THE IMPACT OF PUBLIC DEBT ON HUMAN RIGHTS DURING COVID-19

The document argues that the South African government's pursuit of fiscal sustainability through austerity—including cuts to health, education, and social grants—violates international human rights obligations. It contends that South Africa's debt is not as dire as claimed, given its high levels of domestically-denominated debt and access to capital markets. The authors advocate for a rights-based definition of debt sustainability, a shift toward progressive taxation (such as a wealth tax), and a global debt deal involving comprehensive cancellation for developing nations.

• The South African government has used the claim that its debt is "unsustainable" to justify significant cuts to social expenditure and limit COVID-19 relief, including plans for a primary budget surplus in 2023/24 based on R265 billion in spending cuts.
• South Africa's risk of a sovereign debt crisis is currently low because nearly 90% of its national government debt is denominated in Rands and foreign exchange reserves are at historically high levels.
• Austerity measures have led to the first reduction in nominal non-interest government expenditure in at least twenty years, resulting in real-term cuts to health budgets, education, social grants, and public sector wages.
• The South African government's fiscal austerity may have hindered the COVID-19 vaccine rollout; reports indicate the Treasury refused to make a payment to COVAX, which was eventually covered by the Solidarity Fund.
• Developing countries are disadvantaged in the global financial system due to unaccountable credit rating agencies, high borrowing costs (5-16% for African countries on 10-year bonds compared to near-zero for high-income countries), and restrictive IFI conditionalities.
• Under the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR), austerity measures are only legitimate if they are necessary for the protection of rights, rather than simply for fiscal discipline.

APA

Institute for Economic Justice (2021). THE IMPACT OF PUBLIC DEBT ON HUMAN RIGHTS DURING COVID-19. https://iej.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/IEJfactsheet-4-Debt-sustainability-2.pdf

Chicago

Institute for Economic Justice. THE IMPACT OF PUBLIC DEBT ON HUMAN RIGHTS DURING COVID-19. 2021. https://iej.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/IEJfactsheet-4-Debt-sustainability-2.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=Institute for Economic Justice |title=THE IMPACT OF PUBLIC DEBT ON HUMAN RIGHTS DURING COVID-19 |date=2021 |url=https://iej.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/IEJfactsheet-4-Debt-sustainability-2.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{instituteforeconomicjustice2021impact, author = {{Institute for Economic Justice}}, title = {{THE IMPACT OF PUBLIC DEBT ON HUMAN RIGHTS DURING COVID-19}}, institution = {Institute for Economic Justice}, year = {2021}, url = {https://iej.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/IEJfactsheet-4-Debt-sustainability-2.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }