Debt crisis faced by several African countries
For the median sub-Saharan African country, the loan interest to revenue ratio has doubled in the past decade to 11 % — a rate almost four times higher than in advanced economies, according to a 2023 International Monetary Fund publication.
To reflect on the growing incidence of countries getting trapped in a cycle of debt and distress, economists and policy experts from different parts of the world converged at a recent international conference on the ‘African debt crisis’ in the coastal city of Accra, Ghana
It was organised by the International Development Economics Associates (IDEAs)
Causes of the debt crisis
Driven by international agencies and powerful actors, the narratives of ‘fastest growing economy’ and ‘emerging markets’ pushed many African governments into indiscriminate borrowing (ex: loans that invariably fuel consumption)
Low-income countries are increasingly borrowing from private creditors.
Because rich countries won’t make affordable credit available
Ghana
Ghana is a country in West Africa.
It abuts the Gulf of Guinea and the Atlantic Ocean to the south, sharing a border with Ivory Coast(Côte d'Ivoire) in the west, Burkina Faso in the north, and Togo in the east.
Ghana covers an area spanning diverse biomes that range from coastal savannas to tropical rainforests.
The capital and largest city is Accra
The White Volta River and its tributary Black Volta, flow south through Ghana to Lake Volta, the world's third-largest reservoir by volume and largest by surface area
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