Republic of Mozambique : Evaluation of the Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper Process and Arrangements Under the Poverty Reduction and Growth Facility

The International Monetary Fund (IMF)
and the World Bank introduced the Poverty Reduction Strategy
Paper (PRSP) process in 1999 to strengthen the poverty
alleviation focus of their assistance to low-income
countries. At the IMF, the introduction of the PRSP was
accompanied by the transformation of the Enhanced Structural
Adjustment Facility (ESAF), the concessional lending window,
into the Poverty Reduction and Growth Facility (PRGF), with
a view to giving a more central role to poverty reduction
and pro-poor growth considerations in the design of
IMF-supported programs in low-income countries. The rest of
the report is organized as follows. Part two provides
background information on poverty incidence in Mozambique,
as well as on political and economic developments since the
early 1990s. The relevance of the PRSP approach to
Mozambique s situation, application of the underlying
principles, and preliminary evidence on results, are
examined in part three. The effectiveness of IMF assistance,
including alignment of the PRGF and technical assistance to
PRSP objectives is assessed in part four. Part five
considers the effectiveness of World Bank support, also
including alignment of that support to the objectives of the
PRSP approach. Part six reviews IMF-World Bank collaboration
in relation to the PRSP process, and part seven presents the
main conclusions and lessons.