World Bank throws Africa a lifeline: calls halt on debt repayments

JOHANNESBURG – African countries, including South Africa, have been thrown an economic lifeline after the World Bank indicated it was willing to call for a standstill on debt repayments, amid the Covid-19 pandemic.

The World Bank’s vice-president for Africa, Hafez Ghanem, said last week that the bank was willing to call for a standstill on debt repayments as African countries, in particular, were likely to be hard hit by the pandemic.

The bank is deploying up to $160billion (R2.87trillion) in financial support over the next 15 months to help countries protect the poor and vulnerable, support businesses, and bolster economic recovery.

The World Bank slashed its 2020 growth forecast for sub-Saharan Africa last week, saying the region’s economy would fall sharply from 2.4percent in 2019 to between -2.1 to -5.1percent this year due to Covid-19.

“We are rallying all possible resources to help countries meet people’s immediate health and survival needs, while also safeguarding livelihoods and jobs in the longer term, Ghanem said.