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Liberian domestic debt hits $708m according to Finance Minister

Published

2 years ago

July 3, 2022

The Liberian Deputy Finance Minister for Economic Management, Augustus Flomo, has disclosed that the country’s domestic debt portfolio has risen to $708 million since December 2021.

Flomo, in an address to the country’s parliament on Saturday, said it would “take the government 10 years to pay back the $708 million in full,” also adding that due to the increase of the domestic debt, his ministry will have to adhere to President George Weah’s decision not to borrow any funds from the Central Bank of Liberia (CBL) to pay off the current debt.

The Liberian Daily Observer reports that President Weah had put a block on borrowing money from the Central Bank since 2019.

While responding to a question on the country’s domestic debt profile by a lawmaker, Senator Abraham Darius Dillon when he appeared before the Senate Committee on Ways, Means, and Finance, Flomo said the Liberian government so far owes the CBL $233 million, the National Social Security and Welfare Corporation (NASSCORP) $50 million, and commercial banks $55 million.

“After the President ordered in 2019 that no money be credited from the CBL, further debts were calculated and imputed to the government grant, totaling $708 million,” Flomo said.

The Minister, however, said that the government has set aside $72 million for domestic debt in the 2020–2021 budget and another $69 million in the 2022 budget to help the country pay its debts.

Related Topics:Debts Featured George Weah Liberia

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IMF mission concludes 4th loan program assessment in Egypt

Published

1 hour ago

November 22, 2024

Ifeoluwa Dada

Following the completion of a recent visit to Egypt, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) has announced that its mission had achieved significant strides in policy talks aimed at concluding the fourth review of the IMF loan program.

The review is the fourth in Egypt’s most recent 46-month IMF loan program, which was authorised in 2022 and increased to $8 billion this year following an economic crisis characterised by high inflation and chronic foreign exchange shortages. It may unleash more than $1.2 billion in financing.

Along with reaffirming its commitment to maintain a flexible exchange rate system, the IMF stated that Egypt “has implemented key reforms to preserve macroeconomic stability,” including the unification of the currency rate that facilitated imports.

Earlier on Wednesday, Egypt’s Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly said Cairo has asked the IMF to modify the targets for the programme not only for this year, but for its full duration, he added without giving more details.

“Discussions will continue over the coming days to finalize agreement on the remaining policies and reforms that could support the completion of the fourth review,” the IMF added in its statement.

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Kenya seeks $750m from World Bank, obtains $200m from AfDB— Official

Published

2 days ago

November 20, 2024

Ifeoluwa Dada

The head of debt management for the finance ministry told Reuters that Kenya had obtained a $200 million loan from the African Development Bank (AfDB) and was negotiating a fresh $750 million loan with the World Bank.

After being forced to abandon proposed tax rises costing more than 346 billion shillings ($2.68 billion) in June due to fatal demonstrations, the East African nation’s administration, which has been grappling with significant debt, has been frantically seeking fresh funding.

The Finance Ministry’s public debt management office director general, Raphael Owino, told Reuters that the IMF’s October clearance of the seventh and eighth reviews, which opened the door for a $606 million loan tranche, had aided the ministry’s talks for more loans.

“The World Bank is coming on board, riding on the back of IMF receipts,” Owino said. “The AfDB is already on board.”

The discussions for more assistance, which came under the World Bank’s “Development Policy Operations” (DPO) with the government, were confirmed by a representative at the organization’s Kenya office.

“The amount of the current (loan) is yet to be determined. The amount will also depend on the implementation of the policy reforms agreed upon,” the spokesperson told Reuters, adding that past DPO loans averaged about $750 million.

In May, the World Bank approved the latest round of DPO loans, totalling $1.2 billion.

According to a statement made last month by Finance Minister John Mbadi, Kenya has set a foreign borrowing goal of 168 billion shillings for the fiscal year ending in June 2025.