AFRODAD Calls for Global Financial Reform to Address African Debt Crisis
By Winston Mwale
HARARE, Zimbabwe — Executive Director of the African Forum and Network on Debt and Development (AFRODAD) has called for a comprehensive reform of the global economic architecture to address the mounting debt crisis facing African nations.
Speaking during a virtual press briefing, the AFRODAD ED Jason Rosario Braganza, highlighted the urgent need for change, pointing to four African countries — Zambia, Ghana, Ethiopia, and Chad — that have already defaulted on their debt.
He warned that others, including Kenya, are teetering on the brink of default.
“The ecosystem that our countries are functioning in are not serving the interests of citizens, but rather, are serving the interests of very few countries and even a fewer number of multinational corporations,” Braganza said.
The current system, according to Braganza, creates a “vicious cycle of dependency on borrowing” for many African nations, forcing them to take on debt to fund government operations and service existing debts rather than invest in development.
Braganza, a Kenyan economist with over ten years of experience in international development in Africa, called for a more equitable negotiating process for debt restructuring.
He proposed a framework under the auspices of the United Nations where developing and developed countries can negotiate as equals.
“We need a level playing field, we need a transparent playing field where borrowers are able to sit down together with their lenders and hash out a deal,” Braganza explained.
The push for reform comes ahead of the fourth United Nations Financing for Development conference scheduled for 2025 in Spain.
African countries have requested a global legal debt framework be included in the conference’s outcome document.
At the continental level, Braganza advocated for the establishment of African Union financial institutions, such as an African Central Bank and African Monetary Fund, to strengthen the continent’s negotiating position.
Domestically, Braganza urged African nations to adapt their legislation to the changing landscape of creditors, including new bilateral lenders like China and India, and to prepare for climate-related financial challenges.
As public protests over economic conditions spread across Africa and other developing nations, Braganza views this as an opportunity for change.
“People are finally realizing that the system is not working for them,” he said.
“It’s working for a few elites, and that can no longer be the order of the state of play that we operate in.”
The virtual press briefing, held on August 5, 2024, was organized by AFRODAD in collaboration with Tax Justice Network Africa, SEATINI, and the Stop the Bleeding campaign.
