The Permanent Secretary for the Ministry of Economy, Makereta Konrote says because of the impact of COVID-19, government revenue has been severely affected and they are currently in discussions with their multilateral partners for the financing of the National Budget.
Konrote says their multilateral partners like the Asian Development Bank and World Bank’s financing terms are extremely concessional where they get good repayment terms which are around 40 years and almost 0 percent interest rates.
She says it will help government in terms of long term servicing of debt.
Yesterday, the World Bank approved funding of US$7.4 million to further support the government of Fiji to strengthen its health systems in the wake of the COVID-19 emergency.
The World Bank’s US$7.4m commitment to Fiji is being delivered through a US$6.4m dedicated emergency health project through the International Development Association. This financing is provided on concessional terms under the Small Islands Economies Exception with 0% interest, a 10-year grace period and 40 years maturity.
The additional US$1 million grant will be drawn from the Pandemic Emergency Financing Facility.
