The Minister of Finance and the Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Wale Edun has called on the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to grant concessional loans to Nigeria and other countries undertaking economic reforms.
The minister made the call on Tuesday at the G-24 leader’s news conference during IMF-World Bank meetings.
“The issue that we are contending with in Africa is that in many ways we are bystanders to this all-important election. Yes, we do have the African Growth and Opportunities Act which tries to open up the US market to African-manufactured products, I don’t think that will be affected in any way by the result of this election.
“And generally, what we are finding is that at this particular time, the economies of trade generally, there is a reversal of globalisation of trade, there is a move to protectionism in these countries, there is the onboarding of production and all these things tend to work against the developing world’s ability to benefit from expanding trade.
“And thereby use that opportunity for investment for growth and job creation and poverty reduction. So, overall, I think that we are not that affected specifically but that in general, we continue to ask for an improved global financial architecture that provides us with more concessional funding at scale, particularly for those countries that are undertaking the macro-economic reforms that everybody agrees are sensible and will lead to better lives for their people.”
Edun said loan requirements from multilateral and development partners are for countries to undertake reforms.
He said, “When we talk about debt sustainability and reform generally, the requirement for support from the international community, from the development partners, from the multilateral development banks is that you undertake reforms that lead to sustainability at the macro level.
“The key lesson that I think I would focus on is that in devising these programmes and carrying out all the reforms, what is particularly important because the benefits over the longer term and the costs are front-loaded, the social safety net that will help the poor and the vulnerable cope with the upfront cost in the spike in the cost of living must be adequately planned for and dealt with.
“Linked to that focus on helping the poor and the most vulnerable is communication. I think one of the critical things in carrying out these macroeconomic reforms that are so fundamental is communicating what is being done, what is to be expected and the timing as much as possible and then communicating what has been done.”
On climate change, the minister said that Nigeria is a signatory to the Paris Accord but emphasised the need for the country to end energy poverty and develop its economy using its abundant hydrocarbon resources.
He said Nigeria has its target for net-zero adding that the world must take a realistic view on decarbonisation.
Edun said, “For poor countries like Nigeria and others that are endowed with fossil fuels in particular, we must take a realistic approach to climate change because it is the resources that we have that we must use to industrialise, to modernise our economies while being members of the global fight against climate change.”