IMF urges Africa to spend responsibly

MONROVIA: IMF chief Christine Lagarde urged African governments to spend responsibly as she visited Liberia on Friday, a week after it was declared free from an Ebola epidemic which has shattered its economy.
Lagarde, wrapping up two days of meetings with President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, business leaders and community activists, set out measures she said were necessary "for African governments to be financially disciplined".
"I would say that for the economy to prosper, and to be seen as prospering, having sound and reliable data is certainly a condition," she told journalists in the capital Monrovia.
"Second, not to be overburdened and, three, make sure that public spending, public finance, is deployed in the most growth friendly fashion," Lagarde told journalists.
Lagarde had congratulated Liberia for its "coordinated effort and extraordinary engagement" to beat Ebola in a statement released ahead of her visit.
She added that the trip would enable her to see first-hand how the country had put in place plans to support the post-Ebola recovery. She told journalists on Friday however her visit was less about Ebola than about offering IMF support for Liberians "to deliver on what has been government´s ambition, to move into the middle-income category by 2030".