MEDIATRACNET
African finance ministers urge rich countries to reallocate at least $30 billion grant from the International Monetary Fund(IMF) under the Special Drawing Rights (SDRs) toward investments in Africa.
The Ministers who gave the suggestion in an open letter to the leaders of the Group of 20 leading economies, said such reallocation would help African countries battle the negative impact of coronavirus and climate change.
The ministers who wrote the letter include those from Ghana, the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Cote D’Ivoire and Nigeria.
They also urged the rich nations to increase their support for poorer countries’ COVID vaccination drive.
The IMF has taken steps to implement a new $650 billion allocation, the largest ever of its reserve currency, so-called Special Drawing Rights (SDRs).
The process to implement the grant is expected to be completed in August.
In the letter published on Friday, the ministers said “the IMF’s promised new issue of Special Drawing Rights available as soon as possible and define a clear path forward for their maximal re-allocation and on-lending.
“The urgency now is to accelerate the disbursement of these SDRs to forestall the current emerging market liquidity crisis devolving into an insolvency crisis,” the Ministers said.
The economic fallout from the pandemic has exacerbated existing strains on a number of African sovereigns, with Zambia, Chad and Ethiopia all seeking overhauls of their debt burdens. (Reuters/NAN)
