Rwanda is set to receive $95.9 million additional funding from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) under the Resilience and Sustainability Facility (RSF) and $89 million under the Standby Credit Facility (SCF). ALSO READ: IMF approves $164m funding to Rwanda This follows a review of the country’s implementation of both instruments that provide funding to countries to fight against climate shocks and those with short-term balance of payment needs. The team also discussed policies, priorities, and progress on reforms as part of the fourth review of the country's Policy Coordination Instrument (PCI). IMF reported Rwanda’s economic growth momentum to continuously show resilience despite a challenging external environment. According to Ruben Atoyan, the IMF team leader, Rwanda's GDP is projected to grow by 8.3 percent in 2024, attributed to strong performances in the services and construction sectors, along with a recovery in food crop production. Rwanda’s economy grew by 9.7 percent in the first quarter and 9.8 percent in the second quarter of the year. He took account that inflation remains stable within the central bank's target range of between 2 percent and 8 percent, thanks to appropriately tight monetary policy and favorable food price developments. ALSO READ: IMF revises Africa’s economic growth downward Atoyan highlighted that the 6.6 percent depreciation of the Rwandan Franc against the US dollar was a necessary measure for facilitating essential external adjustments, while international reserves stood at 4.5 months of prospective imports by mid-2024, providing a buffer against external shocks. Despite the challenging environment, macroeconomic policy performance through the end of June 2024 remained aligned with program objectives under the PCI/SCF arrangement. All quantitative targets were met, and reforms aimed at enhancing the transparency of public investments and strengthening foreign exchange market functioning are progressing well, Atoyan stated. The Washington-based lender maintained that programme performance under the two arrangements has been strong, with successful implementation of climate-related reforms under the RSF arrangement. These included measures for climate budget tagging, improving the climate resilience of public investments, adopting sustainability disclosure standards, and developing a green taxonomy on track for completion in the coming weeks. However, the IMF noted that fiscal consolidation has progressed more slowly than anticipated, resulting in a continued increase in the public debt-to-GDP ratio. Yusuf Murangwa, the Minister of Finance and Economic Planning, said that the country continues to balance resource mobilization efforts and expenditure while being careful around debts uptake by mobilizing concessional loans and getting debts only when necessary. “We are still in good books vis-à-vis debt levels, especially given the context we are in from Covid-19 pandemic to geopolitical tensions.”
