Tanzania negotiating with IMF for $571 million Covid-19 loan

Dodoma. Tanzania’s Finance Minister Mwigulu Nchemba has said that they have entered negotiations with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) for the provision of a $571 million Rapid Credit Facility (RCF) loan.

The loan, according to Mwigulu Nchemba, is a concessional one to address the economic and social impact of Covid.

“President Samia met Ms  Kristalina Georgieva - Executive Director of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) with a view to strengthening relations on economic and social issues including the issue of strategies to address the impact of Covid 19,” he said. 

According to him Tanzania just like any other country in the world has been affected economically and socially due to the outbreak of Covid 19 especially in key sectors including health, tourism, trade, transportation, arts and entertainment.

He said the pandemic has led to a drop in revenue from exports of services, foreign exchange reserves, and a sharp decline in economic growth.

The Minister of Finance and Planning, Dr. Mwigulu Nchemba was presenting in parliament the budget for the fiscal year 2021/22.

Nchemba said in furtherance of efforts to combat the effects of Covid 19 President Samia Suluhu Hassan formed a Special Committee of Experts to analyze the effects of the disease and advice on the best way to deal with and it completed its work and submitted a report on 17 May 2021.

He said the government continues to take various measures to ensure that the affected economic activities return to normal as it was before the Covid explosion.