A group of former African leaders is growing louder in its push for collective relief from private, bilateral, and multilateral creditors as some of the world’s poorest countries struggle to meet crippling debt burdens.
The African Leaders Debt Relief Initiative launched earlier this year in Cape Town, South Africa, on the sidelines of the G20 finance ministers’ meeting. With it came the Cape Town Declaration, which calls for comprehensive debt restructuring and efforts to lower the cost of capital for highly indebted countries. The group is chaired by former Nigerian President Olusegun Obasanjo, and includes former presidents from Senegal, Malawi, Tanzania, Ghana, and Mauritius, and a former prime minister of Ethiopia.
“About 90% of African countries are using their resources to service debt interest — so they are, of course, not investing enough on health, not investing at all, if anything, on education. And yet, we know these are the prime movers of growth,” Ameenah Gurib-Fakim, former president of Mauritius, told Devex in Sevilla, Spain, last week at the fourth Financing for Development conference.
About the author
Tania Karas@TaniaKaras
Tania Karas is a Senior Editor at Devex, where she edits coverage on global development and humanitarian aid in the Americas. Previously, she managed the digital team for The World, where she oversaw content production for the website, podcast, newsletter, and social media platforms. Tania also spent three years as a foreign correspondent in Greece, Turkey, and Lebanon, covering the Syrian refugee crisis and European politics. She started her career as a staff reporter for the New York Law Journal, covering immigration and access to justice.
