A Development Economist at the University for Development Studies(UDS), Tamale, Dr. Michael Ayamga-Adongo has advised African countries to seek debt repayment suspension from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank in the face of economic crises underpinned by high debt to Gross Domestic Product (GDP) levels.
Dr. Ayamga-Adongo is of the view that African countries have not fully recovered from the impact of COVID-19, and have become more vulnerable to current global economic difficulties.
“African Union and other regional blocs ought to push the world bank and IMF for some Emergency Debt Service Suspension initiative for Africa(EDSSIA). African economies did not recover from the effects of Covid-19 and are now more vulnerable to current global economic downturns,”he proposed.
He added that the West, rather than take advantage of the weaknesses of African economies as a result of the global economic meltdown, should institute emergency lending to these countries to tone down the constricting powers of the IMF with regard to lending to African countries.
“The developed West must resist the temptation to exploit current economic vulnerabilities in African economics and tighten the noose around our necks.
In addition to EDSSIA, we should have an emergency lending program to Africa would significantly cut the IMF red tape and overreach. We are not asking for debt cancellation,” he concluded.
African countries are faced with very high debt levels, inflation and losses in productive in the immediate aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic. Several of them have already sought bailouts from the IMF in order to not collapse their economies
