W’Bank to help Nigeria take 100 million people out of poverty

World Bank says it is focused on supporting the Federal Government in its plan to lift 100 million Nigerians out of poverty.

President of the World Bank Group, Mr David Malpass, said this during a media briefing at the ongoing virtual World Bank/International Monetary Fund (IMF) spring meetings in Washington DC.

He said that the World Bank would do so by supporting the government in its efforts to promote growth, job creation and shared prosperity.

Malpass said as part of the efforts, the World Bank would support Nigeria in ensuring fiscal and debt sustainability as well as enhancing debt transparency and debt management at the federal and sub-national levels.

President Muhammadu Buhari had said his administration planned to lift 100 million Nigerians out of poverty over the next decade.

Buhari said his government would be tackling social inequality and entrenching better standards of living for the people.

Malpass added that the World Bank was closely monitoring the debt situation in member-countries through its joint IMF-World Bank Debt Sustainability Framework and raising debt issues with the government as part of an ongoing dialogue.

Responding to a question on debt sustainability in Nigeria, he stated that the World Bank had engaged with the Nigerian government to improve the quality of public spending.

“Moreover, a key objective of the World Bank is to help attract private investment to crowd in financing for investments in infrastructure and human capital, for instance by de-risking private investments through public-private partnerships and foreign direct investments without increasing public debt levels,” he stated.

Malpass stressed the importance of jobs in poor countries, considering their increasing population.

He urged governments to create conducive environment for new private sector businesses that would promote job creation in the post-COVID-19 era as countries prepare for economic recovery.

He stated that the post-COVID-19 economic environment would be different from the situation pre-COVID-19.

Earlier, at the G20 Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors’ Meeting, Malpass had said in 2020, the bank achieved a record 65 per cent growth in commitments and a rapid doubling of its trade and working capital finance to help fill the banking vacuum that hit private sectors.

According to him, post-COVID-19 will leave lasting scars on developing countries, from closed schools and physical stunting of children to lost jobs, the depletion of savings and assets, and growing debt overhangs.