“Won’t Help the Poor”: EFF Rejects R11 bn World Bank Loan, SA Says It’s Useless
- The Economic Freedom Fighters have headed online to explicitly reject SA's R11 billion World Bank loan
- The party believes the pricey loan will only cause more national debt and will be mismanaged by corrupt officials
- Taking to the comments, South Africans felt the EFF's statement was pointless and many believed it would not lead to any real change in policy
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The Economic Freedom Fighters have South Africans divided after issuing a statement regarding Mzansi's R11 billion World Bank Loan.
Source: Getty Images
Heading to their Twitter account, the party called the loan "senseless and irrational" and has asked citizens to reject the economic policy it believes will only benefit "a few whites and co-opted blacks".
Going on, the EFF explained how the loan was just another ploy by the wealthy minority and corrupt government officials to loot state money.
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“The National Treasury is using the plight of the poor and the COVID-19 crisis to entrench neoliberal policies. It is a fallacy that the R11 billion World Bank loan will help poor people in any way. The same was said about the R70 billion IMF loan, but parasitic charlatans of the ruling party looted it while hundreds died while waiting for vaccines.”
The wordy statement left SA feeling a little confused in the comments section. Many peeps felt the EFF's statement was pointless as it likely would result in any significant changes to the loan plans.
Check out some of the comments below:
@MbulisiBuliso said:
"How are these statements helping if it's still going to go ahead, make it make sense to me."
@MtoloSam said:
"Lol EFF, I remember they were vocal during the so-called "9 wasted years".There was a march every other day, I have not seen the same energy since."
"This country is finished": SA raises concerns about R11.5bn World Bank loan
In related news, Briefly News previously reported that The World Bank agreed to grant South Africa a low-interest loan of R11.5 billion to help the country recover from the effects caused by the Covid19 pandemic. The announcement was made on Friday, 21 January.
The World Bank says this will load will assist Mzansi in better responding to the pandemic as well as accelerate the government's assistance of South Africans from poorer and low-income backgrounds dealing with the socio-economic impact of Covid19.
According to the joint statement issued by the World Bank and National Treasury, the loan will also help South Africa implement the Economic Reconstruction and Recovery Plan, reports Fin24.
The National Treasury added that the funds being loaned to South Africa will also help assist in the health and social net safety programmes.
This is not the first loan that has been granted to South African since the pandemic began. In July 2020, the World Bank granted SA a loan of R70 billion which was to be for job creation as well as the protection of businesses affected by the pandemic.
SABC News reports that with this new loan from the World Bank, South Africa's debt service costs could be just over R1 trillion.
South Africans are concerned about SA's rising debt
On social media, South Africans raised concerns about the continuous loans the country keeps getting. Some people believe that the South African government should be focused on repaying the money instead of borrowing more. Others have stated that the loan will disappear because of corruption.
Here are some comments:
@maxwell_mncwabe said:
"The only thing left now is for major lenders to change the name of this country because there's no more SA, its people are also on loan, this country is finished, SOLD to the biggest bidders."
@ModishaRichie said:
"Kanti why aren't we focusing on settling the debt, why are we still borrowing? Russia did it, SA can do it! Why borrow and borrow and borrow?"
Source: Briefly News
