At the Semafor Africa Summit held during the International Monetary Fund and World Bank 2024 Spring Meetings, Akinwumi Adesina, President of the African Development Bank, emphasized the detrimental impact of non-transparent resource-backed loans on Nigeria and other African countries' economic growth. Adesina, speaking on behalf of the bank, highlighted the challenges arising from Africa's increasing external debt, which soared to $824 billion in 2021.
He noted that countries are allocating a significant portion of their GDP, around 65%, to service these debts, with an estimated $74 billion to be paid in debt service this year alone, marking a substantial rise from $17 billion in 2010.
Adesina acknowledged the fiscal strains faced by African nations due to the COVID-19 pandemic, infrastructure requirements, and escalating inflation. However, he underscored the urgency of addressing the underlying structural issues within Africa's debt landscape. He advocated for enhanced debt transparency and accountability, calling for an end to opaque natural resource-backed loans, which he deemed as complicating the debt resolution process.
