2 weeks ago
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*Says precocious indebtedness costs crowding retired improvement spending
*Says has supported Africa with $69bn since 2020
By Emeka Anaeto, Business Editor; Babajide Komolafe, Economy Editor; & Emma Ujah, Abuja Bureau Chief, successful Washington
WASHINGTON, D.C. — The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has urged Nigeria to deepen its ongoing macroeconomic and fiscal reforms, stressing that stronger home gross mobilisation and transparent indebtedness absorption are captious to sustaining maturation and protecting susceptible populations amid tightening planetary fiscal conditions.
Dr. Abebe Selassie, Director of the IMF’s African Department, stated this portion presenting the Regional Economic Outlook for Sub-Saharan Africa astatine the ongoing IMF–World Bank Annual Meetings successful Washington, yesterday.
He said Africa’s maturation would stay dependable astatine 4.1 per cent successful 2025, with a humble pickup expected the pursuing year. However, helium warned that the region—including Nigeria—faces mounting pressures from indebtedness servicing costs, declining lipid prices, and constricted entree to outer financing.
“Nigeria, similar galore countries successful the region, has made commendable advancement successful macroeconomic stabilisation and betterment implementation. However, the unit points stay — rising indebtedness work costs are crowding retired improvement spending, and fiscal abstraction is tight,” Dr. Selassie said.
He identified home gross mobilisation arsenic the foremost precedence for Nigeria and different African economies, urging governments to modernise taxation systems done digitalisation, amended compliance, and rebuild nationalist spot successful fiscal institutions.
“It is not conscionable astir expanding taxes; citizens indispensable spot that revenues are being utilized effectively,” helium stressed. “Tax reforms indispensable beryllium some businesslike and equitable, with wide grounds that funds are going into education, health, and infrastructure.”
Oil Price Slump and Fiscal Pressure
Dr. Selassie noted that portion commodity prices specified arsenic golden and copper stay elevated, lipid prices—Nigeria’s main export—have been trending downward, creating fiscal pressures for the country.
“The divergence successful commodity prices means that resource-dependent countries similar Nigeria are much vulnerable,” helium said. “This reinforces the request for diversification and home assets mobilisation to trim dependence connected lipid revenues.”
Debt Management and Transparency
The IMF authoritative besides called for improved nationalist indebtedness transparency, urging Nigeria to people broad indebtedness information and fortify nationalist fiscal absorption to trim borrowing costs.
“Publishing afloat indebtedness statistic and reinforcing fund oversight are important steps. These measures volition assistance pull much affordable financing and rebuild outer buffers,” helium explained.
He added that astir 20 countries successful Sub-Saharan Africa are astatine precocious hazard of indebtedness distress, calling for prudent indebtedness absorption and betterment of state-owned enterprises to forestall fiscal leakages.
Tackling Illicit Financial Flows
Responding to a question connected illicit fiscal flows, Dr. Selassie said specified outflows—ranging from corruption to commercialized misinvoicing—continue to deprive countries similar Nigeria of captious revenues.
“These flows indispensable beryllium addressed done targeted reforms — strengthening fiscal oversight, improving transparency, and tightening loopholes that let funds to permission the continent undetected,” helium said, advising that the sources of specified amerciable outflows indispensable beryllium identified and addressed done reforms.
The station IMF to Nigeria: Strengthen reforms, mobilise home gross for growth appeared archetypal connected Vanguard News.
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