In late January the IMF completed the second review of Comoros's performance under its extended credit facility (ECF; 2009-12) programme and approved the disbursement of a further SDR1.56m (US$2.42m), bringing total disbursements under the ECF to SDR7.34m so far. Performance under the ECF has been "broadly satisfactory", according to the Fund, with economic activity accelerating (although it continues to fall short of population growth) despite the "challenging" political environment, and the authorities undertaking "prudent" debt management. However, concerns over fiscal and structural issues remain. In particular, the Fund argues that the government needs to focus on the following points.

• Revenue mobilisation and wage restraint. Although the country's fiscal performance improved in the first half of 2010, there were substantial slippages in the second half-probably at least in part a reflection of increased government spending in the run-up to the election for the Union presidency.
• Improvements in tax efficiency and customs administration. Delays in collecting taxes and implementing new fiscal measures pushed the deficit above the programme target for end-September 2010. According to a regional publication, Indian Ocean Newsletter, tax revenue fell by 6% in January-June 2010, while the authorities made little progress in collecting an estimated Cfr1.6bn (US$4.4m; roughly 7% of domestic revenue in 2010) in tax arrears from Comores télécom (Comtel). Corrective measures have since been announced, but implementation will be crucial if the fiscal programme is to be kept on track.
• The management of public utilities. Private-sector participation in the management of the telecommunications, electricity and oil-importing parastatals has long been pledged but, although the authorities have completed reform strategies for key public utilities, progress in implementing these and related measures has remained slow.
• Improving the overall business environment. Comoros ranks 159th out of 183 countries in the World Bank's 2011 Doing Business rankings, with particularly poor scores for the ease of opening and closing a business, obtaining credit and enforcing contracts (December 2010, Economic policy).
• Improvements to bank oversight. Although there have been some moves towards strengthening banking supervision, structural impediments to financial intermediation remain, including weaknesses in the legal framework and inadequate internal control mechanisms and reporting standards at banks.