategy. “A concerted effort, involving assistance from the international community, will be needed to ensure that the new economic and financial program is successfully implemented under these adverse conditions,” Fisher added.