South Africa: Opposition urges IMF to sanction Pretoria

04 Octobre 2020

Cape Town, South Africa, October 4 (Infosplusgabon) – South Africa's official opposition Democratic Alliance (DA) on Sunday said it has contacted the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to draw its attention to Pretoria’s decision to proceed with a further US$606 million bailout for South African Airways (SAA).

It said the decision runs counter to the commitments the government made in its Letter of Intent sent to the Fund to secure the U$4 billion COVID-19 loan. The DA has requested the Fund to trigger its funding requirement for “full transparency and accountability” on the loan it extended to South Africa.

It said the government clearly stated that emergency funding from the IMF would be used to support health and frontline services, solve the balance of payments problems caused by the pandemic, protect the vulnerable, support economic reform, drive job creation and stabilise public debt.

“Now it seems likely that the SAA bailout will be funded by cutting COVID-19 stimulus expenditure earmarked for public employment programmes and for rail infrastructure. This is a deviation from the commitments Minister Mboweni made and it critically undermines the credibility of the government’s economic reform promises,” said DA MP Geordin Hill-Lewis.

FIN/ INFOSPLUSGABON/PLM/GABON2020

© Copyright  Infosplusgabon