Rwanda has had to deal with reduced private flows and prices, and because of that, the country has suffered on the trade front, this is according to Alun Thomas, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) Resident Representative for Rwanda.
Above assisting the government with this financial intervention, Thomas said, the IMF was also encouraging the government to enact policies which will temper input demand.
“We expect the reserve cover to increase over the next 18 months, not dramatically,” he said.
Thomas made the comments in the backdrop of the IMF having completed the fifth review of Rwanda’s economic performance under the Policy Support Instrument programme.
The fund approved an 18-month arrangement under the Standby Credit Facility for 204 million US dollars with the first 102 million US dollar disbursement availed immediately.
Thomas said there was need for housing in both the hind end and low end in the country.
“There is big construction taking place especially in Kigali, at some point there will be a need of equilibrium in the availability of space and housing,” he said.
Public debt is a trend that has to be looked at.
“Rwanda is a low income country, and a low income countries require development finance to develop the economy. We need to remember that even though Rwanda’s debt has risen rapidly, it remains at a low debt distress,” he added.
“[But] we are at a point they have to take a critical look at that and future projects to see if the capacity for repayment is there.”
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Source: CNBC Africa
