Parly approves BRICS bank funding bill

Parliament in Cape Town. File picture: Matthew Jordaan

Parliament in Cape Town. File picture: Matthew Jordaan

Published Nov 25, 2015

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Parliament - The National Assembly on Wednesday approved the New Development Bank Special Appropriation Bill which paves the way for South Africa to contribute its first installment of 150 USD to the bank set up by the BRICS nations.

The bill was passed in spite of the objection of several opposition parties, with the vote going 260 in favour and 78 against.

Finance Minister Nhlanhla Nene heralded membership of the bank set up as an alternative source of infrastructure to the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank as a landmark and said delaying the bill would have hampered several projects that will see the light in the first half of the coming financial year.

“I want to assure South Africans that this is one of the most important landmarks on which we are embarking,” he said.

The buy-in capital for members of BRICS - Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa - is USD2 billion staggered over seven years.

ANA

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