Mozambique to use money from IMF debt relief in fight against Covid-19

Login

Register

http://www.clubofmozambique.com/

Mozambique to use money from IMF debt relief in fight against Covid-19

3:05 CAT | 15 Apr 2020

Photo: Lusa

The Mozambican government will channel the US$15 million (€13.7 million) of debt relief granted by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) into the fight against the Covid-19 pandemic, Mozambique’s minister of economy and finance announced today.

“Fortunately, the IMF announced this relief on the debt that we had to pay over six months,” Adriano Maleiane told members of the Assembly of the Republic.

The minister commented on the IMF’s Tuesday decision while presenting the government’s proposed Economic and Social Plan (PES) and the State Budget (OE) of 2020.

The amount resulting from the IMF’s debt relief would reinforce actions to combat the Covid-19 pandemic, he added.

The Minister of Economy and Finance said that the country “immediately lost” revenues of 26.4 billion meticais (358.2 million euros), due to the budgetary adjustment caused by Covid-19.

“We immediately lost 26.4 billion meticais in revenue and we need to find another solution to this loss,” said Adriano Maleiane.

Following the pandemic, the executive was forced to lower the economy’s growth rate from an initial projection from 4.0% to 2.2%.

The number of infection cases officially registered by the new coronavirus in Mozambique has risen from 21 to 28, the Ministry of Health announced Tuesday.

The number of deaths caused by covid-19 in Africa has exceeded 800 with more than 15,000 cases recorded in 52 countries, according to the most recent update of the pandemic data in that continent.

The new coronavirus, responsible for the covid-19 pandemic, has already caused more than 124,000 deaths and infected almost two million people in 193 countries and territories.

Of the cases of infection, about 413,500 are considered cured.

Source: Lusa