Cushioning The Effects of Covid-19 : Africa Makes Wide-ranging Proposals

Members of the African Consultative Groups (ACG) of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and World Bank Group (WBG) have welcomed the joint call made by WBG President and IMF Managing Director to the G20 and all official bilateral creditors to help all IDA, small states and middle income countries through debt relief, allowing them to concentrate their resources on fighting the pandemic. In a statement presented to Heads of the Bretton Woods Institution by the Chairperson of ACG, Cameroonian-born Alamine Ousmane Mey who doubles as the country’s Minister of the Economy, Planning and Regional Development, Africa needs varied assistance to stand the test of the ravaging pandemic.  

While saluting the decision to lessen debt burden on some African countries, ACG through the voice of Minister Alamine Ousmane Mey pleads for more concerted efforts to bail the continent, its peoples and livelihoods out of the dreaded virus whose consequences are far-reaching. “We further call for debt forgiveness for the African countries and make a plea to G20 leaders and other creditors to allow African countries to suspend all repayments of official bilateral credit in order to provide fiscal space to combat COVID-19,” partly reads Minister Alamine Ousmane Mey’s presentation to the Heads of the Bretton Woods Institution.

The choice of the statement is due to the scare created by the virus which forces ACG to “take the option to issue the current Statement in place of our traditional meetings.” An option which permits economic leaders of the continent to maintain close dialogue with the management of Bretton Woods Institutions and to share its common concerns and priorities, as well as efforts to address recent shocks, including the COVID-19.”

Handling Health Concerns

Commending the IMF and the World Bank for their early announcements to help, the African Consultative Groups hold that, “both institutions’ rapid, judicious and flexible use of existing facilities and instruments to support governments’ efforts to address the human tragedy and the economic fallout from the pandemic is crucial.” For efficiency, the ACG calls on “the WBG and IMF to quickly ...