Somalia may be eligible to tap financing from the International Monetary Fund and other multilateral lenders if it maintains a reform program intended to help rebuild the country’s war-shattered economy, the IMF country head said.
Prospects for peace after more than two decades of conflict have been boosted after Somalis agreed to elect a new administration on Oct. 30, Samba Thiam said in an e-mailed response to questions Aug. 9. The IMF expects the Horn of Africa nation to open up to foreign capital as the government continues to improve its management of the economy, he said.
“Progress has been made already in the areas of investment law, procurement, contract concessions, public financial management and anti-money laundering,” Thiam said. “If the current and subsequent programs are successfully implemented, in the future Somalia may indeed access IMF financing.”
Somalia’s $6 billion economy has been devastated by civil war that began in 1991 and a subsequent Islamist-militant insurgency that has destroyed much of the country’s political and economic institutions, according to the World Bank. Income per capita is estimated at $435, making Somalia the fifth-poorest country in the world.