The AU theme for the year 2023, “Accelerating the implementation of AfCFTA”
REFLECTION WEBINAR
22nd February 2023 at 09:00 GMT
LINK: https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_SLvjwNfySmGKaTl6IcN-7Q
Dealing with Fiscal Constraints amid Increasing Indebtedness in Africa: Looking Beyond the G20 Common Framework Debt Initiative
Global economic recovery from Covid-19 shocks has been slow. However, the effect of the pandemic still lingers on as it has accelerated Africa’s debt crisis – further exacerbated by the outbreak of war in Eastern Europe whose geopolitical tensions has also produced a food crisis and rising cost of living for many African countries. World Bank analysis and reports show that economic growth in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) decelerate by 3.6 percent in 2022 – down from 4 percent in 2021 but up from zero percent in 2020 due to the economic slowdown induced by the outbreak of the covid-19 pandemic. This occurred amidst a chaotic global environment with multiple (and new) shocks, high volatility, and uncertainty which has also accelerated a debt crisis in the continent with additional countries facing debt distress and seeking for det treatment under the Common Framework – Ghana being the latest country to join Chad, Ethiopia and Ghana as the only country after the Framework was put in place in 2021.
The African continent continues to repatriate much-needed revenues to developed countries in the form of debt servicing, profit shifting, raw material exports and importation of finished goods coupled with limited internal trade that further constrain the continent’s ability to meet essential services for its citizens, including much-needed investment in social safety nets. These challenges have been exacerbated by the Russian-Ukrainian war that is piling pressure on food security – shortages and rising prices, including the persistent climate change risks that are wreaking havoc on the continent with countries like Nigeria experiencing flooding and Kenya experiencing severe drought that has led to deaths both of people and livestock including displacement and severe malnutrition in children.
Join the webinar and hear distinguished speakers argue why indebtedness remains a threat to the continent’s economic recovery, despite initiatives such as AfCFTA.
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