(Ecofin Agency) - The fuel and food subsidies that have so far benefited every segment of the Ivorian population will be replaced by cash transfers targeting the most vulnerable. 

The Ivorian government has promised to replace food and fuel subsidies with cash transfers to the most vulnerable, Bloomberg reported Monday, citing an IMF official. According to the media outlet, the subsidy cut is one of the reforms to be implemented in the framework of a financing agreement with the IMF. 

"The Ivorian government is committed to replacing widespread fuel and food subsidies with targeted transfers," said Kadima Kalonji, IMF resident representative in Côte d'Ivoire.

He also said the authorities are committed to widening the social safety net since the country still "has room to increase value-added tax and review corporate tax exemptions.”

Mr. Kalonji also noted that the country's debt remains sustainable. "Côte d'Ivoire has only a moderate risk of debt distress, and will not need to restructure its debt to access [IMF] financing," he said.

In early April, the IMF announced a staff-level agreement with the Ivorian government on a $3.5 billion financing program to support reforms aimed at ensuring broader economic transformation.

In the release announcing the agreement, the multilateral constitution noted that Côte d’Ivoire has been adversely affected by Russia's invasion of Ukraine and the tightening of global monetary policies, which reinforced its macroeconomic imbalances.