Central African Republic: First Review Under the Extended Credit Facility, Requests for Waivers of Nonobservance of Performance Criteria, Modification of Quantitative Performance Criteria, Rephasing of Access, and Financing Assurance Review-Press Rele

Board approval of the new ECF-supported program helped avert a crisis in CAR. The new program immediately boosted investor confidence and markedly improved the government’s access to domestic financing. The program has also established a framework to implement much-needed fiscal and governance reforms, unlock IFI financing, safeguard public service delivery in social sectors. Yet, the overall environment has stayed fragile due to protracted security risks and a volatile political situation, which was recently heightened by a constitutional reform that removed presidential term limits. Further, the macroeconomic standing remains weak as CAR continues to climb out of the loss of budget support and severe disruptions in the local fuel market.