The African Development Bank (AfDB) on Sunday launched a fund to help nations emerging from conflicts settle their arrears to foreign donors and tap new loans to rebuild their shattered economies.
AfDB Group Treasurer and Director Arunma Oteh launched the initial $140-million (120-million euro) fund at a ceremony attended by more than 1 000 delegates at the bank’s annual meeting in the Ugandan capital.
”The facility will be used to mobilise funds internationally so that these nations could meet their debt servicing obligations in order to be able to access international support for rebuilding,” AfDB spokesperson Eric Chinje said after the ceremony.
Chinje explained that experience has shown that nations emerging from conflicts, like the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), cannot meet their debt obligations and can’t get new loans when they need them most.
”These countries require finances to rebuild their economies to be able to meet these obligations. The facility will open the flood gates for them,” he added.
The AfDB has over its 40 years approved more than $47-billion in loans for development, much on concessionary terms.
Oteh said that AfDB grew by 11,1% in 2003, disbursing more than $2,6-billion for development projects in the world’s poorest continent.
She said the bank also approved more than $372-million for infrastructure development under the New Partnership for African Development (Nepad) and $580-million to other development projects.
Oteh that debt relief under the Highly Indebted Poor Countries (HIPC) initiative, amounted to some $2,2-billion by last December. – Sapa-AFP