President William Ruto has called out international lenders for imposing higher interest rates on loans to poorer countries and offering lower rates to richer countries.

Speaking during the second Africa Climate Summit in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, on Monday, September 8, 2025, Ruto decried the disparity as a new form of colonialism.

“The current international financial architecture has increasingly become an agent of a new form of colonialism. It punishes poor countries with high interest rates while rewarding rich countries with very low interest rates,” Ruto said.

Cycle of debt dependency

The head of state went ahead to state that the higher interest on loans to poorer African countries had locked countries in vicious cycles of debt dependency, denying them an opportunity for growth and investment.

“This injustice locks developing nations in cycles of debt and dependency, denying them the resources they need to invest in growth, opportunity, and dignity for their people,” Ruto observed.

He vowed to reverse the current international lending system, noting that his continued speaking against it would set things rolling on the path to correcting the trend.

Unfair global financial system

“We will not remain silent until this unjust financial architecture is reformed. We will continue to speak out because the present system does a grave disservice to the developing world and undermines the promise of shared prosperity,” Ruto said.

“The time has come for a fair and just financial order, one that recognises the aspirations of all nations and gives every country the chance to thrive,” he urged.

Ruto addressed heads of state and country representatives on the sidelines of the second Africa Climate Summit, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, during the special session on ‘Breaking the Vicious Cycle: Debt, Nature and Climate’.

Ruto has been a vocal critic of the global financial system and what he sees as a disproportionate burden on African countries due to high interest rates.

He argues that the current international financial architecture is ‘faulty, unfair, and not right.’ Ruto has consistently pointed out that developing nations, particularly in Africa, are forced to pay significantly higher interest rates on loans compared to their developed counterparts, creating a “vicious cycle of debt” that stifles economic growth and development.