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· The G20 has endorsed Tanzania President John Pombe Magufuli’s call for cancellation of poor African nations’ debts to international financial institutions to help the countries cope with the Covid -19 impact
· The Indian Prime Minister told the Tanzania President the G-20 group of rich nations had resolved that international lender institutions should cancel debts to poor and developing nations being ravaged by Covid – 19
· President Magufuli said, instead of offering more loans to poor countries to fight the Covid 19 pandemic, lenders should forgo debts
The G20 has endorsed Tanzania President John Pombe Magufuli’s call for cancellation of poor African nations’ debts to international financial institutions to help the countries cope with the Covid -19 impact.
This was reported to be revealed by India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi during a phone call to President Magufuli a couple of months ago. It is now only the gist of the discussion between the two leaders that are put in the public domain.
President Magufuli refused to follow the developed nations’ model of dealing with the pandemic by ordering people to stay home in the so-called lockdown. The Tanzania President took a different route. He called on international lenders to cancel debts to poorer African nations as the best way to help them deal with the pandemic. He asked citizens to maintain hygiene but to keep working.
President Magufuli said, instead of offering more loans to poor countries to fight the Covid 19 pandemic, lenders should forgo debts. This, he said, would give a respite to most of the African countries, which are heavily indebted and a sizeable chunk of their resources are committed to debt servicing.
India’s Prime Minister Modi called President Magufuli immediately after the G-20 meeting in June to brief him on what transpired at the recent G20 summit. India is a member of the G20. The Indian Prime Minister told the Tanzania President the G-20 group of rich nations had resolved that international lender institutions should cancel debts to poor and developing nations being ravaged by Covid – 19. Tanzania is also a victim of the pandemic. To bail out the African nations, President Magufuli had called on the international creditors to cancel debts owed by African nations to enable them use the savings to battle the coronavirus.
