By BUUMBA CHIMBULU in Maputo
A CONFERENCE bringing together African countries, including Zambia, to discuss and debate the continent’s path towards economic, political and social self-determination has opened today in Maputo the Mozambican capital.
The three-day fourth edition of the African Conference on Debt and Development (AfCoDD IV) would be held under the theme: “Africa’s Debt Crisis: Pan-African Feminist Perspectives and Alternatives.”
AfCoDD IV has been organised by the African Forum and Network on Debt and Development (AFRODAD), together with the Nawi Afrifem Macroeconomic Collective (Nawi), the Centre for Democracy and Human Rights (CDD), and the Stop the Bleeding Campaign (STBC).
The theme for this years’ AfCoDD challenges long-held views on macroeconomic modelling and offered a feminist lens that exposed a fractured global debt and financial architecture that prioritised profits over people, with African women disproportionately affected.
According to the concept note, the conference was in recognition of the critical need to address the deficit in alternative proposals distributional impacts of the debt crisis, and the entrenchment of colonial extractive economic modelling that perpetuate the subjugation of African women.
The conference would also focus on the mounting debt most African countries were experiencing.
“As of 2024, four African countries have signalled default (Ethiopia and Chad) or have defaulted on their debt (Ghana and Zambia), while a further 29 are classified as being high risk of debt distress according to AFRODAD’s debt heat map.
“Even with debt relief programmes like the Debt Service Suspension Initiative (DSSI); the G20s Common Framework; the IMF’s Special Drawing Rights, many African countries are required to service bilateral and private sector debt crippling their ability to respond to domestic socio-economic pressures, and in effect de-invest in public services,” the concept note stated.
According to the concept note, the increase in private creditors for African countries meant that borrowing terms and conditions were more stringent.
It noted that the policy space was heavily restricted with objective to keep creditworthiness a central theme in policy making across Africa over the past decade.
“In addition to the constrained policy space, domestic legislation and policy frameworks governing borrowing and lending have not kept a pace with rate of increase in borrowing from international capital markets.
“The need to maintain creditworthiness via credit ratings has forced African governments to prioritise debt servicing over investment in public services such as education and health,” the concept note indicated.
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