The Director-General of the World Trade Organisation (WTO), Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, has asked developed countries to channel their shares of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) Special Drawing Rights (SDRs) to poorer countries, particularly those in Africa, to support their Covid19 fight.
On August 23, 2021, Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), Ms. Kristalina Georgieva, announced the largest allocation of Special Drawing Rights (SDRs) in history—about US$650 billion to combat this unprecedented crisis.
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Ms. Georgieva, in her statement, noted that the largest SDR in the IMF’s history comes into effect to help countries recover from the COVID-19 pandemic.
“SDRs are being distributed to countries in proportion to their quota shares in the IMF. This means about US$275 billion is going to emerging and developing countries, of which low-income countries will receive about US$21 billion – equivalent to as much as 6 per cent of GDP in some cases.”
“To support countries and help ensure transparency and accountability, the IMF is providing a framework for assessing the macroeconomic implications of the new allocation, its statistical treatment and governance, and how it might affect debt sustainability. The IMF will also provide regular updates on all SDR holdings, transactions, and trading – including a follow-up report on the use of SDRs in two years’ time,” she added.
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Commenting on the historic allocation, the WTO DG, in one of the tweets, applauded Kristalina Georgieva, and shareholders, saying the “SDRs which will strengthen members’ reserve positions and assist them to better fight the pandemic.”
Mrs Okonjo-Iweala also encouraged developed countries to support poorer counterparts in the fight against COVID-19. She added that these developing countries would use the support to mitigate the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.
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Although Africa is entitled to about $33 billion, French President Emmanuel Macron, during a summit of African leaders in May, pledged to urge richer nations to support an allocation of $100 billion to Africa.
Kelechi Deca
Kelechi Deca has over two decades of media experience, he has traveled to over 77 countries reporting on multilateral development institutions, international business, trade, travels, culture, and diplomacy. He is also a petrol head with in-depth knowledge of automobiles and the auto industry