Nicolas Kazadi Advocates for Collective 2024 Budget Alignment
In a context marked by the continued deterioration of the security situation in the east of the country, thus causing an increase in security expenditure, the Congolese Minister of Finance, Nicolas Kazadi, spoke, during the one hundred and twenty-eighth meeting of the Council of Ministers, the need to resort to a collective budget for the current financial year.
The National Argentier outlined the country’s financial situation, indicating that the context for developing the State Budget for the year 2024 no longer currently fits with the latest developments underway, particularly in security matters.
“He recommended (Nicolas Kazadi) a series of directions and decisions of an urgent nature for both public expenditure and revenue, in particular the development of a 2024 budgetary collective taking into account changes in contextual economic parameters,” informs the report of the Council of Ministers.
According to the same document, the Congolese Government is keen to contain the level of its expenditure and accelerate its ongoing reforms, because, says Patrick Muyaya, Minister of Communication and Media, spokesperson for the Government,”the success of the Government’s economic program supported by the Extended Credit Facility depends on it.
In addition, Minister Nicolas Kazadi presented to the members of the Council the conclusions of the preparatory mission of the staff of the International Monetary Fund as well as the financial situation of the country.
The latter reported that the Team of the Africa Department of the International Monetary Fund in charge of the Democratic Republic of Congo, led by the Head of Mission, Calixte Ahokpossi, stayed in Kinshasa from February 22 to 28, 2024 to prepare the sixth and final review of the Government’s economic program supported by the Extended Credit Facility.
This technical visit aimed in particular to: (i) take stock of recent macroeconomic developments; (ii) examine the execution of the 2023 budget and the outlook for 2024; and (iii) evaluate the commitments made by the Government under the FEC program at the end of the fifth review.
This IMF mission particularly welcomed the efforts made by the Government in terms of overall governance and the implementation of reforms which have made it possible to conclude to date five reviews out of the six of the Program, the end of which will take place on June 30, 2024.
It encouraged it to redouble its efforts to implement the recommendations made in order to guarantee the satisfactory conclusion of the sixth and final review.
