By Enyichukwu Enemanna
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) says it is hoping for a mission to Senegal in August where hidden debts left behind by the past administration and talks on the “contours” of a new loan programme will top agenda.
“The purpose of the mission is going to be to discuss the steps needed to bring the misreporting case to our executive board,” IMF communications director Julie Kozack said on Thursday during a media briefing in Washington.
“The team will also use the opportunity to initiate discussions on the contours of a new IMF-supported programme for Senegal,” she added.
Arising from the hidden debts running into billions of dollars, IMF had frozen the loan programme for Senegal.
Reuters quoted another spokesperson of IMF as saying via email that the Fund needs more data before it can firm up its assessment on Senegal’s debt situation and also needs an agreement on key remedial measures.
The IMF’s executive board must either approve a misreporting waiver – many investors’ base case – or order Senegal to pay back previous programme disbursements. A waiver allows Senegal to negotiate a new programme.
“Once we have reached agreement on the key corrective measures, the IMF Board will be in a position to consider the Senegal misreporting case and take a decision,” the spokesperson was quoted as saying.
An agreement on these measures could be reached “hopefully within the coming weeks,” the spokesperson added.
The IMF estimates, based on latest data from Senegalese authorities, that hidden debt stood at $11.3 billion by end-2023, the spokesperson added. This included a portion for state-owned enterprises of about 7.4% of GDP. There have been a range of estimates.
The size of the hidden debt has escalated since September 2024, when the then newly elected government said an audit of government finances first flagged the issue.
