Decolonising Africa’s Debt and Reclaiming Her Future | Part 2 of 6 - Debt Cancellation is Not Enough!
Why is debt cancellation alone insufficient to solve Africa's economic crises, and what deeper structural transformations are required?
Debt Cancellation is Not Enough, explores why debt cancellation alone cannot deliver economic justice. Drawing on African Futures Lab's Debt Cancellation Is Not Enough! report, the episode examines how debt is rooted in a global financial architecture shaped by colonial power relations, unequal decision-making, and extractive economic models.
Joining the conversation is Grieve Chelwa, Associate Professor of Political Economy and Chair of Social Sciences at The Africa Institute. The discussion engages themes from his recent book, How the International Monetary Fund Strangles Africa, and explores the role of institutions such as the IMF and World Bank in perpetuating debt and economic dependency across the continent. We discuss what reparative justice would require: restructuring global finance, redistributing financial power, reclaiming policy autonomy, and building more just economic futures.
In this episode, we cover:
- Beyond short-term relief: Why debt cancellation without structural reform fails to stop future dependency.
- Global financial architecture: How power asymmetries within major institutions reinforce cycles of debt.
- State responsibility and accountability: Balancing demands on global institutions with sound, equitable domestic governance.