African central bank governors have voiced concern over the continent’s rising borrowing costs, emphasizing that the current pace of development is not sustainable for the continent’s efficient growth.
The governors, who are calling for a sharp reduction in borrowing costs, said that they will present this position at the upcoming annual meetings of the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund. They are also pushing for the adoption of a single African position, according to The Punch.
The Governor, Bank of South Sudan, and Chair of the Monetary Affairs Committee for the East African Community, Dr James Garang, stated this in an interview with journalists at the sidelines of the 2024 African Caucus Meeting held on Friday in Abuja.
The African Caucus founded in 1963 in order to give African governors a stronger voice in the Bretton Woods Institutions on development issues that are important to Africa.
According to the CBN International Payments Data, the FG spent the highest on debt financing in May at $854.36m, which is also the highest paid in a single month in the past year.
Speaking on the subject of equitable financing, a position that is shared by the governors of Central Banks from African states, Garang emphasized that the meeting needed to focus on fair financing options, given the potential of the continent.
He said, “Equitable Financing is one of the issues that will be tackled in the memorandum and also in the declaration. There is a need to reform global financial architecture.
“It revolves around many things but I will just highlight three things. One is there is a need to reduce the cost of borrowing and enhance access to finance and also harmonise policies among ourselves and ensure that the voices of Africa are heard on the table.
“This is the point that we heard earlier, where Ambassador Amina Mohammed was talking about the G20. And also Ambassador Albert Muchanga of the EU Commission. They were talking about what can be done to ensure that Africa sits at the table where decisions around global financial architecture are met. So these are some of the things that are going to be coming up in the memorandum.”
He added that the forum will also focus on access to energy while seeking support from international lenders.
He stressed that the African Central Bank governors were worried about the increasing youth population and underlined that a strategy will be adopted to tackle this problem.
“The governors are very conscious about the level of unemployment today in the region and the continent. There is going to be a section in the memorandum that focuses on improving youth employment and opportunities across the board because we have not seen this not just for one country. The governors are very conscious and they will ensure that policies that focus on youth employment will be addressed.
“The other two things will of course be around issues that have to do with access to energy. And this is the area where the African Development Bank and the World Bank are taking the lead role to support the continent,” the governor noted.
