Opposition members of Parliament (MPs) on Thursday debated the country’s loan agreements with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and World Bank.
The National Treasury announced last year that it had secured $4.3 billion from the IMF. In January, a further R11 billion was secured to help the country deal with the COVID-19 pandemic.
Other members have requested National Treasury to return the money.
Economic Freedom Fighters MP Omphile Maotwe called for an end to the loans: “Remove us from your inability to manage money and your compulsive problems with debt. We don’t want loans from the IMF and the World Bank, they must all be returned.”
While Democratic Alliance MP Dion George demanded more details on the loans: “The minister needs to tell us if the money was received and what government spent it on, because there was no job creation, no economic reform, and no debt stabilization.”
Deputy Finance Minister David Masondo said borrowing was not always sustainable but the money was used to fill a budget shortfall due to COVID-19.
-EWN
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