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Morocco secures $350m World Bank loan for Blue Economy Programme

Published

3 years ago

May 24, 2022

Morocco has secured a $350 million loan facility from the World Bank aimed at supporting the country in financing its Blue Economy program and contributing to its economic growth.

Morocco will also use the loan to fund the programme with the hope of tapping into the country’s coastal resources and build climate resilience.

As part of the Blue Economy Program for Results (PforR) programme tabled before the Bank, the Moroccan government said it would use the loan to develop institution frameworks, enhance the management of natural resources, and boost the sector’s resilience in the face of climate change to safeguard national food security.

The PforR program is a two-tiered programme aiming to support the development of accommodative legal frameworks for the Blue Economy and to enhance the sector’s capacity to attract investments.

World Bank’s Maghreb Country Director, Jesko Hentschel, while commenting on the loan, noted that the facility was granted because Morocco holds a significant potential to develop a strong Blue Economy.

“Bordered by the Mediterranean Sea and the Atlantic Ocean, Morocco’s potential for developing its Blue Economy is strong.

“The North African country’s coastal areas already contribute to more than 50% of GDP and jobs in the country,” Hentschel said.

Hentschel further explained that the Bank chose Morocco because the country holds great “untapped potential within existing and rising Blue Economy sub-sectors including aquaculture, seaweed farming, and renewable marine energy.”

“The Moroccan Blue Economy Programme potential is well documented in the New Development Model, which points out that the country has what it takes to develop coastal clusters that attract investments and create jobs while ensuring sustainability,” Hentschel added.

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IMF, Egypt reach agreement for fourth review of Egypt’s $1.2 billion loan request

Published

2 days ago

December 26, 2024

Ifeoluwa Dada

Egypt and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) have reached a staff-level agreement over the fourth review of the Extended Fund Facility arrangement, which might lead to a $1.2 billion payout under the program.

In March, Egypt, struggling with rising inflation and cash shortages, consented to the $8 billion, 46-month facility. Its economic problems were made worse by a precipitous drop in Suez Canal revenue over the last year due to regional tensions.

Over the next two years, Egypt’s government has committed to raising its tax-to-revenue ratio by 2% of GDP, according to the IMF, emphasising removing exemptions rather than raising taxes.

According to a statement from the IMF, this would allow it to expand social expenditure to support vulnerable populations.

“While the authorities’ plans to streamline and simplify the tax system are commendable, further reforms will be needed to enhance domestic revenue mobilization efforts,” the statement said.

According to the IMF statement, Egypt had also committed to maintaining its commitment to a flexible currency rate and to taking more urgent action to guarantee that the private sector became the primary driver of development.

The IMF’s executive board still has to accept the fourth review’s staff-level agreement.

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Libya’s eastern govt accepts petrol subsidy elimination

Published

2 days ago

December 26, 2024

Ifeoluwa Dada

In a recent statement, the eastern government of Libya claimed it had reached a consensus on a plan to eliminate gasoline subsidies and would draft a mechanism to carry out the accord.

Additional information on the idea was not released by the administration led by Osama Hamad, a challenger to the internationally acknowledged Tripoli-based government.

However, it is uncertain if Hamad’s government would be able to carry out the plan in the divided nation.

According to the Global Petrol Prices online tracker, a litre of gasoline costs just 0.150 Libyan dinars ($0.03) in OPEC member Libya, making it the second-cheapest in the world.

Following an uprising against former ruler Muammar Gaddafi in 2011, smuggling networks have thrived in the ensuing political unrest and armed fighting. In 2014, conflicting eastern and western governments separated the nation.

A World Bank analysis estimates that the annual value of fuel smuggling from Libya is at least $5 billion.

In a meeting with Mari Barrasi, the deputy governor of the Central Bank of Libya (CBL), located in Tripoli, and four members of the bank’s board of directors, Hamad in Benghazi supported the idea of removing subsidies.

The CBL’s Benghazi branch offices served as the venue for the conference.

The eastern parliament appointed Hamad in 2023 to succeed Abdulhamid Dbeibah, who had been put in position in 2021 under a U.N.-backed procedure that the parliament said had lost its legitimacy.

Dbeibah, who is located in Tripoli, stated in January that he will conduct a public poll on the topic of eliminating gasoline subsidies, but he hasn’t done anything about it since.

According to CBL figures, gasoline subsidies cost 12.8 billion Libyan dinars between January and November of this year. 4.8 Libyan dinars to $1 is the official exchange rate.