Former President Akufo-Addo calls for the cancellation of Africa’s debt

Former President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo has called for the cancellation of Africa’s debt to creditors across the world to offer relief to African nations currently struggling to service their debts. 

He said Africa needed a new global debt relief initiative, ambitious, equitable and tailored to its realities, reiterating his call for debt forgiveness to unlock resources for development.

The former President also advocated a reflection on a programme of “Debt Relief for Green Investment and Resilience” — linking debt cancellation directly to investments in climate adaptation and sustainable growth, emphasising that “Africa contributes less than four per cent of global emissions, yet it suffers the brunt of climate change”.

Former President Akufo-Addo was speaking in Brussels, Belgium, last Thursday, at the African Union-European Union ((AU-EU) High Level Seminar to mark their 25 years of partnership.

The former President stated that African nations, rich in resources and potential, were forced to export raw materials at depressed prices while importing finished goods at a premium.

He said the continent’s debt-to-Gross Domestic Product (GDP) ratios, averaging around 60 to 70 per cent, might seem modest compared to the G7’s over 111 per cent, but the terms were punitive.

“Interest rates for African borrowers are often double or triple those faced by wealthy nations, turning loans into shackles rather than lifelines.

This is not economics. It is inequity,” he said.

Reflecting on his tenure in office, he said the debt restructuring Ghana had to go through faced several challenges, including delays, complex negotiations and uneven burden-sharing, but he persisted until it paid off.

“In 2024, we restructured about $13 billion of Eurobonds and secured commitments that will deliver roughly $10.5 billion in external debt service relief through 2026.

“As a result of these efforts, our debt ratio — which had climbed to the mid-80s as a share of GDP — declined to about 70.5 per cent in 2024.

This progress underpinned our International Monetary Fund (IMF) programme and restored investor confidence.

And with stability came momentum: Ghana’s economy grew by 5.7 per cent last year, one of the strongest performances in Africa,” he explained.

Former President Akufo-Addo said the process which was characterised by prolonged uncertainty eroded investor confidence and inflicted a heavy cost on the country, a period he described as a “dark cloud moment”, for him as President.  

He emphasised that domestic bondholders — pensioners, youth and ordinary Ghanaians — bore losses that shattered livelihoods.

Mr Akufo-Addo added that while the country was currently emerging, the relief felt less like a solution and more like a pause before the next storm.

“The framework we signed up to under the programme, while a step forward, is fundamentally flawed.

It lacks binding rules to hold all creditors — public and private — to fair burden-sharing.

It fails to address the structural roots of debt accumulation. In short, it offers reprieve, not resolution,” he said.

Stand with AU

The former President urged the European partners, especially Germany, France, Italy and the European Union Commission, which commands four seats within the G20, to stand with the AU to advance ambitious reforms of the Common Framework to establish a truly comprehensive global debt relief.

He urged them to implement the immediate debt service suspension, comprehensive restructuring and new concessional financing, emphasising that by doing so, “you do not invest in charity—you invest in partnership.

You invest in a prosperous Africa that contributes to global stability and shared growth”.

Former President Akufo-Addo affirmed that the benefits of debt relief for Africa, and for the world — were enormous and life-changing as well as strengthening economic stability.

“Today, too many African nations spend more on debt than on health care or education.

By easing this burden, governments can invest in essential services and unlock new opportunities for trade and investment, creating gains that ripple across the global economy.

“It also delivers profound humanitarian dividends. Freed resources can reduce poverty, expand education, and build resilient health systems.

That does not only help Africa — it protects the world from future pandemics and humanitarian crises,” he said.

The former President urged the global partners together with the AU to envision an Africa unbound — a continent where debt no longer dictated destiny, where its youth innovated freely, and their resources fuelling shared prosperity.

He added that Africa was eager and willing, and with a global debt relief initiative, it could transform crisis into opportunity.