Debt reform could unlock $320bn and save lives across Africa, new analysis finds

AS GLOBAL financial leaders gather in Washington, D.C. this week for the annual World Bank and International Monetary Fund (IMF) meetings, a new analysis from the African Center for Economic Transformation (ACET) is drawing attention to the human cost — and potential human benefit — of reforming the world’s debt system.

- SIPHELELE DLUDLA

MAVIS Owusu-Gyamfi, ACET president and CEO, said those resources could achieve a lot if redirected toward strengthening clinics, training teachers or ensuring families have access to clean water. SUPPLIED

The report, unveiled on Wednesday, reveals that capping African governments’ debt servicing costs could unlock more than $320 billion in revenue, transforming lives across the continent and offering struggling governments a path out of what ACET calls a “cycle of debt and dependence.”

Mavis Owusu-Gyamfi, ACET president and CEO, said those resources could achieve a lot if redirected toward strengthening clinics, training teachers or ensuring families have access to clean water.

“African governments are currently spending nearly 17% of their revenues just to service debt — often paying more to creditors than they do for their citizens’ health and education” Owusu-Gyamfi said.

“This isn’t just a fiscal challenge; it’s a human one. Every dollar used to pay debt is a dollar that could change a life —a child’s chance to learn, a mother’s access to health care, or a community's path out of poverty.

Owusu-Gyamfi said that as South Africa prepares to host the G20 Heads of State Summit next month, the continent has a “crucial opportunity to call for a fairer global debt system that truly serves its people.”