News & Analysis: Debt and debt relief
Dr. Patrick Njoroge, Governor of the Central Bank of Kenya, speaks to COVID-19 Africa Watch about Kenya’s economic journey since the onset of the pandemic, the role government has played in mitigating the worst impacts on households and businesses, and the reasons for optimism when it comes to the path ahead.
“The G7 countries pledged a massive scale-up in support of developing-country financing at their recent summit in the UK. How it will be financed remains an open question. But analyzing trends in recent debt flows by lenders to developing countries, and taking stock of the Debt Service Suspension Initiative (DSSI), can provide some important lessons for the G7’s new ambitions.”
COVID-19 Africa Watch talks to State Minister Yasmin Wohabrebbi about the policy response to the pandemic, the efforts to develop the digital economy, and the G20 Debt Service Suspension Initiative (DSSI).
“In terms of geography, money managers who specialize in frontier assets are almost united in favoring Africa, saying the region will benefit the most from rising raw material prices.”
“Better disclosure of the terms of the contracts themselves would certainly be better practice going forward, and in times of stress, it can facilitate quicker and easier engagement with the key multilateral actors.”
“France will grant a $1.5 billion bridge loan to clear Sudan’s arrears to the International Monetary Fund, French Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire said on Monday.”
“International credit-rating agencies perennially assign overinflated risks to Africa, irrespective of its improving macroeconomic fundamentals or the global economic environment. These ‘perception premiums’ are one of the region’s biggest development challenges.”
“The amount of the financing was not disclosed, but the IMF and World Bank put Sudan’s total external debt at an estimated $49.8 billion as of the end of 2019. “
“Importantly, stepped up financing by the IMF needs to be part of a broader package of enhanced international support to LICs, including through commensurate action by the multilateral development banks and bilateral agencies.”
“East Africa was the continent’s most resilient region in 2020 due to less reliance on primary commodities and greater diversification compared with other parts of Africa… The region’s real GDP growth will rebound to 3% in 2021 from 0.7% in 2020, with Djibouti, Tanzania, and Rwanda as the potential top performers.”
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