AFRODAD's Braganza Issues Urgent Call for African Empowerment in Video Message Ahead of AfCoDD III
The AfCoDD III conference, set to begin this Wednesday, is anticipated to facilitate extensive discussions among experts, governments, and civil society organizations from across the African continent
Dakar, Senegal — In a compelling video message posted on AFRODAD's YouTube channel, Jason Braganza, the Executive Director of the African Forum and Network on Debt and Development (AFRODAD), issued a passionate call to action just hours before the launch of the third African Conference on Debt and Development (AfCoDD III) in Dakar, writes Winston Mwale.
The conference, organized in partnership with Trust Africa and Afro Catalyst, is poised to address pressing issues related to public debt and development in Africa.
In the video message, Braganza eloquently articulated the core objectives of AfCoDD III, stressing the importance of ensuring that African citizens are well-informed about the continent's debt challenges.
He urged Africans to vocalize these issues in a manner that exerts pressure on governments and creditors to adopt more equitable approaches to debt management.
Braganza also sheds light on the systemic bias within the Global Financial architecture against African borrowers, a bias that results in exorbitant borrowing costs for African nations.
"We aim to shift the paradigm, making Africa a rule maker, not a rule-taker," he passionately stated.
A central theme of Braganza's video message was the critical issue of how debt impacts Africa's youth.
He called upon the younger generation to pose challenging questions about the utilization of borrowed funds, emphasizing that present borrowing patterns often mortgage the future of young Africans.
The AfCoDD III conference, set to begin this Wednesday, is anticipated to facilitate extensive discussions among experts, governments, and civil society organizations from across the African continent.
It aims to provide a platform for African leaders to establish a unified position on the debt-related challenges confronting the continent.
Braganza's impactful video message, shared on AFRODAD's YouTube channel, serves as a powerful precursor to AfCoDD III, underscoring the urgency of addressing Africa's debt predicament and advocating for transparency, empowerment, and collective action to secure a brighter future for the continent.