The National Economic and Financial Committee of Congo (CNEF), which met by videoconference, in Brazzaville on February 17, noted an improvement in the national economic situation in relation to the good performance expected in non-oil activities (+ 8.1%), despite the contraction of oil activities to -9.1%.
The current curve of the economy is better compared to the year 2020, marked by a sharp drop in the growth rate of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) to -7.3%, against -0.2% in 2019, in link with the underperformance during the same period of the oil sector (-8.8%) after 1.4% in 2019 and non-oil (-6.1% against 1.4 in 2019).
On the price front, the first meeting of the CNEF, chaired by the Minister Delegate in charge of the Budget, Ludovic Ngatsé, noted an absence of inflationary pressures, with an inflation rate estimated at 0.0% on annual average at the end of 2020, compared to 2.3% a year earlier, due to the weakening of domestic demand and international prices.
The members of the CNEF have, moreover, evoked developments concerning the increase of 14.8% of loans to the economy year-on-year, the decline of 11.5% of unpaid debts. Regarding debt management, they commended the efforts of the Congolese government for the gradual clearance of outstanding domestic debt through the Club de Brazzaville, which had an immediate beneficial effect on the situation of the banking system. and on its capacity to support the financing of national economic activities.
“The first job that has been done by the government is to clean up the situation of our banks to enable them to be able to extend new loans once again. This was done through the Brazzaville club, because around 120 billion was injected directly into the banks to clean up the bad debts with the banks. Our banks are armed to support the country’s economy, ”said Ludovic Ngatsé.
Last January, the government launched the Guarantee and Support Impulse Fund (FIGA) for local businesses and project leaders. Endowed with 15 billion FCFA, FIGA is supposed to allow small businesses that want to apply for credit from banks to be guaranteed by this fund, which belongs to the government, so as to develop credit and investment in new businesses.
