Ghanaian President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo has called for Africa’s debt to be scrapped.
The President made the call this week when addressing the Summit on the Financing of African Economies, in Paris, France.
According to news service Modern Ghana, Akufo-Addo has called for the reform of the Global Financial Architecture (GFA) to enable it to respond better to Africa’s needs.
Akufo-Addo said the economies of Europe, America and Asia had grown significantly during the period since World War II, whereas those of Africa had not, due to the collateral damage from the Cold War and inequity in the global economic system.
The economic relationship had been built on power and resource grabs, as well as leadership and governance issues on the continent, he added.
“These challenges have resulted in a global economic system that has proven to be incapable of supporting lives and livelihoods, and allocating sufficient long-term resources to support Africa’s economic transformation.”
He told delegates that the Covid-19 pandemic had also ensured that the total fiscal deficit of Africa rose from 4.7% of GDP in 2019 to 8.7% in 2020. Overall debt levels were also estimated to have increased from 57% of GDP in 2019 to 70% in 2021, as reported by the Ghana News Agency.
Akufo-Addo added that, without the fiscal room to breathe, Africa could truly become “the forgotten continent”, and that was why there was an urgent need for comprehensive debt relief and debt cancellation.
Meanwhile, Ghana has secured a €170 million (about US$207 million) facility to set up a national development bank.
The facility was granted during Akufo-Addo’s recent visit to Belgium, reported Pulse Nigeria.
– African News Agency
