By Ade Jacobs
It came to the country as a good news as the World Bank extended the Debt Service Suspension Initiative (DSSI), period for poor countries, originally set for December 31, to June next year.
The Bank introduced the DSSI,early this year, to help poor countries cope with the headwinds caused by the coronavirus pandemic.
Since the initiative took effect in May, records from the global financial body said it has delivered close to $5 billion in debt relief to Nigeria and other 39 eligible countries.
A report on the Bank’s website said it is working with the International Monetary Fund, IMF to put pressure on G20 countries to establish a similar initiative, so that more debt relief can be provided for world’s poorest countries battling with the pandemic.
The bank said “COVID-19 has dealt a major blow to the world’s poorest countries, causing a recession that could push more than 100 million people into extreme poverty.
“The DSSI is helping countries concentrate their resources on fighting the pandemic and safeguarding the lives and livelihoods of millions of the most vulnerable people. Since it took effect on May 1, 2020, the initiative has delivered about $5 billion in relief to more than 40 eligible countries.”
According to the report, 73 countries are eligible for a temporary suspension of debt-service payments owed to their official bilateral creditors, even though the bank also urged rich nations and other private creditors to participate in the initiative on their own terms.
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The Bank said it will closely monitor countries who benefited from DSSI to ensure that resources freed up by the initiative are not frittered away, but committed to social, health, economic and other critical areas that will benefit their citizens.Such countries must also be prepared to disclose all public sector financial commitments, the World Bank said.