Paved with good intentions

14 May 2020 By Anna Szymanski

Over 300 officials from around the world have urged the IMF and World Bank to cancel poor countries’ debt. But that would favor heavier borrowers, it doesn’t ask for any accountability, it could limit future lending, and it hands advantages to China. A debt standstill is safer.

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In a letter to the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank on May 13, over 300 lawmakers from dozens of countries – including Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders and Minnesota Representative Ilhan Omar – asked that major international financial institutions offer extensive debt forgiveness to a group of the poorest countries, known as the International Development Association countries, during the Covid-19 crisis.

They asked for a response in no more than 15 days.

They also urged IMF Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva and World Bank President David Malpass to support an issuance of Special Drawing Rights, the currency of the IMF, worth trillions of dollars to provide countries with additional financial support.

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