African governments on Saturday urged creditors to speed up debt relief, saying delays were limiting growth on a continent facing an array of challenges, from high inflation to food insecurity.
Speaking at an online International Monetary Fund (IMF) press conference, Zambian Finance Minister Situmbeko Musokotwane said debt relief was a “vital aspect” of bringing the world economy “back to normal”.
“Our ability to participate in the global economy is constrained,” Musokotwane said.
“All we can do is to urge our partners, the creditors, to see this as a matter of urgency. That’s what we’re pleading for. Speed, speed, speed is what we need.”
In 2020, as the Covid-19 pandemic battered Africa, Zambia became the first country on the continent to default on its foreign debt, estimated at $17.3 billion.
The G20 has agreed on a “common framework” for debt restructuring for the poorest countries but implementation has been slow.
On Friday, US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen accused China — the main creditor to many African nations — of “not participating constructively” and obstructing efforts to provide debt relief.
Zimbabwean Finance Minister Mthuli Ncube told the IMF panel that Yellen’s calls for a greater Chinese involvement were “appropriate”.
“We are going into a very tough time globally,” he said.
“We don’t want indebtedness to hold back the growth of African countries, just because creditors are too slow to do the right thing.”
Earlier this week the IMF said sub-Saharan Africa faced its “most challenging environment in years”, with the region’s pandemic recovery disrupted by surging inflation, rising interest rates and a global slowdown.
It called for better implementation of the “common framework”, cautioning that debt levels had grown but rising global interest rates meant access to funding was likely to “become much less forgiving”.
And as the region endures its third year of crisis, policymakers have limited space to confront the latest challenges.
Zambia is among the first three countries to have sought help through the G20 mechanism.
Last month, it secured a $1.3-billion IMF loan to help restore fiscal stability.
AFP
