January 26, 2021
Head of EU to S/Leone Tom Vens
By Mohamed M. Sesay
The European Union (EU) Delegation to Sierra Leone has granted Sierra Leone a Debt Relief of 18 Million Euro to enable the recipient country prioritize spending in critical areas of health and education. This means the funds will be directed at vulnerable categories of the population bracket.
According to a press statement, the International Monetary Fund (IMF), in April 2020 launched an urgent fundraising effort that would enable its Catastrophe Containment and Relief Trust Fund (CCRT), provides further debt service relief to countries seriously affected by the COVID-19 crisis.
It added that the CCRT was initially established in February 2015 during the Ebola outbreak that sought to provide debt service relief to eligible low- income indebted countries from April 2020.
“The EU’s contribution will fully cover the debt service of Sierra Leone to the IMF in 2021 (about 18 million EUR). This payment will also make a further contribution to Sierra Leone’s debt service relief until April 2022, allowing the GoSL to create fiscal space for priority public spending in sectors such as health and education… and ultimately contributing to protect the most vulnerable in Sierra Leone”, the release intimates.
In response to the call of IMF, the press statement pointed out that the EU on 23 November 2020, announced a €183 million contribution for 2021. This therefore makes the EU the largest donor to the CCRT, which so far has received over $500 million in grants from donor countries.
The EU has been leading global efforts to do more on debt relief restructuring efforts, and remains committed to supporting its partner countries in maintaining their path towards the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) despite dire financial situations.
The press release also notes that the EU has provided a total of EUR 388.5 million for the debt service of African Caribbean and Pacific countries in 2021/ 2022.
In all of these, it has been stipulated that EU places strong emphasis on the proper accounting, monitoring and control of the COVID-19-related expenditures. It is in this regard that EU’ has initiated dialogue with partner countries in the framework of budget support programs, reinforcing the CCRT framework and its monitoring capacities.
