IMF Staff Completes the 2026 Article IV and Programs Review Mission to the Democratic Republic of Congo

End-of-Mission press releases include statements of IMF staff teams that convey preliminary findings after a visit to a country. The views expressed in this statement are those of the IMF staff and do not necessarily represent the views of the IMF’s Executive Board. Based on the preliminary findings of this mission, staff will prepare a report that, subject to management approval, will be presented to the IMF’s Executive Board for discussion and decision.

• IMF staff and the authorities have reached a staff-level agreement on the third review under the Extended Credit Facility (ECF) arrangement and the second review under the Resilience and Sustainability Facility (RSF) arrangement. The 2026 Article IV discussions have also been completed.
• The economy remains resilient, despite the impact of the persistent armed conflict in the eastern part of the country and spillovers from the war in the Middle East (ME).
• Accelerated reforms, prudent monetary policy, and the transparent and efficient use of public resources, including Eurobond proceeds, are critical to enhance resilience, safeguard macroeconomic stability, and lay the foundations for inclusive growth.

Washington, DC — May 6, 2026: An International Monetary Fund (IMF) team led by Calixte Ahokpossi visited Kinshasa from April 23 to May 6, to hold discussions for the 2026 Article IV consultation, the third review under the DRC’s economic and financial program supported by the IMF’s Extended Credit Facility (ECF), and the second review under the climate-focused program supported by the IMF’s Resilience and Sustainability Facility (RSF).

At the end of the visit, Mr. Ahokpossi issued the following statement:

“The DRC authorities and the IMF staff team have reached a staff-level agreement on the third review of the DRC’s three-year program under the ECF, and the second review of the DRC’s three-year program under the RSF. The agreement is subject to approval by IMF management and the Executive Board, with consideration of the Article IV consultation and the programs’ review tentatively scheduled for June 2026.

“Economic activity remains resilient, with real GDP growth exceeding 5½ percent in both 2025 and 2026, driven by renewed dynamism in construction, services, and agriculture more than offsetting a mild slowdown in the extractive sector. The exchange rate has remained broadly stable since end-2025, supported in part by a narrowing current account deficit amid favorable mineral export price developments, although these gains have been partly offset by surging oil prices since the onset of the war in the Middle East (ME). Gradually strengthening external stability has underpinned continued accumulation of international reserves, which reached US$ 8.8 billion at end-March 2026, albeit still slightly below the conventional adequacy benchmark of three months of imports. Year-on-year inflation has remained contained at 2.5 percent or below since October 2025—well below the Central Bank of the Congo (BCC)’s 7 percent target—but could edge higher in the coming months following increases in pump fuel prices in response to the war in the ME. In this context, and in light of policy rate cuts from 17.5 percent to 15 and 13.5 percent in January and April 2026, respectively, the mission urged the BCC to remain prudent in the conduct of monetary policy.

“The persistence of the armed conflict in Eastern DRC continues to weigh on public finances, including through intensified diplomatic and socio-political mobilization initiatives following the capture of Uvira town by AFC/M23 rebels in December 2025. As a result, the ceiling on the domestic fiscal deficit at end-December 2025 was exceeded by 0.6 percentage points of GDP, despite strong revenue collection. Related corrective measures, centered on enhancing domestic revenue mobilization and stepping up efforts to streamline non-priority spending, will anchor the supplementary 2026 Budget, which will also include additional investments financed by the recently issued inaugural Eurobond and measures to cushion the impacts of spillovers from the ME war.

“The mission welcomes the DRC’s successful inaugural Eurobond, which will help boost productive investment while providing an alternative to more costly domestic financing. The mission also urges the authorities to ensure transparent and effective use of its proceeds. In this regard, strict compliance with the safeguards established to this effect will be crucial, along with consolidating the significant progress achieved in public financial management modernization reforms—notably the operationalization, since February 2026, of the Treasury (DGTCP) and the decentralization of spending authorization to four pilot ministries. To further enhance transparency and efficiency in the use of public resources more broadly, additional efforts are needed, including limiting the use of emergency spending procedures, strengthening public investment management, completing the roll-out of the treasury single account, and streamlining and improving oversight of special funds and public entities.

“The mission calls for further efforts to enhance both the quality and level of social spending, accelerate labor market reforms, improve the business climate, and strengthen governance to more effectively combat corruption and money laundering, including by leveraging the recently established economic and financial tribunal.

“Regarding the RSF, the mission welcomes the early adoption of an ex-ante climate impact assessment methodology for investment projects. It encourages the authorities to strengthen institutional coordination for the revision of the Forest Code, which has faced delays, and to maintain reform momentum to ensure the timely implementation of other reform measures due under forthcoming reviews.

“The IMF staff team thanks the authorities, senior officials, technical staff, and various stakeholders—including representatives of the civil society and the private sector—and development partners, for their close collaboration and constructive engagement throughout the mission.”