Africa has massive annual debt interest repayments, money that is sorely needed for social and public investmentAfrican nations will spend $75 billion on debt interest payments this year, money they desperately need for pressing issues such as social spending and public investments, according to the African Development Bank .
African leaders have been calling for debt relief and more climate finance to help the world’s most vulnerable countries develop their economies. According to Admassu Tadesse, chief executive officer of the Trade and Development Bank, another Pan-African multilateral lender: “That practice is loaded with so much bias that we end up with very unfair return levels being expected and then you just have hoops you have to jump through that become very, very onerous,” he said.The International Monetary Fund estimates that about $500 billion is required in the five years following Covid-19 to return Africa to its pre-pandemic pathway to converge with advanced economies.