The International Monetary Fund approved a $14.3 million grant under its Catastrophe Containment and Relief Trust to cover Tanzania's debt repayments falling due to the IMF from June 12 to Oct. 13.
“Additional relief covering the period from Oct. 14, 2020, to April 13, 2022, will be granted subject to the availability of resources in the CCRT, potentially bringing total relief on debt service to the equivalent of about $25.7 million,” the IMF said in an emailed statement on Friday.
“The pandemic has weakened near-term macroeconomic prospects for Tanzania,” the IMF said. “The country is facing a drastic reduction in tourism receipts, budget pressures, and a projected deceleration of gross domestic product growth from over 6% to 4% in the current fiscal year and to 2.8% in the upcoming fiscal year,” with the fiscal year ending in June, the IMF said.
Tanzania was seeking as much as $272 million from the IMF's rapid credit facility and is in talks with bilateral creditors about debt relief, according to Finance Minister Philip Mpango.
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