Ghana’s Finance Minister, Ken Ofori-Atta has called for a 2-year extension and re-examination of the Debt Service Suspension Initiative (DSSI) by the Group of Twenty (G20).
Aside calling for the 2-year extension of the DSSI, the Finance Minister also emphasized the need for the initiative to be debt-reductive.
He made the call while chairing his 4th and last Development Committee (DC) plenary meeting after successfully completing his two-year tenure as the Chairman of the DC of the World Bank and IMF.
In addition to the 2-year extension, the Finance Minister also called for debt forgiveness and cancellation for vulnerable and debt-distressed countries.
Also, in the spirit of comparable treatment of all creditors and to ensure universal participation, China and private sector creditors should specifically engage Africa in particular for a debt restructuring programme; and finally, there should be debt forgiveness and cancellation for vulnerable and debt distressed countries,
Ken Ofori-Atta said.
Speaking further, he noted that the DSSI created some fiscal space for developing economies to help deal with the impact of the pandemic and urged the International Community not to be quick in withdrawing fiscal support to developing economies as they still remain the most vulnerable.
An assertion which was supported by the Managing Director of the IMF, Kristalina Georgieva.
In his concluding remarks, the Finance Minister advocated for the establishment of a special Secretariat to work towards establishing a ‘fit for purpose’ and new global financial architecture as was done in Bretton woods that led to the birth of both the IMF and World Bank.
The DC at the recently held plenary meeting, discussed a build-back strategy for the global economy in view of the unprecedented ravages brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic.
The plenary considered two main topics: Leaning Forward to Save Lives, Scale-up Impact and Get Back on Track: World Bank Group COVID-19 Crisis Response Update and the Joint IMF-WBG Staff Note on the Implementation and Extension of the Debt Service Suspension Initiative.
