A team from the International Monetary Fund (IMF), led by Mission Chief Calixte Ahokpossi, concluded discussions with authorities in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) regarding the second review of the country’s economic program under the Extended Credit Facility (ECF) and the first review under the Resilience and Sustainability Facility (RSF). The meetings took place in Kinshasa and Haut-Katanga province between October 22 and November 5.
Following these talks, Mr. Ahokpossi stated: “The DRC authorities and the IMF staff team have reached a staff-level agreement on the second review of the DRC’s three-year program supported by the IMF under the ECF and the first review of the DRC’s three-year program supported by the IMF under the RSF. The agreement is subject to approval by IMF management and the Executive Board, with Board consideration tentatively scheduled for December 2025."
According to Mr. Ahokpossi, economic activity in DRC has remained stable, with real GDP growth expected to surpass 5 percent in both 2025 and 2026. This growth is attributed mainly to ongoing momentum in the extractive sector. The country has also seen improvements in external stability due to increased international reserves and a reduced current account deficit, although reserve levels are still below what is recommended for import coverage.
Inflation rates have declined significantly, reaching 2.5 percent year-on-year in October 2025—well below the Central Bank of Congo’s target of 7 percent. This drop was largely driven by an appreciation of the Congolese Franc after changes were made to banks’ foreign-currency deposit requirements. As a result, the central bank lowered its policy rate from 25 percent to 17.5 percent in early October.
Mr. Ahokpossi noted that "the mission urged the authorities to strengthen transparency and communication on foreign exchange (FX) market operations, and renew coordination between fiscal and monetary policies to preserve price stability."
The statement also highlighted that conflict in Eastern DRC continues to put pressure on public finances through higher security spending. However, savings from lower government operating costs and reallocation of investment funds helped offset some of these pressures. Combined with improved revenue collection—such as reducing fuel subsidies for mining—these measures kept the domestic fiscal deficit below its programmed ceiling at mid-2025.
Looking ahead, Mr. Ahokpossi said: "continued fiscal prudence will be essential to create space for priority spending, including those related to the Ebola virus disease outbreak in the Kasai region." The draft budget for 2026 aims to maintain this approach by limiting non-priority spending while enhancing revenues through new systems like standardized VAT invoicing and further reductions in mining fuel subsidies.
Progress has been made on structural reforms such as modernizing public financial management, operationalizing a Treasury Single Account, decentralizing spending authorization, and strengthening expenditure controls through legal reforms. Nevertheless, challenges remain due to ongoing security needs requiring emergency procedures.
The IMF team encouraged further efforts toward domestic revenue mobilization, better public investment management, payroll controls, governance improvements, transparency—especially within extractive industries—and combating corruption.
Regarding climate-related initiatives under RSF support, Mr. Ahokpossi said: "The IMF staff team welcomed the timely completion of the RSF reform measure (RM), on preparing a quantitative analysis of fiscal costs associated with climate shocks... Staff team also welcomed...completion of [a] national disaster risk management policy." He called on authorities to continue progress for future reviews.
Mr. Ahokpossi concluded: “The IMF staff team thanks the authorities, senior officials, technical staff, and various stakeholders—including representatives of civil society and private sector in Kinshasa and Haut-Katanga—and with development partners—for their hospitality, support, and constructive engagement throughout the mission.”