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By ANA Reporter 
8h ago
Parliament – Finance Minister Tito Mboweni confirmed on Wednesday that South Africa’s chances of obtaining a World Bank loan may have diminished, but says the National Treasury remains in talks with the institution.
He suggested that since the discussions concerned a standard credit line, the conditions could be stricter than those associated with the loan granted in the context of the Covid-19 pandemic.
“If I understand correctly, this is not a Covid-related loan and that is what complicates the problems,” Mboweni said at a press conference following his Medium-Term Budget Policy Statement.
“The talks continue … In my opinion, the likelihood of success is probably less, but nonetheless, we are pushing for success.”
Without revealing any details, the minister said he is concerned about the position taken by the World Bank.
“I am very concerned about some of the positions the World Bank is taking, but we are discussing it internally and we are going to refine our approach in the conversation with the World Bank, so that we can have a positive outcome.”
South Africa secured a $ 3.4 billion low-interest loan from the International Monetary Fund in late July to help the country weather the Covid-19 crisis and expects a loan agreement to be established with the World Bank in August.
However, months later there have been reports that this is at stake.
International cable agencies have reported that the talks, which began in April, have been derailed by the World Bank’s insistence that South Africa cut its public wage bill and guarantee that it will not use the funds to shore up deficit state entities.
In the MTBPS, Mboweni made an annual allocation of R10.5 billion (US $ 641 million) to South African Airways to fund the national airline’s hotly contested commercial rescue plan.
African News Agency (ANA)
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