World Bank President Robert Zoellick said Wednesday that Liberias debts of more than 900 million US dollar to international financial institutions have been forgiven.
– Because the civil conflict lasted so long, Liberia built up arrears (restancer) to the tune of 300 million dollar from the International Monetary Fund, 400 million from the World Bank, 240 million from the African Development Bank – so those sums add up, he said.
He noted that the institutions “are in the closing stages of clearing those arrears” and as a result will soon be able to lend freely to Liberia once more.
He said he was visitting Liberia because he wanted “to signal our strong support for the president and her government in the reform effort”.
He warned, however, that measures will now be taken so that countries do not incur debt they cannot pay back. One way to ensure this, Zoellick said at the end of a two-day visit to Liberia, is for money to be given out in the form of grants that do not incur interest. (oparbejder renter)
Zoellick said in Monrovia that the financial institution is encouraged by the developmental initiatives of Liberian President Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf, in helping rebuild the poor West African country destroyed by 14 years of civil war.
Kilde: www.worldbank.org
