LIBREVILLE (Reuters) – The World Bank has suspended its disbursements to Gabon due to debt arrears of 17 billion CFA francs ($27 million), the central African country’s public accounts ministry said.
The ministry said the suspension was caused by several factors, including an insufficient mobilisation of resources on the international market.
“All the necessary steps are being taken to clear these arrears as quickly as possible,” it said in a statement dated Jan. 13.
As of last October, the World Bank had three active projects in Gabon worth a total of $214.5 million, according to the bank’s website.
In July, the World Bank suspended Gabon’s right to make loan and grant withdrawals as overdue payments reached around $17 million, a letter seen by Reuters showed at the time.
The ministry also said in the statement it had made debt payments of 1,210 billion CFA francs ($1.9 billion) at the end of November 2024.
($1 = 636.0000 CFA francs)
(Reporting by Gerauds Wilfried Obangome; Writing by Anait Miridzhanian; Editing by Hugh Lawson)
