Africa's Debt Bondage: A Case for Total Cancellation

Abstract

From the early 1980s to the present, Africa's external debt burden has become increasingly onerous and unmanageable. The continent's inability to service its debt is vividly reflected not only by a massive build-up of arrears but most importantly, by the number and frequency of rescheduling. Although most concerned parties agree on the urgent need for creative and innovative approaches to resolve Africa's debt crisis, opinions differ considerably as to what exactly needs to be done. Recent partial and often disjointed debt relief measures that have been tried to manage the debt crisis have been found largely inadequate. It is hereby proposed that debt should be cancelled for highly indebted poor countries. This is precisely because debt repayment is economically exhausting as it continues to block future development; it is politically destabilising as it threatens social harmony; and, it is ethically unacceptable as it hurts the poorest of the poor.



Eastern Africa Social Science Research Review (EASSRR) Vol. XVII No. 1 January 2001, pp. 31-52