The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has announced its approval of a third tranche of grants for debt service relief for 28 member countries under the Catastrophe Containment and Relief Trust (CCRT).
From our partner Financialafrik.com
Of these, 22 are African.
They are Benin, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Central African Republic, Chad, Comoros, DR Congo, Djibouti, Ethiopia, Gambia, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Haiti, Liberia, Madagascar, Malawi, Mozambique, Nepal, Niger, Rwanda, Sao Tome and Principe, Sierra Leone, Tanzania and Togo.
They are joined by Afghanistan, Haiti, Nepal, Solomon Islands, Tajikistan and Yemen.
According to IMF, this new approval made on April 1st follows two previous tranches approved on 13 April 2020 and 2 October 2020 respectively.
It allows for the disbursement of CCRT grants for the payment of all eligible debt services owed to the Fund by its poorest and most vulnerable members from April 14, 2021 to October 15, 2021, estimated at $238 million.
“This tranche of debt service relief grants will continue to help free up limited financial resources for vital emergency health, social and economic support to mitigate the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic,” the institution said in a statement on Monday.
Debt service relief could be granted for the remaining period from 16 October 2021 to 13 April 2022.
FA/cd/lb/as/APA