BY MBONO MDLULI
MBABANE – In order to address foreign exchange uncertainties, the existing World Bank loans to Eswatini might be converted from US dollars to South African rands.
This is according to a World Bank said to be going on at Washington DC in the United States of America (USA). At this meeting, Eswatini is represented by Minister for Finance Neal Rijkenberg and Minister for Economic Planning and Development Dr Tambo Gina.
According to Eswatini Government, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and World Bank Group (WBG) spring meetings in Washington DC, USA seeks to explain the different instruments for mobilising World Bank financing and support, including the different products offered by the Bank.
One notable product is related to the conversion of existing World Bank loans to Eswatini to the ZAR (Rand) to minimise the impact of exchange rate volatility in the repayment of these loans. The delegates expressed big interest in this product and willingness to further explore it.
The Spring meetings are held every April and the two ministers are attending in their capacity as Governors of the two institutions respectively (Minister Dr Gina for IMF and Minister Rijkenberg for WBG). Also in attendance are the Principal Secretaries of both ministries, the Governor of the Central Bank, the Deputy Governor and officials from PSPF and Center for Financial Inclusion (CFI).
