The government of Angola should reduce the budget deficit in 2017 to 2.25 percent of gross domestic product (GDP) and seek a primary non-oil budget surplus of 1 percent of GDP, according to a report issued this week in Washington by the International Monetary Fund (IMF).
Drawn up under Article IV, which annually examines the economies of members of the Fund, the document said that Angola should “promote economic diversification by improving the business climate and strengthening the role of the private sector in the reconstruction of infrastructure.”
Diversification of the economy, which is seen as “the main economic challenge,” is another of the recommendations from IMF experts, which analyzed the Angolan economy at the end of 2016 and the findings have now been published.
“The shock of oil prices that began in mid-2014 significantly reduced tax revenues and exports, with stagnant growth and a sharp rise in inflation, which has highlighted the need to respond more forcefully to vulnerabilities and the dependence on oil and to diversify the economy,” said the analysts from the IMF’s African department.
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