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The International Monetary Fund has approved a $4.3bn loan for South Africa from a special funding facility designed to support countries needing urgent financing help. As Danny Bradlow explains, the IMF loan does not impose any conditions on how the funds can be used – over and above what is in South African law – which means that they will be subject to the same procurement and accounting requirements as other spending.
It seems counter intuitive, but the 25 African countries that were offered debt relief by world’s biggest multilateral lenders haven’t been rushing to get in the front of the queue. Only four – Cameroon, Côte d’Ivoire, Ethiopia and Senegal – have requested assistance. Most have either refused to apply, or have not yet requested a debt moratorium. Misheck Mutize sets out why.
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South Africa’s finance minister Tito Mboweni says the IMF loan will limit the country’s economic vulnerabilities which have been exacerbated by COVID-19.
Gallo Images/Brenton Geach
Danny Bradlow, University of Pretoria
The IMF loan does not impose any conditions over and above what is in South African law on how the funds can be used; it only seems to expect the country to implement policies already announced.
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IMF managing director Kristalina Georgieva and World Bank group president David Malpass have offered debt relief to developing countries.
Misheck Mutize, University of Cape Town
African countries should tread carefully over the debt relief offered by multilateral institutions and other lenders. It could prove very costly in the medium to long term.
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Health + Medicine
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Simon Kolstoe, University of Portsmouth
Try these tests at home.
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Kathryn Moffett-Bradford, West Virginia University; Martin Weisse, West Virginia University; Shipra Gupta, West Virginia University
Research shows that children can become infected with the coronavirus and spread it to others. Though rare, some kids do become severely ill and a few have died from COVID-19.
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Politics + Society
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David McMillan, University of Stirling
Some markets suggest a swift economic recovery from coronavirus. Others are less optimistic.
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Aikande Clement Kwayu, University of Wisconsin-Madison
Mkapa, who penned an autobiography, had an impressive record in building state institutions. But his reign was marked by killings and political suppression.
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