By John Lee.
The Iraq Mission Chief for the International Monetary Fund (IMF) has said that the staff-monitored program that started in November 2015 is designed with a focus on four key elements:
- reducing budget spending and restoring public finances to a healthy state and stabilize debt;
- protecting spending on the social front to ease the lives of the poorest, internally displaced people and refugees;
- improving the quality of public spending and prevent accumulation of unpaid debt through improvements in public financial management; and,
- beginning the process of restructuring state-owned banks to reduce their dominance in the banking system, thereby mitigating financial sector risks and preserving the sector’s stability.
Christian Josz told IMF News:
"By preserving macroeconomic stability, including debt sustainability, the Iraqi authorities are laying the ground for private sector development.
"Furthermore, the authorities can also spur private sector-led growth by restructuring state-owned enterprises—including the six state-owned banks—and prioritizing investment projects, such as in the electricity sector, which will help improve infrastructure development."
(Source: IMF News)
(IMF image via Shutterstock)
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