For some time, most multilateral financial institutions have urged developing countries to borrow commercially, but not from China. Now, borrowers are stuck in debt traps with little prospect of escape.
US Fed- Induced World Stagnation Deepens Debt Distress | Inter Press Service (ipsnews.net)
Developing country governments are being blamed for irresponsibly borrowing too much. The resulting debt stress has blocked investments and growth in this unequal and unfair world economic order.
Government Debt Is Symptom, Not Cause | Inter Press Service (ipsnews.net)
This report highlights the depth of a crisis that is beyond debt. It is a development
and human crisis when government opts to service a creditor [rather] than
its citizens. The findings are clear, governments are working for creditors
and not people, this must change Join the movement for a fair economy
if Africa is to be a rule maker
Developing countries are being blamed for having borrowed and spent irresponsibly. But they have only been doing what foreign powers and financial interests have urged them to do.
Developing Countries’ Government Debt Crises Loom Larger | Inter Press Service (ipsnews.net)
Public debt in African economies has become a subject of critical examination as nations grapple with the challenges and opportunities it presents. This research paper embarks on a comprehensive exploration of the complexities surrounding public debt in Africa, aiming to shed light on its historical roots, legal foundations, theoretical dimensions, creation processes, rights and liabilities, and transparency mechanisms. By addressing these multifaceted aspects, this study seeks to offer valuable insights and policy recommendations for effective debt management and governance
Contractionary economic trends since 2008 and ‘geopolitical’ conflicts subverting international cooperation have worsened world conditions, especially in the poorest countries, mainly in Africa, leaving their poor worse off.
Conditions and prospects are so bad that two well-known globalisation cheerleaders have appealed to rich nations for urgent action. Former IMF Deputy Managing Director and World Bank Senior Vice-President, Professor Anne Krueger and influential Financial Times columnist Martin Wolf warn ominously of the dire consequences of inaction.
Article by Jomo Kwame Sundaram
As the end of 2023 approaches, 136 countries are considered to be in a critical debt situation. At the same time, fiscal space has been reduced, leading many, including governments, UN agencies and some international NGOs, to point to debt swaps as an innovative solution for tackling sovereign debt problems, while also generating resources for the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) or climate action. Therefore, debt swaps, while not new, are gaining increasing attention in international development and climate forums, particularly due to the proliferation of so-called “debt-for-nature swaps”.
Read the new report by Eurodad and others
More than 550 economists, development and climate experts including leading economists Yanis Varoufakis, Thomas Picketty, Jayati Ghosh, Ann Pettifor and Jason Hickel, philosopher Olufemi Taiwo and climate activists Vanessa Nakate and Hilda Nakabuye, have signed an open letter calling for debt cancellation at COP28. The open letter also received support from almost 300 organizations worldwide, including some of the most relevant climate networks, development international NGOs and human rights organisations.1
The statement, coordinated by The Asian People’s Movement on Debt and Development, Latindadd, The European Network on Debt and Development (Eurodad) and Debt Justice, calls for cancellation of the debts of lower income countries on the front line of the climate emergency, and for rich countries to significantly increase levels of grant-based climate finance.
The IMF and World Bank closed its historic Annual Meetings in Marrakech – the first in Africa for 50 years – without delivering a response that matches the urgency of the moment.
The institutions still failed to recognise that we are in the worst global south debt crisis ever. Their rhetoric on the impact of severe debt burdens was not matched by action to speed up their sluggish response so far. Beyond baby steps by the Global Sovereign Debt Roundtable to agree on basic elements of debt restructurings, neither the IMF and World Bank, nor the G20 Finance Ministers, took any steps to respond to the calls by civil society and global south leaders, to deliver on debt cancellation and debt architecture reform.
Read Eurodad’s analysis
ActionAid’s report ‘Fifty Years of Failure: the IMF, Debt and Austerity in Africa’ is based on new research and powerful personal testimonies from across 10 African countries. It is timed to coincide with the first IMF / World Bank Annual meeting to be held in Africa for 50 years. The report documents how the IMF imposes austerity policies, undermining health, education and wider development across the continent. Rather than seek systemic solutions to the mounting debt crisis in Africa, and rather than exploring obvious alternatives such as progressive tax reforms, the IMF continues to enforce cuts to public spending that hurt women and disadvantaged groups most acutely.
Fifty Years of Failure: The IMF, Debt and Austerity in Africa | ActionAid International
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