The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has urged Nigeria to broaden its tax revenue base in order to strengthen its fiscal policy.
IMF Managing Director, Kristalina Georgieva, stated this at a news conference in Washington D.C. on the sidelines of the 2025 IMF Spring Meeting.
In achieving this, Georgieva said Nigeria, like other African nations should deploy technology and reduce tax evasion
According to her, the falling oil prices has created additional pressure on the budgets of oil producers like Nigeria,
On monetary policy, the IMF boss tasked African countries to tackle corruption, promote transparency and do the right things that work for their respective economy.
“We are no more in a place where you can look at the book of the Central Bank of the neighboring country and say, oh, they are doing this, I will do the same.
“You have to really assess domestic resource mobilisation, what is your inflationary pressures and do the right thing for your country,” she said
She, however advised the continent to deepen regional trade and remove obstacles to regional trading.
Georgieva urged African continent to take cue from the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) in deepening interregional trade and cooperation.
“Sometimes there are infrastructure obstacles, the World Bank is working on reducing that infrastructure obstacle to growth and trade,” she said.
Georgieva said that Africa has so much to offer the world, including minerals, natural resources, and the young population.
She recommended to African countries, particularly, Nigeria, Egypt, Ghana, and Côte d’Ivoire to continue on the path of strengthening their country’s buffer levels.
“I think a more unified, more collaborative continent can go a long way to becoming an economic powerhouse,” she said
She also spoke on the direct and indirect impacts of tariffs on most countries in the continent, especially with slow global growth.
According to her, the tariff might not have direct impact on the countries in the continent, but, indirectly iit is quite significant. (NAN)
