“Bold actions on governance by African countries will help reignite growth over the medium run. But to avoid a catastrophe in the short run, urgent action is needed by the international community on widening access to vaccines and debt relief.”
“Remarkable progress has been made in the face of a historic challenge, but pan-African solutions and innovation will ultimately determine Africa’s COVID-19 future.”
“The COVID-19 pandemic has stressed economies and societies around the world, and in Africa the crisis risks reversing the governance and development successes of the last few decades.”
“Ibrahim warned that 2020 has brought not only the COVID-19 crisis to Africa, but also worrying signs about the state of governance on the continent. He reported that his foundation’s latest Ibrahim Index of African Governance report showed a decline in its measures of good governance for the first time in a decade, even alongside optimism about places such as Sudan that are undergoing democratic revivals.”
“Since the end of the Cold War, a handful of powers have been able to exert influence across the African continent: the United States, China, the European Union, and India. The resource-scarce post-COVID environment will accelerate competition between these powers and lead them into intersecting spheres of influence. The United States is set for declining influence on the continent, creating a vacuum for Europe and China to either willingly or begrudgingly fill.”
“Last month’s Group of Twenty finance ministers’ meeting proved that the international community is too cautious about helping Africa in its time of need. The ministers failed to extend a debt-service moratorium through 2021, and they offered no other assistance even as COVID-19 spreads across Africa, stretching health care systems and destroying livelihoods.”
“The impasse between the G-20 and international financiers has bolstered the position of Chinese lenders, who hold an additional $64 billion of disbursed credits in Africa alone, and who also are pursuing painstaking restructuring talks. Taken together, the position of the Chinese and the financiers could make it harder for African governments to respond to the pandemic.”
“Since South Africa instituted a country-wide lockdown on March 27, the number of violent incidents by police against civilians has reportedly more than doubled, with poor and vulnerable populations most affected.”
“‘Coronavirus is mainly a health issue, and our key focus is ensuring that we keep our people safe,’ he said. ‘But this is also an economic crisis because it has resulted in some key sectors hugely affected by lockdowns. We were forced to close our airspace, which affected tourism, a very critical part of our economy.'”
“‘The only economic recovery tool that we have collectively as Africans is implementation of this agreement, so that trade becomes the driver of Africa’s recovery.'”
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