IMF calls for restructuring Chad's debt

Chad is in need of debt restructuring to help the country's economy, which saw weak growth last year, the IMF said Wednesday.

The Sahel nation is one of three countries, along with Ethiopia and Zambia, that have applied for relief under the G20's Common Framework, which is meant to restructure the debts of heavily burdened countries as they weather the pandemic's aftershocks.

However, a lack of private sector participation has created a backlog of countries' applications while the program has been beset by uncertainty, despite warnings of economic calamity from the IMF after a previous G20 debt service pause enacted as the pandemic began lapsed last year.

"The rapid finalization of a debt treatment under the G20 Common Framework and significant donor support are key for restoring debt sustainability" in Chad, the Washington-based crisis lender said in a statement following a March 16-30 staff visit to the capital N'Djamena.

The officials traveled to the country as part of a review of a $570.75 million loan program the lender's Executive Board approved in December.

"Macroeconomic developments in 2021 were less favorable than anticipated," the IMF said, noting that oil production missed forecasts, agriculture was hampered by poor rainfall and food prices rose six percent last year while real GDP fell 0.3 percent.

The price increases for food "are expected to be aggravated by the war in Ukraine," the lender added, though it expects the economy to grow by 2.3 percent this year, and high oil prices could allow it to rebuild its reserves.