Debt Relief: Again, IMF Shuns Nigeria, Grants Pardon To 28 Nations

Nigeria has been excluded from the list of 28 countries granted debt pardon by the Executive Board of the International Monetary Fund (IMF).
The Board has approved a third tranche of grants for debt service relief for 28 member countries under the Catastrophe Containment and Relief Trust (CCRT).
This approval followed two prior tranches approved on April 13, 2020, and October 2, 2020, respectively.
In a report released, yesterday, the Fund said the approval will enable the disbursement of grants from the CCRT for payment of all eligible debt service falling due to the IMF from its poorest and most vulnerable members from April 14, 2021 to October 15, 2021, estimated at SDR 168 ($238) million.
The beneficiaries of previous CCRT tranche are Afghanistan, Benin, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Central African Republic, Chad, Comoros, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Djibouti, Ethiopia, and The Gambia.
Others are Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Haiti, Liberia, Madagascar, Malawi, Mali, Mozambique, Nepal, Niger, Rwanda, São Tomé and Príncipe, Sierra Leone, Solomon Islands, Tajikistan, Togo and Yemen.
This tranche of grants for debt service relief will continue to help free up scarce financial resources for vital emergency health, social, and economic support to mitigate the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic.
Subject to the availability of sufficient resources in the CCRT, debt service relief could be provided for the remaining period through from October 16, 2021 to April 13, 2022, amounting to a total of about SDR 680 ($964) million.
In March, 2020, IMF Managing Director, Kristalina Georgieva, launched an urgent fundraising effort to raise $1.4billion in grants for the CCRT.
This would enable the CCRT to provide financial assistance for relief on debt service for up to a maximum of two years, while leaving the CCRT adequately funded for future needs.
Thus far, donors have pledged contributions totalling about $774million, including from the European Union, the UK, Japan, Germany, France, the Netherlands, Switzerland, Norway, Singapore, China, Mexico, Philippines, Sweden, Bulgaria, Luxembourg, and Malta.