IMF board approves immediate debt service relief for 25 countries
STAFF REPORTER
In the wake of coronavirus crisis, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) executive board has approved an immediate debt service relief to 25 vulnerable countries.
The IMF managing director, Kristalina Georgieva, said the move was part of its response to help alleviate the impact of the deadly coronavirus.
Zimbabwe, which cleared its US$108m debt arrears in 2016 is, however, not on the list of beneficiaries. Zimbabwe so far has reported 17 cases of coronavirus and three deaths.
The first batch of countries to receive grants to cover their debt service obligations to the fund for an initial six months are Afghanistan, Benin, Burkina Faso, Central African Republic, Chad, Comoros, Congo, D.R., The Gambia, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Haiti, Liberia, Madagascar, Malawi, Mali, Mozambique, Nepal, Niger, Rwanda, São Tomé and Príncipe, Sierra Leone, Solomon Islands, Tajikistan, Togo, and Yemen.
Today, I am pleased to say that our Executive Board approved immediate debt service relief to 25 of the IMF’s member countries under the IMF’s revamped Catastrophe Containment and Relief Trust (CCRT) as part of the Fund’s response to help address the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic,” Georgieva, said in a statement.
She added: “This provides grants to our poorest and most vulnerable members to cover their IMF debt obligations for an initial phase over the next six months and will help them channel more of their scarce financial resources towards vital emergency medical and other relief efforts.
“The CCRT can currently provide about US$500 million in grant-based debt service relief, including the recent US$185 million pledge by the U.K. and US$100 million provided by Japan as immediately available resources.
“Others, including China and the Netherlands, are also stepping forward with important contributions. I urge other donors to help us replenish the Trust’s resources and boost further our ability to provide additional debt service relief for a full two years to our poorest member countries.”
