Accorded treatment
Agreement on the Debt service suspension Initiative (DSSI)
Amendment under the extension of the DSSI signed on 18 March 2021
Amendment under the final extension of the DSSI signed on 15 November 2021
Categories of debt treated
1/ Treatment of arrears as of April 30, 2020 and maturities falling due from 1 May 2020 up to 31 December 2020
2/ Treatment of maturities from 1 January 2021 up to 30 June 2021
3/ Treatment of maturities from 1 July 2021 up to 31 December 2021
Repayment profile
Treatment under Ad Hoc terms
Duration of the suspension of payment:
- from 1 May 2020 until end- 2020
- from 1 January 2021 to 30 June 2021
- from 1 July 2021 to 31 December 2021
Perimeter of maturities and cut-off date
- Suspension of principal repayments and interest payments
- Cut-off date protecting new financing in case of possible future restructuring: March 24, 2020
Modalities for the debt service suspension
NPV-neutral for the suspension of payments
Repayment period:
- 3 years with a one-year grace period (4 years total)
- 5 years, with a one-year grace period (6 years total)
Treatment will be achieved either through rescheduling or refinancing.
Specific provisions
The Government of the Republic of Sierra Leone is required to commit :
- to use the created fiscal space to increase social, health or economic spending in response to the crisis. A monitoring system is expected to be put in place by the IFIs;
- to disclose all public sector financial commitments (debt) , respecting commercially sensitive information. Technical Assistance is expected to be provided by the IFIs as appropriate to achieve this;
- to comply with the debt limits on contracting new non-concessional during the suspension period agreed under the IMF Debt Limit Policy (DLP) or WBG policy.
Good will clause under the Memorandum of Understanding dated August 14, 2020 and its Amendment dated March 18, 2021
If the Government of the Republic of Sierra Leone has fulfilled all its commitments under the Memorandum of Understanding dated August 14, 2020 and its Amendment dated March 18, 2021, the Participating Creditor Countries declare their intention to consider before July 1st, 2021 a revision of the Memorandum of Understanding and its Amendment in order to possibly extend the period during which payments due on concerned debts are to be deferred, if the economic and financial situation requires to extend further the Debt Service Suspension Initiative.
Comparability of treatment provision
The Government of the Republic of Sierra Leone commits to seek from all its other bilateral official creditors a debt service treatment that is in line with the agreed term sheet providing the key features of the time-bound suspension of debt service payments initiative set out in Annex I and commits not to accord any of these creditors a treatment more favourable.
Organisation of the session
The agreement was signed by Mr. Guillaume Chabert, Co-Chairman of the Paris Club. The head of the debtor country was Mr. Jacob Jusu Saffa, Minister of Finance.
The amendment was signed by Mr. William Roos, Vice-Chairman of the Paris Club. The head of the debtor country was Mr. Jacob Jusu Saffa, Minister of Finance.
The amendment under the final extension was signed by Mr. William Roos, Vice-Chairman of the Paris Club. The head of the debtor country was Mr. Jacob Jusu Saffa, Minister of Finance.
- AUSTRALIA, AUSTRIA, BELGIUM, BRAZIL, CANADA, DENMARK, FINLAND, FRANCE, IRELAND, ISRAEL, ITALY, JAPAN, KOREA, REPUBLIC OF, NETHERLANDS, NORWAY, RUSSIAN FEDERATION, SPAIN, SWEDEN, SWITZERLAND, UNITED KINGDOM, UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
Files attached
20200814_pr_dssi_sierra_leone.pdf (116.68 KB) 20210318_pr_dssi_sierra_leone_extension.pdf (117.23 KB)