The Executive Board of the International Monetary Fund IMF, announced the approval of $487.5 million to Angola, on Monday, 11th January 2021. The disbursement is to aid the economy of the oil-rich country that has been suffering from low oil prices due to the coronavirus pandemic.

The financial aid is part of a three-year agreement of about $3.7 billion (the value at the time of signing) that was approved under the IMF’s Extended Fund Facility (EFF) on December 7, 2018. The latest disbursement to Angola makes it a total of almost $3 billion already granted in aid to Angola. The EFF provides longer IMF support for a program and a longer repayment terms for loans.

In a statement on the disbursement, IMF said the three-year plan “aims to restore external and fiscal sustainability, improve governance, and diversify the economy to promote sustainable, private sector-led economic growth.”

“[the COVID-19 pandemic continues to negatively impact Angola’s economy and population.”

Although the challenges will continue to linger for an unforeseeable future, “the authorities remain resolutely committed to the program.”

“The authorities achieved a prudent fiscal adjustment in 2020 that included non-oil revenue gains and restraint in non-essential expenditure, while preserving essential spending on health and social safety nets.”

The OPEC Member Country is the second-largest oil-producing country in sub-Saharan Africa with about 9 billion barrels of proven oil reserves and about 11 trillion cubic feet of proven natural gas reserves.

Due to a drop in oil prices and limited foreign currencies in the Angolan market, only a few investments in new and mature exploration and production fields were made from 2014 – 2018. In 2019, announcements of investments and discoveries made were expected to increase production from 2020 and 2020, until the pandemic came and disrupted activities.