BRICS bank grants SA $1bn loan to fight Covid-19
The Board of Directors of the New Development Bank (NDB) has approved a Covid-19 Emergency Program Loan of USD 1 billion to the Government of the Republic of South Africa.
In a statement, the Bank says the loan will be provided in response to the urgent request and immediate financing needs of the South African Government.
"NDB’s assistance will address urgent health needs in South Africa to overcome the COVID-19 pandemic and help mitigate socio-economic impacts on the most vulnerable populations,” said Xian Zhu, NDB Vice President and Chief Operations Officer.
“Such focus of the Bank’s financing is in line with the emergency loans provided by the NDB to China and India earlier this year.”
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The NDB was established by Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa (the so-called BRICS countries) to mobilise resources for infrastructure and sustainable development projects in BRICS and other emerging economies and developing countries, complementing the existing efforts of multilateral and regional financial institutions for global growth and development.
The bank said this loan will assist the South African Government in rolling out its healthcare response to the
Novel Coronavirus Disease-19 and in providing a social safety net to alleviate the economic impact of the disease containment measures on vulnerable individuals.
In response, Treasury said the funds will contribute to providing critical healthcare resources and strengthening the social safety net in South Africa.
"The positive impacts will include improving the resilience of the public health sector and health emergency response systems, and facilitating socio-economic recovery," said Treasury in a statement.
"National Treasury welcomes the approval of the loan and together with NDB are working on final technical and administrative requirements."