IMF earmarking $240Mn for Kingdom’s recovery
The port is becoming increasingly import for the region, said the Japanese Foreign Minister on a visited to the Kingdom. Sihanoukville Autonomous Port
Non-governmental organisation Oxfam is calling on the government to operate with transparency after the International Monetary Fund (IMF) approved approximately $650 billion in its largest allocation of Special Drawing Rights (SDR) in history. Cambodia is to receive approximately $240 million to help the Kingdom cope with the pandemic’s economic fallout.
SDRs are non-repayable allocations granted to IMF member nations. They are not considered loans and recipients have discretion on how to spend the funds.
The IMF said that the SDRs will become effective on August 23.
Approximately $400 billion will be added to reserves to developed economies. Middle-income countries will receive about $230 billion and low-income countries are to receive some $21 billion.
“New SDRs will help developing countries, including Cambodia, cope with the impact of Covid-19 and restore the economy,” Solinn Lim, the Cambodia country manager for Oxfam said in a statement.
Oxfam was one of the first non-governmental organisations to call for new SDR issuances by issuing an open letter last year calling for a “broader rescue plan”.
Much of Cambodia’s workforce is in the informal economy.
The UN’s International Labour Organization reported earlier this year that the informal sector accounts for 87.5 percent of the Kingdom’s economy.
The Ministry of Planning has previously warned that six million informal workers face losing their incomes in their entirely if the pandemic persists.
Lim said that it is “imperative” that the country places a special focus on relief programmes supporting informal workers as well as small and medium-sized enterprises.
She also stressed that efforts should be made to protect vulnerable persons, saying that, “Cambodian people, especially the most vulnerable groups, will remember this legacy.”
Lim added, “The Royal Government of Cambodia has made a great effort to contain the virus transmission and support vulnerable populations coping with their livelihoods with its historic cash transfer programme that is built on its developing social registry system,” adding that “more needs to be done.
“We ask the Royal Government of Cambodia to continue working transparently and together with other civil society organisations to ensure that this additional debt-free financing is used to benefit all Cambodians affected by Covid-19, for example, prioritising it in universal health care and social protection investments that can reduce inequalities for a fairer, more substantial recovery.” Khmer Times
