The Executive Board of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) announced, in a communiqué published on 16 September, having given the green light to a disbursement of USD 11.8 million in favour of the Central African Republic (CAR), in the framework of the Rapid Credit Facility (RCF).

This envelope should allow the government to tackle urgent balance of payment requirements and support its programme to reactivate economic recovery, specifies the IMF in its communiqué. A rapid credit facility of USD 7.9 million had already been granted to the Central African Republic last March.

The Central African Republic toppled into chaos in the wake of the overthrow, in March 2013, of François Bozizé's regime by a the predominantly muslim rebel coalition, Séléka. The abuses perpetrated for months by the Séléka combatants against the majority Christian population, ended in the creation of auto-defence militias called anti-balata, unleashing an infernal cycle of inter-religious violence.

The French army intervened as part of Operation Sangaris to put an end to the massacres. Presidential and legislative elections which should allow to turn the page on the conflict will take place on 18th October.

RCF is a mode of financing put in place by the IMF to provide rapid financial support in the form of a one-off immediate disbursement, to low-income countries dealing with urgent financial needs.