By Agency Reporter

Monday, 6 Dec 2010

The International Monetary Fund on Friday approved a new three-year economic monitoring programme for Senegal and said the country‘s fiscal deficit would be allowed to rise temporarily to accommodate its huge infrastructure needs.

The IMF‘s Policy Support Instrument for the West African country, according to Reuters, involves no IMF loans, only IMF advice, monitoring and endorsement of economic policies.

“To accommodate the additional infrastructure spending, the fiscal deficit will be temporarily higher, but will need to be reduced in the medium term to maintain a low risk of debt distress,” IMF’s First Deputy Managing Director, Mr. John Lipsky, said in a statement.

Source: punch