THE International Monetary Fund (IMF) on Sunday scolded the Congo-Brazzaville government for excessive spending, massive customs fraud and the slow pace of privatisation, saying the country could not yet qualify for debt relief. An IMF delegation visiting oil-rich Congo said money doled out to the country’s bloated civil service would make it difficult to meet its public spending target of 104-billion CFA francs ($135-million) for 2001. “In reality, there are gaps with respect to forecasts,” said Philippe Beaugrand, the head of the IMF delegation. Public spending shot up after the government held reconciliation talks earlier this year involving politicians, former rebels and civic leaders after a decade of on-again, off-again conflict, the IMF official said. In March, the lending institution slammed Congo-Brazzaville for abusing the public treasury. On Sunday, the IMF official said customs fraud at its port in Pointe-Noire was a major economic problem. Congolese Finance Minister Mathias Dzon admitted that customs fraud was responsible for a 75% loss in revenue and that an audit would be immediately put into place. Customs and fiscal revenues account for 40% of national budget funds. Budgetary funds rely mostly on revenue from sales of oil. The country produces 271,000 barrels a day. – AFP
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