Sub-Saharan Africa faces huge debt challenge

WASHINGTON - Sub-Saharan Africa faces a huge challenge, made worse by the coronavirus pandemic, to find nearly US$900 billion to repay massive debt and fund essential public spending, the International Monetary Fund has warned.

In a special report, the IMF said the region would require some US$890 billion in external financing - equal to 55% of its total annual economic output - between now and 2023.

While the G20 countries have offered African states debt relief, they should do more and be "more audacious" in their help, the IMF said.

The IMF noted that the Sub-Saharan region had been on course to reduce its debt burden but it now looks as if the debt-GDP ratio will hit 65% by the end of this year when it had been relatively stable at 55%.

For the biggest economy in the region, Nigeria, it will be 68%, as it suffers from lower oil prices and demand.

G20

The IMF said regional states would need to spend US$480 billion just to finance their external debt, with the rest going to cover budget deficits.

Of the total US$890 billion, about less than half is expected to come from private sources and about a quarter from institutions such as the IMF, it said.

For the moment, it is not yet known where the remaining US$290 billion will come from, leaving the region facing a "financial gap."

The Washington-based lender said the G20 will have to do more, giving regional countries more leeway to tackle the coronavirus, and adding that it had stumped up US$16 billion over the past six months in the region. – Nampa/AFP