Finance Minister Urges Fairer Global Framework as Africa’s Debt Burden Hits $1.3 Trillion
Ghana’s finance minister, Cassiel Ato Forson, has warned that Africa’s mounting $1.3tn debt load requires a more equitable global response, even as trade unions intensify calls for outright cancellation.
Speaking in Accra after receiving a petition from the African Regional Organisation of the International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC-Africa) and Ghana’s Trade Union Congress, Forson said rejecting repayment obligations was not a viable option. Instead, he argued for a debt resolution framework that balances creditor interests with the economic realities facing distressed countries.
“Africa cannot simply declare a refusal to repay,” Forson said. “What is required is a fairer and more sustainable approach that recognises the plight of economies such as Ghana.”
The petition submitted by the unions demanded the cancellation of Africa’s external debt, saying ballooning repayments were undermining investment in health, education and jobs.
Forson acknowledged the growing advocacy push, noting that the issue of debt sustainability has regained prominence amid the post-pandemic recovery, high inflation and sharp currency depreciation across much of the continent. Ghana itself is in the middle of a sweeping domestic and external debt restructuring as part of a $3bn IMF programme.
Unions and civil society groups across Africa have been stepping up pressure on international lenders to take bolder action. Without more decisive relief, analysts warn, governments could be trapped in a cycle of repeated borrowing and austerity that hampers long-term growth.
