South Africa is seeking 95 billion rand ($4.99 billion) from
multilateral lenders to help it fight the COVID-19 pandemic, a senior
Treasury official said on Sunday.To get more news about
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Africa's most advanced economy is talking to the International
Monetary Fund (IMF), World Bank, New Development Bank of the BRICS and
African Development Bank to source funding to contribute to a 500
billion rand rescue package aimed at cushioning the impact of the new
coronavirus on businesses and poor households.
The IMF has said South Africa is entitled to apply for up to $4.2
billion in response to the crisis, and Finance Minister Tito Mboweni
said on Friday the government could negotiate for a facility of “maybe
between $55 and $60 million” at the World Bank.
Dondo Mogajane, director general of the National Treasury, said in an
interview with eNCA television on Sunday that South Africa “will
certainly go” for the IMF funding.
“The World Bank has said ...South Africa can access a loan of about
$50 million, the New Development Bank did say long ago that they have
set aside a billion dollars that we can access and again we will be
accessing that,” Mogajane said.
“All in all, all of these interventions, currently we are looking at
95 billion rand coming from these institutions only for COVID-related
interventions.”
Mogajane said the government has to do everything at its disposal to
make sure the coronavirus is contained, including reprioritising money
from projects that are not a priority for now and looking for new cheap
money.
“I am emphasising new money that is cheap because currently the
discussions obviously should centre around what the term rates are going
to be. That is where we are currently, we are discussing with them
(lenders),” he said.
“The IMF has said upfront that it is 1% interest that is available so we will certainly go for it because it is cheap.”
Mboweni on Friday played down worries in some governing party circles
and within the influential trade union movement that the money would
come with onerous conditions.
An IMF official told Reuters that the emergency funds on offer came with no requirement for a structural adjustment programme.
The economy was in recession when the virus outbreak hit South Africa
and public finances were already strained as the government bailed out
struggling state firms.
South Africa had recorded 4,361 cases, including 86 deaths, with 161,004 people tested for the virus as of Saturday.
The Wall