Africa’s Debt Priorities: A Sustainability Perspective

The document analyzes the increasing debt distress in Africa, noting that public debt reached 65.6% of GDP in 2022. It highlights the shift toward non-concessional debt and the role of private creditors, who now hold over 40% of Africa's total external debt. The brief argues that the G20's Common Framework needs reform to be more inclusive of middle-income countries and private creditors. It advocates for the establishment of an African Credit Rating Agency to counter perceived biases from global agencies and the creation of an African Debt Monitoring Mechanism by June 2024 to improve transparency. Key recommendations include restructuring multilateral development banks, extending debt repayment periods, and increasing IMF Poverty Reduction Growth Trust access limits.

• Africa's public debt was 65.6% of GDP in 2022, with eight countries in debt distress and 13 at high risk. Specific countries in debt distress include the Republic of Congo, Ghana, Malawi, São Tomé and Príncipe, Somalia, Sudan, Zambia, and Zimbabwe.
• The composition of African external debt has shifted toward private creditors, who now account for more than 40% of the total. Bilateral debt has also expanded beyond the Paris Club to include China, Saudi Arabia, India, and the United Arab Emirates.
• High debt servicing costs are diverting resources from social and development spending; for the 2019–2021 period, the ratio of public debt interest payments to health expenditure was 147%.
• The G20's Common Framework for Debt Treatments is viewed as needing improvement in effectiveness and transparency. Proposed reforms include expanding the creditor committee to include private sector creditors and extending coverage to middle-income countries.
• African leaders perceive bias in the 'big three' credit rating agencies (Fitch, Standard and Poor’s, and Moody’s), suggesting that more objective ratings could save African countries up to $74.5 billion. Consequently, an African Credit Rating Agency is planned for launch in early 2024.
• To improve debt transparency, African leaders agreed during the September 2023 Africa Climate Summit to adopt an African Debt Monitoring Mechanism by June 2024.
• There is a call for the IMF to align Poverty Reduction Growth Trust (PRGT) access limits with those of the General Resource Account (GRA), specifically increasing the annual access limit to 200% and the cumulative limit to 600%.

APA

South African Institute of International Affairs (2023). Africa’s Debt Priorities: A Sustainability Perspective. https://saiia.org.za/research/africas-debt-priorities-a-sustainability-perspective-required-support-from-the-g20/

Chicago

South African Institute of International Affairs. Africa’s Debt Priorities: A Sustainability Perspective. 2023. https://saiia.org.za/research/africas-debt-priorities-a-sustainability-perspective-required-support-from-the-g20/.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=South African Institute of International Affairs |title=Africa’s Debt Priorities: A Sustainability Perspective |date=14 December 2023 |url=https://saiia.org.za/research/africas-debt-priorities-a-sustainability-perspective-required-support-from-the-g20/ |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{southafricaninstituteofinternationalaffairs2023africas, author = {{South African Institute of International Affairs}}, title = {{Africa’s Debt Priorities: A Sustainability Perspective}}, institution = {South African Institute of International Affairs}, year = {2023}, month = dec, url = {https://saiia.org.za/research/africas-debt-priorities-a-sustainability-perspective-required-support-from-the-g20/}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }