South Africa's President Cyril Ramaphosa, right, greets delegates at G20 Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors meeting in Cape Town, South Africa, Wednesday, Feb. 26, 2025.
© picture alliance / ASSOCIATED PRESS | Nardus Engelbrecht
doi:10.18449/2025MTA-PB37
Public debt is rising globally and several countries in Africa are facing debt distress. To advance African priorities during the South African G20 Presidency, the African Union should focus on negotiating short-term gains, such as steps to better address borrowers' needs in debt restructuring.
South Africa's President Cyril Ramaphosa, right, greets delegates at G20 Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors meeting in Cape Town, South Africa, Wednesday, Feb. 26, 2025.
© picture alliance / ASSOCIATED PRESS | Nardus Engelbrecht
Several African countries have defaulted on their debt, and more could follow. Multilateral solutions for debt relief are needed but are complicated by power struggles between the West and China, argue Karoline Eickhoff and Rainer Thiele on the occasion of the Paris Summit.
African cities need to raise USD 20-25 billion investment in basic infrastructure and USD 20 billion for housing to accommodate urban growth. This brief explores how improving creditworthiness, strengthening subnational financial intermediaries and pipelines of transformative investments may support this.
doi:10.18449/2023MTA-PB11
India prioritizes Africa and Asia in its allocation of development projects to the Global South. Our research shows that India tends to make financial commitments in areas where China has increased its activities. This appears to be driven by commercial competition, Gerda Asmus (University of Göttingen), Vera Z. Eichenauer (ETH Zurich), Andreas Fuchs (University of Göttingen and IfW Kiel), and Bradley Parks (William & Mary) write in this Megatrends Afrika Spotlight.
In West African states, criticism of the “neo-colonial” CFA Franc currency and calls for monetary reform are not new. In this Megatrends Afrika Spotlight, Robin Frisch (University of Bayreuth) explains what monetary sovereignty means and how it is debated in CFA Franc countries. A profound monetary reform away from the CFA Franc offers a potential way out. Proposals exist, but they lack implementation.
