Rather than having too much debt, the challenge for countries in Africa may be that their debt is just too expensive. But there are remedies. As finance ministers, officials and NGOs fly to Marrakech for the Annual Meetings of the World Bank and IMF on 9-15 October, they should think carefully about what they can […]
Tag: Debt
Addressing debt while bolstering agriculture, energy access and continental trade could ease burden on struggling economies In today’s interconnected world, shots fired in one corner of the globe create ripple effects in other, seemingly far, places. One year since the Russian invasion of Ukraine, African countries, although physically miles away, have not been spared its […]
Zimbabwe moved closer to resolving its debt issues last week as it hosted the third debt and arrears clearance structured dialogue platform meeting with development partners and creditors. Dr. Luisa Diogo, the former prime minister of Mozambique, served as the meeting’s facilitator. Diogo is the lead technical advisor to Joaquim Chissano, the former president of […]
Considering the government’s dismal track record on resolving the debt crisis, the chances of success seem small. Zimbabwe is once again trying to engage its creditorsBretton Woods institutions and the Paris Club, in negotiating a reprieve around its debt arrears and unblocking access to credit. As a condition for debt dialogue, lenders insist the government […]
Nigeria, as a populous and resource-rich nation, has faced significant challenges managing its debt burden, amid rising poverty, meeting development gaps and the worsening pressure from adverse climate change. As a Nigerian teenager, whose future and those behind me are being mortgaged consistently by successive governments through rising international loans, with little or no tangible […]
United Nations — The World Bank and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) are returning to Africa, for the first time in decades, with the “same old failed message”. “Cut your spending, sack public service workers, and pay your debts- despite the huge human costs” says Oxfam International’s interim Executive Director Amitabh Behar, following the release […]
The 110 former staff members of ABU Zaria obtained a N2.5 billion court judgement in 2015 following their unlawful disengagement by the university in 1996. The out-of-court settlement meeting on the execution of N2.5 billion judgement debt between Ahmadu Bello University (ABU), Zaria, and its 110 disengaged staff members has ended in a deadlock. Isaac […]
Alleged cyberattacks spotlight China’s role in Kenya’s debt problems, but must not be allowed to overshadow the country’s broader failings in its financing. Despite recent claims of a Chinese state-linked hacking team carrying out systematic cyber-attacks on Kenyan government institutions being denounced by Kenya’s Ministry of Interior as ‘sponsored propaganda’, Kenya’s debt burden to China […]
Stakeholders have called for more discipline to curb excessive borrowing at all levels of government, especially in the face of the mounting national debt now in the excess of N87.4billion. Statistics from the Debt Management Office (DMO) revealed that Nigeria’s total public debt stock as of June 30, 2023 amounted to N87.4 trillion. This comprises […]
Monrovia — Liberia faces a setback as the World Bank suspends its access to “unwithdrawn loans” due to the George Weah administration’s failure to service previously disbursed loans, marking a significant development in the country’s financial landscape. The decision to suspend Liberia’s access to these loans was conveyed in a letter from Ousmane Diagana, Vice-President […]
It hasn’t been easy for African states to finance their developmental and environmental policy objectives over the past few years. Recent events suggest that the situation may be improving. For the first time in two years, three African states have been able to access international financial markets, albeit at high interest rates. Kenya, for example, […]