DAKAR (Reuters)

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) announced on Wednesday that a staff team had visited Senegal to assess the implications of data revisions resulting from a government audit of past and current IMF-supported programs.

While the certification of the government's findings is pending, IMF staff will continue to work closely with the authorities in the coming weeks to evaluate the macroeconomic impact and outline the next steps, according to a statement from the Fund.

An audit of Senegal's finances, ordered by newly elected President Bassirou Diomaye Faye, revealed last month that the deficit at the end of 2023 stood at over 10% of GDP, compared to around 5% reported by the previous government.

Consequently, the government decided not to proceed with Senegal's request for an IMF disbursement in July following the Fund's review in June.

The West African country has since been in discussions with the IMF to implement corrective measures.

An IMF staff team conducted a mission to Senegal from October 9 to October 16 to discuss the preliminary findings of the audit.

Next steps will include assessing whether any misreporting occurred during previous and current IMF-supported programs, the statement indicated.