The financing of the Economic and Social Resilience Program (PRES) initiated to deal with the effects of COVID-19 recorded an execution level of 332.13 billion CFA francs compared to disburseable expenses of 526.3 billion CFA francs, as of June 17, says the Ministry of Finance and Budget.
Minister Abdoulaye Daouda Diallo, receiving the National Council of Employers, revealed that "the financing of the PRES has a level of execution (basis payment) of an amount of 332.13 billion FCFA compared to disburseable expenses of an amount of 526.3 billion FCFA (excluding tax expenditures), i.e. 63.1% as of June 17, 2020".
According to his services, the meeting between Mr. Diallo and the CNP focused on the financial implementation situation of the Economic and Social Resilience Program (PRES). They report that the exchanges between the two sides "focused mainly on pillar 3 of the PRES dedicated to safeguarding macroeconomic and financial stability to support the private sector and maintain jobs".
"Regarding the " payments due to the suppliers of the State " in the amount of 302 billion FCFA, the Minister of Finance and Budget specified that it is divided into 200 billion FCFA of unpaid obligations for the years prior to 2019 and outstanding commitments in the amount of 102 billion FCFA," reads a statement on this meeting.
Regarding "unpaid obligations", the text refers to "an amount of 121.960 billion FCFA that has been paid, i.e. an execution rate of 61%. The remainder being provided for in the Amending Finance Law (LFR) for the year 2020, the arrangements are made for its payment in accordance with the timetable of technical and financial execution, "according to the press release.
Regarding this point, the "102 billion FCFA entered in the initial budget, the payments are of the order of 81.6 billion FCFA, or an implementation rate of 80%", adds the same source.
"For the tax aspect, all the legislative and regulatory texts have been adopted and are the subject of implementation, in particular the partial discharge of the tax debt of companies and natural persons duly recorded and adopted on 31 December 2019 for an amount of 200 billion CFA francs", says the press release.
In addition, he notes, "55 billion FCFA of budgetary impact of renunciation and deferral of payment of various taxes", not to mention that other tax measures are included "in the plan for the refund of VAT credits in shorter time to deliver cash to companies".
The press release cites the deferral until July 15, 2020 of tax payments for SMEs and companies operating in the sectors most impacted by the pandemic, including tourism, restaurants, hotels, transport, culture and the press.
There is also the deduction of their future tax result from donations made by individuals and companies to the FORCE-COVID-19 Fund, notes the text.
The Ministry of Finance and Budget also specifies that on the side of the General Directorate of the Treasury and Public Accounting, "there is no payment authority on expenses related to COVID-19, despite a difficult context for revenue mobilization".
Regarding bank financing for affected companies, a framework agreement has been signed between the State and the financial sector by making available to them an amount of 200 billion FCFA, recalls the press release, before noting that these credit lines are beginning to be used.
"Parallel to this mechanism, we inform from the same source, bank customers benefit from postponements of payment deadlines for a current amount of 135 billion. A facility that allows companies to have cash".
On a general level, the Minister of Finance "assured the CNP of the total commitment of the President of the Republic and the Government to continue to support the private sector for a better resilience and a recovery of our economy heavily impacted by the pandemic", according to its services.