On Monday 19 December 2022 in Brazzaville, Mrs Korotoumou Ouattara, World Bank (WB) Representative-Resident in Congo, and Ingrid Olga Ghislaine Ebouka-Babackas, Minister of Planning, Statistics and Regional Integration, Governor of the World Bank for Congo, representing her colleague Jean-Baptiste Ondaye, Minister of Economy and Finance, signed the documents corresponding to the disbursement of the first installment of the Budget Support Financing Agreement, which amounts to 50 million dollars (33 billion CFA francs). 

This first disbursement, which comes 17 years after the one signed in 2005, is part of the ‘’Development Policy Support Programme for Budget Management and Inclusive Growth", commonly known as the ‘’Budget Support Financing Agreement’’.

Mrs. Korotoumou Ouattara said that ‘’this Programme comprises a series of three operations planned for the period 2022-2024, for an overall financing of 210 million dollars (138 billion CFA francs), including 50 million dollars (33 billion CFA francs) for this first operation in 2022’’.

According to the World Bank's Representative-Resident, ‘’this programme aims to support the various and multi-sectoral reforms undertaken by Congo to improve governance, revenue mobilization, public finance management, and create the conditions for inclusive and sustainable growth in the country, in accordance with the National Development Plan (NDP) 2022-2026’’.

Mrs. Korotoumou Ouattara added that ‘’the implementation of these reforms should have positive medium-term impacts on economic growth and poverty reduction. Among these impacts, she cited the improvement of the business environment, which should contribute to lowering the operating costs of businesses by reducing the frequency of inspections, but also to stimulating private investment; improving service delivery in the education and health sectors, which should allow for a more equitable and responsive provision of funds to schools and health institutions; improving social protection through the establishment of a permanent social safety net, which will provide increased and sustainable support to vulnerable households, thereby reducing poverty and enhancing social inclusion; and reducing the amount of gas flared and vented into the atmosphere, in line with commitments to end flaring by 2030, as well as carbon emission reduction targets as set out in the National Determined Contribution (NDC). 

Mrs Olga Ghislaine Ebouka-Babackas stressed that ‘’this Agreement will enable Congo to correct macroeconomic imbalances and to boost economic recovery in the post-Covid-19 context; to pursue the consolidation of public finance and the overall restructuring of debt; to strengthen governance; and to tackle the issue of economic diversification’’.

The representative of Minister Jean-Baptiste Onday welcomed the re-launch of the Budget Support Financing Agreement between Congo and the World Bank. She expressed the wish that this first installment of disbursement would take place before the end of 2022, before reassuring the World Bank of the Congolese Government's commitment to make good use of these funds, which are also included in the State budget for the 2022 financial year.

The Communication Unit of the Ministry of Economy and Finance