Head of the Mission of the International Monetary Fund in BiH Nadeem Ilahi did not want to comment on whether the IMF will stop the next tranche of loan because of the failure to adopt the law on excise taxes on national level.
The IMF will visit BiH between November 9 and November 17 to analyze the implementation of the credit arrangement worth one billion BAM.
“The program was approved in early September. I can say that we have seen significant progress so far, but continuous efforts must be invested in order to implement measures necessary for the conclusion of the first review. During the upcoming mission in November, we will meet with our partners from all levels of authority and discuss the progress achieved in terms of measures listed in the Letter of Intent by the authorities of BiH and suggest new measures for the future,” said Ilahi.
When asked when the second tranche can be expected, Ilahi responded that they will talk about the achieved progress with the authorities during the upcoming mission.
“If we reach an agreement on staff level, then the authorities will submit an updated letter of intent to the Executive Board of the IMF for consideration. The Executive Board gives the final assessment and approves the payment of the next tranche,” Ilahi said.
Ilahi assessed that the BiH economy continues recovering.
“Our current projections foresee an economic growth of three percent in 2016 and 2017, although we might revise these projections after the mission. Of course, in order for the living standard in BiH to reach the level of advanced European economies, it is necessary to accelerate the tempo of economic growth in the future period,” Ilahi said.
(Source: vijesti.ba)
