President Ruto’s call yesterday for financial reforms and enhanced cooperation is crucial, but it requires African leaders first to embrace responsibility and act in the continent’s best interests.
His appeal for China to facilitate access to concessional funding for African countries is both timely and strategic. As African nations grapple with debt and underfunded infrastructure, concessional loans – low-interest financing for development – can be a critical tool for fostering sustainable growth.
Ruto’s call for stakeholders to increase their contributions to multilateral development banks such as the International Development Association of the World Bank, which offers concessional financing to developing nations, is equally important and significant.
The current international financial system has long been viewed as unjust to countries in the Global South, including Africa. It often imposes restrictive terms that limit development potential and trap nations in cycles of debt. Ruto’s proposal to work with international partners, including China, to re-profile debt by extending grace periods and loan tenures for both existing and future financing could help ease the financial strain many African nations face.
This would not only provide much-needed breathing space for economies in recovery but also them to focus on long-term development without the immediate burden of unsustainable debt.
Additionally, there is an urgent need to reform the international credit rating and debt sustainability systems, which often unfairly portray African nations as high-risk borrowers, driving up interest rates. This negative perception limits access to affordable financing and hinders Africa’s growth prospects. African leadershave an opportunity to reshape global perceptions of African economies.
However, African leaders must also look in the proverbial mirror and reflect on their internal governance challenges. While the international financial system has contributed to Africa’s slow development, corruption and mismanagement of resources have played an equally significant role.
Under their watch, billions of dollars have been lost to graft, leading to collapsed systems and underperforming economies. Africa is endowed with vast natural resources and human capital, and the continent should not continue to use a begging bowl.
Until African leaders adopt a mindset of accountability and better governance, their calls for financial reform may be perceived as little more than diplomatic expeditions to justify the misspending of taxpayers’ money.
