Mboweni: Borrowing from IMF won't undermine SA sovereignty
Finance Minister Tito Mboweni has reassured South Africans that he will not compromise the country’s sovereignty when borrowing money from the International Monetary Fund (IMF).
He was speaking at a media briefing after tabling an emergency budget during a virtual sitting of Parliament.
“The critical issue is that as we enter into these borrowing arrangements, that nothing is done that undermines national sovereignty,” Mboweni said.
“I don’t know why people think by definition we are so careless that we would do anything to undermine national sovereignty. I am smart, I am not going to do anything of that sort.”
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Mboweni also reiterated that his decision to approach the IMF has the full support of the African National Congress (ANC) leadership.
“The staff of the IMF is able to approach the executive board of the IMF in early July.
“That tells a story that there is no way I would’ve proceeded to reach these levels of conversation if the ANC leadership did not support this.
“The ANC leadership supports the decision that we approached the IMF, the World Bank and the New Development Bank.”
Mboweni is seeking a $4.2 billion loan from the IMF to support the government's fight against Covid-19.
To date, the Treasury has managed to secure $1 billion from the New Development Bank.