Parliament has given the green light to a $300 million loan from the World Bank, designated to support the First Resilient Recovery Development Policy Financing.
This funding plays a pivotal role in facilitating the government’s implementation of outlined policies in the 2024 Budget.
Initially met with resistance from the minority, who linked their support to the government retracting its request for a tax waiver exceeding $449 million, the loan eventually garnered approval.
Finance Minister Mohammed Amin Adam reassured the minority of his commitment to revisit the tax exemption requests within two weeks, which ultimately led to the loan’s approval.
Addressing the House, the Finance Minister clarified, “Let me take this opportunity to clarify a few issues. First of all, this is not an IMF facility, it is a World Bank facility. It is a concessional facility for 25 years with a grace period of five years and an interest rate of about 1.25 percent. It has a grant element of 26%.”
“It is concessional, and this house is familiar with such concessional facilities. Secondly, it is budget support. This same house approved the financing for the 2024 budget, totaling 61 billion. This loan is one of the facilities we are pursuing to finance the 2024 budget. As we already know, the 2024 budget allocated resources to different projects and programs for the year.”
“I want to assure them [the Minority] that I will review these exemptions. I will rationalize them, and I’ll report back to Parliament in two weeks. I hope that when I return, honorable members will support me in whatever rationalization we undertake,” he concluded.
Source: myjoyonline.com
