On 1 August, the IMF board approved Cape Verde’s application for the Policy Support Instrument (PSI), a non-financing programme for low-income countries. It is only the third country, after Nigeria and Uganda, to join the programme, though Tanzania is expected to apply as well. By agreeing to the PSI, Cape Verde submits itself to Fund oversight and conditionality but receives no funding in return. In this case, the conditions attached to the programme include ceilings on both external and domestic debt and the implementation of an automatic utility tariff adjustment mechanism which would pass energy cost increases directly on to consumers.

Cape Verde submits itself to Fund oversight and conditionality