Senegal joins the ranks of PSI countries
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The West African nation of Senegal became the first francophone country to sign up to a Policy Support Instrument (PSI), a Fund programme for low-income countries that involves oversight and conditionality but no financing. So far only African countries – Nigeria, Uganda, Mozambique, Tanzania and Cape Verde – have signed up for the programme. NGO ActionAid International issued a policy brief questioning whether the PSI offers a break from the PRGF and enables countries to pursue policies for long-term development and growth. It concludes: “In its two and a half years of existence, the PSI has proven itself to be a continuation of the PRGF … insist[ing] on highly restrictive monetary and fiscal policies and refusing to endorse much-needed state investments in development”.
