Africa

Unsustainable debt burdens and escalating climate shocks have left African economies with little fiscal space to invest in their future. Without a reform of the global financial system, the continent’s development and Europe’s stability face growing risks.

Africa’s debt crisis is rapidly intensifying. Rising interest rates, climate shocks and an unfair global financial architecture are pushing many countries to the brink of default. Joe Kobuthi explains why existing debt relief initiatives fall short and which new approaches Africa needs to regain financial sovereignty.

The Global South is caught in a worsening debt crisis that drains resources from essential services. Reallocating IMF Special Drawing Rights could offer a just and sustainable way out.

Rather than pursuing expensive, debt-driven mega-projects, African countries should invest in social sectors and adopt a new, sustainable model of growth.

High debt and climate vulnerability reinforce each other. Yet with targeted relief and reforms, Africa could break this vicious cycle and enter a positive cycle of green growth.

Kenya’s debt crisis is no longer seen merely as a result of global dependence. Behind the government bonds stands a domestic elite that has shaped the system to its own advantage.

For years, Senegal misled the public about the true extent of its national debt. It has now come to light that roughly a quarter of the country’s GDP was missing from the books. The debt scandal reveals the full scope of opacity and institutional failure.

Sovereign debt is less a financial problem than a tool of neo-imperialist control, our author argues. It is designed to keep the Global South locked in dependency and subordination. 

As Malawi diverts resources to service rising foreign debt, women and children face the harshest consequences.

To combat the effects of corruption and significant sovereign debt will require economic structural reform and addressing the flaws of the global financial architecture pertaining to sovereign debt.