The head of the International Monetary Fund’s (IMF) mission to Angola, Ricardo Velloso, said the country’s Government acted “timely and intelligently” in revising the State Budget for 2015, reports local newspaper Jornal de Angola.

Angola’s amended State Budget proposal for 2015 includes cutting public spending by a third and reducing estimates for GDP growth to 6.6 percent, following a slump in oil prices in the international market.

Speaking to reporters on Tuesday in Luanda, Mr Velloso was quoted saying that the Angolan Government reacted “quickly” in amending the State Budget for 2015.

To counter the effects of the slump in oil prices, the IMF recently suggested that Angola should cut subsidies to gasoline starting this year. The Government should also phase out subsidies to other fuels until 2020, the IMF added.