- IMF Reaches Staff-Level Deal with Burkina Faso on ECF And Resilience Reviews
The International Monetary Fund has reached staff-level agreement with Burkina Faso on the sixth review of its Extended Credit Facility programme and the second review of its Resilience and Sustainability Facility arrangement, setting the stage for possible further disbursements if the Fund’s management and Executive Board approve the reviews.
Completion of the ECF review would enable a disbursement of SDR48.16 million, bringing total disbursements under the arrangement to SDR228.76 million.
Approval of the RSF review would release a further SDR16.42 million, increasing cumulative disbursements under that facility to SDR32.84 million.
The two reviews have not yet been approved by the IMF Executive Board. Consideration is tentatively scheduled for mid-January 2027, meaning the staff-level agreement is a milestone in the programme process rather than a completed release of funds.
The discussions took place in Ouagadougou between October 26 and November 4, 2026, during a mission led by IMF Mission Chief for Burkina Faso Jaroslaw Wieczorek.
The ECF arrangement was approved in September 2023 and later augmented, bringing total access to SDR288.96 million, equivalent to 240% of Burkina Faso’s IMF quota. The RSF arrangement, approved in February 2026, has total access of SDR90.3 million.
The agreement comes as Burkina Faso’s economic prospects are being supported by strong gold-sector activity and an expected rebound in agriculture, but exposed to higher global petroleum prices and climate-related risks. The IMF projects economic growth of 4.4% in 2026, rising to 4.8% in 2027.
Gold prices, robust production and mining reforms, including efforts to formalise artisanal mining, are supporting activity and public revenues. The Fund said improved access to fertiliser, expanded irrigation, dam rehabilitation and additional borehole construction had also strengthened agricultural resilience, cushioning the effects of unfavourable rainfall compounded by El Niño.
Those investments matter because agriculture remains vulnerable to rainfall conditions, while gold has become an increasingly important source of export earnings and fiscal space.
The IMF said strong gold exports helped move the current account into a surplus of nearly 10% of GDP in 2025. It expects that surplus to moderate to 6.8% of GDP in 2026.
The outlook is not free of strain. Higher petroleum prices linked to the conflict in the Middle East are increasing inflationary pressure and draining public finances.
The IMF expects consumer-price inflation to reach the midpoint of the West African Economic and Monetary Union’s 1% to 3% target range in 2026, partly because of higher energy and food prices. Inflation is projected to rise further in 2027 but remain within the target range.
The fiscal challenge is already visible in the government’s 2026 supplementary budget. Strong first-half revenues have enabled higher spending, particularly on public investment, while the authorities retain an original deficit target of 2.7% of GDP.
IMF staff assess that the deficit could exceed that target, although they project it will remain below the 4.0% of GDP level agreed at the fifth ECF review in June 2026.
That distinction will be important for Burkina Faso’s fiscal credibility. Higher revenues can create room for urgent investment and social priorities, but expenditure increases that outlast the revenue windfall could make deficit reduction more difficult.
The IMF’s assessment suggests that the immediate question is not simply whether the budget remains within the programme ceiling, but whether additional spending is well targeted and sustainable.
Preliminary discussions on the 2027 budget point to a deficit of around 3.3% of GDP. The IMF said this is consistent with the projection agreed during the fifth review and with the country’s medium-term convergence towards the WAEMU fiscal deficit criterion of 3% of GDP. The pace of adjustment will require balancing fiscal discipline with spending on development priorities and protection for vulnerable households.
The Fund reported strong programme performance. Burkina Faso met all quantitative objectives required for the sixth ECF review and reported that all reform milestones for the review had been completed. It also said implementation of measures connected to the second RSF review was progressing satisfactorily.
But external pressures complicate that progress. Rising petroleum costs can put pressure on public finances directly and through the cost of energy, transport and other inputs. El Niño also threatens the food-security outlook.
The IMF said discussions with the authorities focused on budget provisions and measures to manage energy costs, strengthen social protection and safeguard food security.
The agreement also covered the newly established sovereign mining fund, including its operating arrangements and governance.
That issue is significant because mining revenues can support public investment, but the value of the fund will depend on transparent rules for receiving, managing and allocating money.
If gold revenues are to provide lasting fiscal space, the institutional arrangements must help ensure that windfalls are managed consistently and support priority needs.
The next step is for IMF staff to prepare a report for management approval and Executive Board consideration. The tentative January 2027 Board date leaves time for the reviews to be assessed, but also means the potential disbursements remain conditional.
For Burkina Faso, the agreement offers a sign of continued programme implementation and the prospect of additional financing. Its broader test will be whether strong gold revenues and an agricultural recovery can sustain growth while the government contains the fiscal effects of expensive fuel and protects households exposed to food and climate shocks.
