By Adedapo Adesanya
Some African nations have made a call for fiscal measures that include multilateral lenders extending the moratorium on loans till 2021.
This was made in order to help economies survive the impact of the coronavirus pandemic which had affected almost all countries of the world.
The African countries, at the virtual United Nations General Assembly (UNGA), reiterated that nations on the continent need about $100 billion support every year for the next three years, pointing out it is only a fraction of the trillions of dollars, some richer countries are using to revive their economies.
According to Mr Amadou Ba, Senegal’s Minister for Foreign Affairs, it was necessary that the current moratorium in effect be further extended.
“I take this opportunity to commend the efforts made by the members of the G-20, the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) in the context of the initiative for the suspension of debt servicing.
“I would call on the African Union to continue its efforts to attain this moratorium to 2021,” he said.
Several countries have said maintaining the debt moratorium until 2021 was necessary, claiming debt cancellation is needed to free up more resources to tackle the virus and its effects, which includes the fight against other deadly diseases like malaria and HIV/AIDS.
Alongside Senegal, Niger and Côte d’Ivoire also expressed their concerns.
On its part, Ivory Coast President, Mr Alassane Ouattara stated that the fight against COVID-19 and its economic effects has represented around 5 per cent of the West African country’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP).
One of the world’s fastest-growing economies before the pandemic, Ivory Coast hopes to obtain further international support to get its economy back on track.
