The International Monetary Fund’s Executive Board has approved a four-year Extended Credit Facility (ECF) arrangement worth SDR 455.65 million (equivalent to approximately US$625 million, around 325 percent of Chad’s quota). The agreement includes an immediate first disbursement of SDR 28.04 million (about US$38.5 million).
IMF Support Targets Chad’s Development Priorities
The ECF is aligned with Chad’s National Development Plan 2025–2030, and rests on three central pillars. Firstly, the arrangement aims to stabilise public finances by establishing a sustainable fiscal policy that can generate fiscal space for critical development investments. Secondly, it focuses on social inclusion, increasing targeted social expenditure to improve welfare and development outcomes. Thirdly, the programme seeks to reform governance and foster a better business environment to support private-sector activity and balanced growth.
This financial support also contributes to regional monetary resilience. It helps Chad, a member of the Economic and Monetary Community of Central Africa (CEMAC), meet balance-of-payments pressures stemming from oil price volatility, refugee inflows, and food insecurity, all compounded by shrinking donor assistance.
IMF Commentary on Chad’s Fragile Situation
Deputy Managing Director and Board Chair, Mr Clarke, highlighted Chad’s compound challenges. Chad is contending with humanitarian crises, climate disruption, and security threats, while also bearing the impact of uncertain oil revenues and dwindling development aid. A sudden influx of refugees from Sudan has intensified fiscal and social pressures. Despite these difficulties—and following a political transition concluded in early 2025—Chadian authorities have shown resolve through their macroeconomic reform agenda and the new national development strategy.
Mr Clarke emphasised the need for robust fiscal reforms to generate the necessary resources for the development plan without undermining long-term sustainability. Key measures include increasing non‑oil revenue through targeted tax enhancements, reducing exemptions, and modernising tax administration via digital tools. On the expense side, the government must contain non‑essential spending by streamlining public-sector wages, curbing emergency spending mechanisms, and enhancing fiscal transparency and public financial management.
The IMF also endorses Chad’s moves to improve social inclusion. Biometric identification and a unified social registry are central to delivering efficient social protection programmes. Alongside this, governance reforms—especially within the oil industry—are considered essential. Chad has requested a governance diagnostic from the IMF, committed to publishing an independent audit of oil revenue, and pledged to improve oversight of state-owned enterprises.
Broader Implications for Chad and the Region
This IMF arrangement offers Chad a lifeline at a critical juncture. With oil revenue swings, diminished donor funding, rising social needs, and regional instability, the ECF provides crucial balance-of-payments support. If fully implemented, reforms around taxation, public spending, transparency, and social support could pave the way for more inclusive and resilient growth.
However, the success of the programme hinges on implementation. Chad’s capacity to mobilise non‑oil revenue, contain spending wisely, and reform governance structures will determine whether this financial package becomes a catalyst for transformation or another short-term stabiliser.
A Test of Reform Will and Capacity
The IMF’s ECF arrangement marks a significant step toward addressing Chad’s economic fragility, humanitarian burdens, and development deficits. It is anchored in concrete policy goals that, if properly executed, could substantially strengthen fiscal resilience, social equity, and growth.
But beneath the financial support lies a larger test—Chad must translate plans into action. The pledges around revenue reforms, public finance, social inclusion, and governance must be backed by sustained political will and administration capacity. Only then can this IMF-supported programme move beyond crisis management toward genuine structural change.
