The executive secretary of the UN Economic Commission for Africa, Claver Gatete, says Africa’s public debt crisis is a deeper development crisis requiring urgent reform.

Mr Gatete said this in a statement on the commission’s website on Wednesday.

He spoke in Lomé, Togo, at the inaugural African Union Debt Conference attended by over 500 delegates, including Heads of State, finance ministers, central bank governors, and development partners.

Mr Gatete outlined five priorities to restore Africa’s fiscal space, including reframing debt as a development tool and investing in energy, infrastructure, and industry rather than consumption.

“Debt is not inherently bad. What matters is what it is used for,” he said.

He stressed the need for transparency in debt management and called for country-owned strategies that include liabilities from state-owned enterprises.

Mr Gatete also called for reforms to the global financial architecture, which he described as outdated and biased in favour of creditors.

The executive secretary called for improvement to the G20 Common Framework and establishing an African credit rating agency.

He said other priorities included scaling up green and innovative financing tools such as sustainability-linked loans and debt-for-climate swaps.

Mr Gatete also emphasised strengthening domestic resource mobilisation through tax reform, digitisation and curbing illicit financial flows.

“The African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) remains Africa’s most powerful structural response. Africa is not without solutions. What we need is principled, unified action, and we at the ECA are ready to walk this path with you,” Mr Gatete said

President Faure Gnassingbé of Togo, who opened the session, called for a collective African ambition rooted in sovereignty, solidarity, and regional stability.

He urged participants to rethink global debt rules. According to him, when used strategically and responsibly, debt must serve as a tool for the common good.

Former Ghanaian President John Mahama shared Ghana’s debt restructuring experience, saying sustainable debt management must prioritise governance and development impact.

He urged Africa to speak with one voice in global financial negotiations.
Commissioner Moses Vilakazi of the African Union Commission said that the debt crisis had become a human development crisis and called for African-led reforms.

(NAN)