The regional platform seeks to cancel the debt of African countries

…Said $203 million spent daily on debt service

A regional platform advocating for sustainable debt and equitable development financing policies in Africa, the African Forum and Network on Debt and Development (AFRODAD), has called on creditor countries to grant Africa unconditional debt cancellation. debt.

The platform made the request as it celebrated the continent’s significant progress in global economic influence, but warned of a deepening debt crisis, according to thebftonline.com. He acknowledged Africa’s growing presence in major international forums, saying that despite this diplomatic progress, the continent was still in a very alarming debt situation. He lists these diplomatic gains, including the African Union (UN) recently gaining membership in the G20 and several African countries ascending to key leadership roles.

According to AFRODAD, Egypt now chairs the Ad Hoc Fiscal Committee, Burundi co-chairs the Fourth International Conference on Financing for Development (FfD4) process, South Africa co-facilitates the FfD Forum 2024, Ethiopia hosts the first preparatory session for negotiations on FfD4 outcomes, Rwanda hosts the third UN Conference on Landlocked Developing Countries (LLDC3), Uganda chairs the G77 and Namibia co-facilitates the Summit of the Future (SOFT) negotiations ).

AFRODAD Executive Director Jason Braganza said: “These platforms provide a historic opportunity for the continent to assert its role as decision-maker in resolving the crippling debt crisis and addressing other pressing challenges facing the continent. Africa is facing. »

Since 2010, Africa’s debt levels have increased by 183 percent, with countries spending a total of $74 billion on debt servicing in 2024 alone, the equivalent of $203 million per day. This burden, AFRODAD said, seriously restricts the continent’s capacity to foster inclusive growth and sustainable development, as envisaged in Agenda 2063 “The Africa We Want”.

Credit rating agencies compound the problem by assigning negative ratings to African countries, leading to high interest rates that make it harder to repay debt and strain the ability of governments to meet their social obligations to their citizens.

AFRODAD and its partners therefore took the opportunity to call for urgent measures to resolve the debt crisis and presented three key demands including unconditional debt cancellation, emphasizing that creditor countries should cancel all African debt , while redirecting funds to productive businesses with rigorous performance reviews. . AFRODAD argued that Africa, as the world’s net creditor, had already paid its debt through the exploitation of its resources.

He also demanded reform of the global debt architecture, adding that the global debt framework required an overhaul to balance loan contraction processes and improve debt sustainability frameworks and credit rating assessments. credit. The President of the African Development Bank Group, Akinwunmi Adesina, stressed the urgency of these reforms aimed at reducing the costs and legal complexities of restructuring African debt. UN Secretary-General António Guterres echoed this sentiment, noting: “we cannot build a future for our grandchildren with a system built for our grandparents.”

The platform also calls for advancing Africa’s position on rule-making. The body said the African Union, supported by African leaders, civil society, media and the public, must assert Africa’s sovereignty and self-determination in global policymaking. AFRODAD, a civil society organization established in 1996, argued that while Africa’s new influence in global economic discussions was cause for celebration, the continent needed to confront and resolve its debt problems to ensure sustainable development. sustainable and inclusive growth.

Related