IMF To Provide $4.30 Billion Assistance To South Africa
July 28, 2020 | Investopaper
The International Monetary Fund has announced $4.3 billion in financial assistance to help South Africa cope with the coronavirus epidemic. A statement from the fund said the assistance was being provided through the Emergency Management System (RFE) to address South Africa’s challenging health situation and its serious economic impact.
South Africa has the largest number of industrial plants on the African continent. Most corona-infected people have been found here. As of Monday, corona infections had been confirmed in more than 445,000 people and 6,769 had died.
South Africa’s finance minister, Tito Maboweni, has forecast that the country’s economy will shrink by 7.2 percent this year. This is the largest contraction in South Africa’s 90-year history. Funds raised through the IMF’s RFI program will help balance South Africa’s balance of payments.
South Africa’s central bank said the money from the IMF would be used to stabilize debt, create jobs, help health workers struggling with COVID-19 and improve the economy to boost the economy. The IMF’s deputy manager, Geoffrey Okamoto, said South Africa’s low economic growth, high unemployment and growing inequality were pushing the country’s overall economy into a deep recession.
