IMF sets 11 new Structural Benchmarks for Extended Fund Facility (EFF) programme

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has set eleven new structural benchmarks (SBs) for the ongoing $7 billion Extended Fund Facility (EFF) programme including the parliamentary approval of a fiscal year 2026 budget in line with the Fund staff agreement to meet programme targets.

Some of the new structural benchmarks added are:

1. Parliamentary approval of fiscal year 2026 budget in line with IMF staff agreement to meet program targets and ensure achievement of fiscal objectives (end-June 2025)
2. Implement the new Agriculture Income Tax laws through a comprehensive plan, including the establishment of an operational platform for processing returns, taxpayer identification and registration, a communication campaign, and a compliance improvement plan to protect tax revenue (end-June 2025).
3. Publish governance action plan based on the recommendations of the Governance Diagnostic Assessment with the rationale to publicly identify reform measures to address critical governance vulnerabilities (end-October 2025)
4. Annual inflation adjustment of the unconditional cash transfer (Kafaalat) program to maintain UCT real purchasing power (end-January 2026).
5. Prepare and publish a plan outlining the government’s post-2027 financial sector strategy, outlining the institutional and regulatory environment from 2028 onwards to safeguard financial stability (end-June 2026).
6. Notifications of the annual electricity tariff rebasing and gas tariff adjustment to maintain energy tariffs at cost recovery levels (July 1, 2025).
7. Notification of the semi-annual gas tariff adjustment to maintain energy tariffs at cost recovery levels (February 15, 2026).
8. Adopt legislation to make captive power levy ordinance permanent to promote uptake of electricity grid usage and incentivize more efficient use of energy sources (end-May 2025),
9. Adopt legislation to remove the cap on the debt service surcharge to ensure adequate financing is available for CD conversion operation (end-June 2025).
10. Prepare a plan based on the assessment conducted to fully phase out all incentives in relation to Special Technology Zones and other industrial parks and zones by 2035 to improve efficiency and provide a level playing field for investment (end-December 2025),
11.  Submit to parliament all required legislation for lifting all quantitative restrictions on the commercial importation of used motor vehicles (initially only for vehicles less than five years old, subject to meeting minimum environmental and safety standards) to liberalize trade and increase vehicle affordability (end-July 2025).