Catholics call for debt relief to help African countries
By Victor Mukabi, February 14, 2025A consortium of catholic church leaders has asked global lenders to cancel debts owed to them by African nations to help them regain their economic foothold.
This move, according to the consortium which comprised of AMECEA, the Jesuit Justice and Ecology Network Africa (JENA), in collaboration with Caritas Africa and the Symposium of Episcopal Conferences of Africa and Madagascar (SECAM), will have a mutual growth impact stimulated by healthier economies.
Father Charlie Chifyula, the director of Jesuits Justice and Ecology Network Africa (JENA), stated that the debt obligations by most African countries, Kenya included have, continued to slow down economic progress. He was speaking during a media workshop themed “Pilgrims of Hope”, where the debt cancellation campaign was launched.
The debt burden has led to most crucial socioeconomic factors such as education, health and infrastructure development face harsh challenges as a result of low funding by the government as a result of focusing on debt servicing.
Kenya in particular according to the priest, spends 60 per cent of its revenue on debt servicing which are paid in US dollars, while about 35 per cent on salary payment and the remaining 5 per cent on development projects.
Chifyula said debt is not just an economic issue but a moral one, adding that the burden of unjust debt undermines the dignity of millions, stifles development, and traps nations in cycles of poverty.
“The Church, Guided by Pope Francis’s vision, stands in solidarity with those affected, advocating for a more Just and compassionate financial system,” he said. The initiative inspired by Pope Francis’s call for a Jubilee Year, seeks to mobilise action across Africa for the cancellation of unjust debts and advocate for reforms in the global financial architecture.
Jubilee Year
The campaign is rooted in the Catholic Church’s enduring commitment to social justice, drawing from the theological foundations of the Jubilee Year as a time of renewal, hope, and liberation.
Kenya, according to Chifyula, struggles with the debts which come with high interest, leading to the cumulative amount almost doubling the principal amount becoming a huge burn compared to well developed economies such as the US.
“The debt in Africa is making us slaves and slaves in the sense that the interest rates are too exorbitant, too high, that there is no particular time in Africa that we shall ever say we are free from debt and so the global economy has chosen to make Africa slave in that way,” he explained. He noted that interest rates are so high in these very poor countries, which have a very small economy.
The public debt, according to a report by the National Treasury and the Central Bank of Kenya (CBK) shows that the country’s public debt as of September 2024 reached Sh10.79 trillion from Sh10.56 trillion in June indicating an upward trajectory. On the other hand, public and publicly guaranteed external debt stood at $ 40.16 billion (Sh5.18 trillion) slightly lower than domestic debt.
Despite the percentage, the obligation surpasses the annual revenue collected by the government, meaning that, if the amount was to be fully cleared the government will have to spend its entire revenue, something which is not tenable.
Building on the Legacy of Jubilee 2000, the Jubilee 2025 Africa Campaign builds on the historic success of the Jubilee 2000 Campaign, a global movement spearheaded by faith-based organizations, including the Catholic Church.
That campaign achieved significant victories, resulting in over $100 billion (Sh12.9 trillion) in debt relief for some of the world’s poorest countries, including Uganda, Mozambique, and Tanzania.
“This debt cancellation enabled countries to invest in critical sectors such as health, education, and infrastructure, dramatically improving the lives of Million, Jubilee 2025 seeks to reignite that spirit of hope and action,” he elaborated.
According to recent data, over 22 African countries are either in debt distress or at high risk, with Kenya in particular falling under countries at the desk of falling into debts distress category.
The Covid-19 pandemic, coupled with global economic shocks, has exacerbated the situation, leaving nations struggling to meet basic needs while servicing unsustainable debts.
Sustainable development
Jubilee 2025 Debt Cancellation Campaign highlights how these debts, often incurred under unfair conditions, perpetuate inequality and hinder sustainable development.
The religious leaders have also called for transparency and accountability on the status of the public debts which in most cases are kept under wraps.
This factor came out boldly during the first half of 2024 when the economy faced a slow down as a result of the GenZ led demonstrations.
According to the church leaders, debts are still crucial for economic development but require accountability and transparency to be effective.
“Majority of Kenyans if you asked them whether to take debts or not, they would say no. Why? Because these funds are often pocketed by politicians depriving them of development though the citizens ultimately get to repay them through high taxation,” he explained.
“The debts again are restructured to the next generation once the government realises a default,” Chifyula added.
This factor, according to him also leads to accrued interest rates thereby rendering the economy to modern slavery.
Chifyula said in terms of the repetitiveness of debt default, the stated that, the government will have to embrace the transparency in order to gain more access to these funds.