The International Monetary Fund (IMF) says Africa could tap into new sources of finance with radical transparency.
Managing Director, IMF, Ms Kristalina Georgieva made the remark during a High Level Knowledge Event of the virtual 2021 Annual Meetings of the African Development Bank (AfDB) on Wednesday.
Georgieva said that the pandemic was an opportunity for transformative reforms to improve public services, strengthen governance and boost domestic revenue mobilisation.
The IMF managing director recalled the membership’s backing of an unprecedented new allocation of Special Drawing Rights (SDRs) of 650 billion dollars.
She said it would boost members’ reserves and liquidity, without adding to their debt burden and also help address their emergency needs, including vaccines.
Earlier, Dr Akinwumi Adesina, President of the African Development Bank (AfDB), commended the IMF and the G20 for the positive efforts to address the debt situation.
Adesina said the bank had the opportunity to tackle Africa’s debt challenges, more decisively, with the recent decision by the IMF to issue 650 billion SDRs.
The AfDB president expressed delight at the agreement of the African Heads of State and global leaders, at the summit on Financing of African Economies, to provide 100 billion U. S Dollars of the SDRs to support Africa.
He, however, emphasized the need to utilize the SDRs in direct financing to Africa.
