Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, the former Vice President of the World Bank and Minister of Finance in Nigeria has advised Nigeria and other African countries to move quickly and pressure the G7 and G20 for debt-relief in order to deal with the gripping economic and health issues arising from the global pandemic Coronavirus. 
The economic guru, who was recently appointed on to the South African Economic Advisory board by President Cyril Ramaphosa, played a huge role in Nigeria getting an $18 billion debt-relief while she serving as Minister of Finance under President Olusegun Obasanjo’s administration. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala stated that the debt relief aid will help African countries to tackle the coronavirus effect on their economy, to such an effect that those both in the Rural communities and Urban centres would feel it’s effect significantly.
Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala told BBC;
“You know we have several sources, you’ve got the African Development Bank, which has just floated a social bond for $3 billion that will be available to the countries on the continent,” she said.
“You have the World Bank that has set aside $14 billion of which they’ve already committed $2 billion to 25 countries — and 11 of them are Africans. Many of our countries need to move, to take advantage of this, and they are willing to commit $150 billion dollars over the next 15 months.
“The IMF has put forward $50 billion as an emergency fund, and already 80 countries have applied for this, many of them African.
“It also has a $1 billion grant fund; catastrophe containment and relief trust, which they can approach. Let me mention my own organisation Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala mentioned, GAVI, where I am chair of the board. We have made immediately available $200 million to $300 million grant.
“Once these monies become available, if the countries get debt relief, that means that the monies they would have been paying to service the debt that they’ve taken from other countries; bilateral debts or from institutions, this monies can now be used to procure food and supplied and support the livelihood of people in the rural and urban area.
“Government can use these resources as part of an intervention fund to help people directly, and I think this is what they should be looking to do. But we need to move quickly, the debt relief we haven’t got it yet.
“There needs to be a great deal of pressure on the G7, G20 to come forward with this measure and then countries need to start availing themselves of the already available resources, and then pressure for the debt relief.”
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