🌍💡 AfCoDD III Sparks Revolutionary Ideas for African Debt Management
The keynote speaker during this session underscored the imperative to reevaluate debt management strategies within African nations.
DAKAR, Senegal — The 3rd Edition of the African Conference on Debt and Development (AfCoDD III) in Dakar, Senegal, has transformed into a pivotal forum, addressing the intricate issue of African debt management, writes Winston Mwale.
Notably, Aziz Saimone Fall, a speaker at the event representing the Research and Initiative for the Liberation of Africa, introduced groundbreaking strategies aimed at reshaping debt dynamics and fostering unity among African nations.
These innovative proposals were presented during a breakout session titled "Driving Economic Transformation: African Borrower Coordination in Action."
The keynote speaker during this session underscored the imperative to reevaluate debt management strategies within African nations.
He introduced innovative concepts such as Roscoe, Cancross, and Care course, envisioning a trajectory where countries evolve from new borrowers to advanced borrowers and eventually transition into new lenders.
The speaker voiced apprehensions over prevailing strategies, suggesting that some countries had become ensnared in a debt trap.
This concern accentuated the pressing need to explore fresh approaches.
A notable proposal was the formation of a consortium, a supranational African partnership and corporation entity.
The consortium's primary objective would be to bolster negotiating power, facilitating more favourable terms for economic repayments and loans.
Internal governance, public finance management, transparency, and anti-corruption efforts were identified as key factors in securing resources effectively.
The consortium's envisioned role encompassed assessing debts, mobilising debt repayment, and promoting debt sustainability and transparency.
Additionally, a borrowing fund, grounded in trust and coordination, would enable collective borrowing through the consortium.
“We all need to get better, be armed with science, armed with courage, and truly look at the essential needs of our populations, “ he said.
“This is why I believe that the common strategy of the stakeholders could reflect on collective approaches to collectively aim, collectively push, collectively spend, and this, of course, in the spirit of an Africa united and sovereign.”
Other recommendations by Fall included the establishment of a bridging insurance mechanism for non-repayment scenarios, suspension or cancellation of repayments under specific circumstances, and resistance to foreign currency borrowing and trading.
The speaker even broached the idea of proposing a World Bank that lends without interest for projects aligning with public interests and environmental preservation.
Investing in common infrastructure, goods, and collective well-being unity was stressed as a means to harness the benefits of collective borrowing.
AfCoDD III has thus emerged as a platform not only for discussing the challenges of African debt management but also for exploring innovative solutions that could reshape the continent's financial landscape.