The International Monetary Fund urged the government on Wednesday to act faster once the economy was recovering to get the public finances under control by cutting public spending plans or raising taxes.

Warning that the “success of the current policy package hinges on the continued trust in the sustainability of the fiscal position”, IMF officials called for the government also to specify how it planned to limit public spending, to allocate any surprise tax revenue growth to deficit reduction and to build a broad public consensus for bringing the government books closer to balance.