Public debt and its impact in Africa

Public debt in Africa continues to be a never-ending problem that threatens the livelihoods of its own citizens. Many independent Governments in Africa that have borrowed since they gained independence are now caught in a cycle of increasing their citizens’ debt burden by borrowing money from international institutions such as World Bank, International Monetary Fund (IMF) and other governments such as the United States and China. This borrowing is expected to fund key government projects that should provide essential services such as health, education and infrastructure to its citizens. However, concerns have been raised by citizens and civil society groups about possible misallocation of borrowed funds, including expenditures on non-priority government operations.

How is public debt impacting African citizens, and are there any remedial measures that can be undertaken to prevent African governments from sinking further into debt? To explore this further, in today’s program we speak with Candice (not her real name), a Kenyan mother of two, who shares how public debt is affecting her household. We also hear from two leading experts on the topic: Jason Rosario Braganza, Executive Director of the African Forum and Network on Debt and Development (AFRODAD), and Jane Nalunga, Executive Director of the Southern and Eastern African Trade Information and Negotiations Institute (SEATINI-Uganda). They discuss the roots of Africa’s debt crisis, its consequences, and what can be done to move toward a debt-free society.

Welcome to today’s program, I am ….

 

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Public debt is a crucial issue in Africa that every citizen should understand, as it impacts their daily lives. The challenge of public debt is not new on the continent. When did it start? What factors have contributed to its sharp rise, leaving many African governments struggling to repay existing loans while continuing to borrow more? And how does this growing debt affect the essential services that citizens expect from their governments?

To explore how debt influences everyday life in Kenya, we spoke with an interviewee whose name has been changed for privacy reasons. We will refer to her as Candice, and she is an office worker and mother of two living in Nairobi.

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How is public debt impacting our African citizens? Let’s find out from a citizen of Kenya. It is midafternoon and Candice is at her corner office in Nairobi. Here’s how she describes the effects of public debt on her household.

My understanding is it is the debt we owe as a country from what our leaders have borrowed from Western countries or international money lending organizations. Public debt is affecting me so much. Nothing is cheap in this country, so one has to really work with the little we have to cover what is a priority.

Of course, this means sometimes getting into debt. It means getting my children to schools that are cheaper to cut down on school fees, school transport costs, and it also means cutting all luxury like travel during holidays. We only focus on what is necessary—and sometimes the cheapest options are not the best.

That’s Candice, a very disappointed Kenyan citizen. I wanted to better understand what public debt means from an organization that works on this issue in Africa and advocates for debt cancellation. So, I spoke with Jason Rosario Braganza, Executive Director of a Pan-African civil society organization called the African Forum and Network on Debt and Development—better known as AFRODAD. Mr. Braganda, can you please explain what public debt means?

Public debt is essentially money borrowed by our governments from international sources—like the international capital markets, local commercial banks—or they could issue treasury bills and bonds. They borrow to keep government operations moving, either in development or operations.

Is public debt a new concept in Africa or has it been with us for a long time?

Africa was colonized mostly by European governments that took on a lot of debt as part of extracting natural and other resources from the continent to feed into their industrial processes back in Europe. Many African countries inherited that debt. There’s a legal argument being developed to say that this debt is illegitimate.

: Would you please explain how this illegitimate debt is affecting many African governments today?

Well, a lot of the activities aimed at generating resources for European governments were not done within the confines of the law or for the benefit of African citizens. As citizens, we had no say in whether colonial governments should borrow that money or how it was used. Over the last half-century, there have been changes in how we operate, but largely, African economies have not changed in structure.

Perhaps you can explain how African countries today have not changed the structure of their economies?

What I mean is that, in Kenya, many students have been taught since independence that the key exports of their country are tea and coffee, and that tourism is the main foreign exchange earner. Listening to the Kenyan finance minister during the country’s 2025 budget allocation speech, he highlighted the very same items. Kenya’s major exports have not changed. This means that, in over half a century—and this pattern is seen across Africa—our economies have remained largely the same, still focused on producing primary goods, basic commodities, or raw materials.

Are there any other problems that African governments are bringing upon themselves as a result of relying on exporting raw materials to the other continents?

One of Africa’s biggest challenges is that we’re not adding value to our own products. Because of that, we’re not creating enough money within our economies. This situation has also opened the door to illicit financial flows. Some companies and even certain countries have positioned themselves as tax havens—places where big corporations hide their profits instead of paying taxes where they operate. That’s what we mean by the “illicit” part of illicit financial flows.

As a result, we’re seeing a rise in illegal activities that have roots in the colonial era—illegal mining, logging, and fishing, as well as drug, arms, and human trafficking. These activities drain billions of dollars from Africa every year, money that could have been used to develop our countries and improve people’s lives.

: How would you say governments in Africa continue to contribute to the increased public debt in their respective countries?

 

: We must remember that as a continent, we don’t operate in a vacuum or in isolation. We interact with other countries and other regions in the world, but there are also institutions that are supposed to govern how our interactions with the rest of the world take place. Unfortunately, these systems, in the way they work, do not work in favor of African countries or the African continent. These institutions– like the International Monetary Fund, the World Bank, the World Trade Organization, the Organization for European Cooperation and Development– largely favor wealthy western European and North American countries and businesses.

 

Was there a particular period when African governments were especially affected by the solutions proposed by the institutions you mentioned? When would you say it started?

 

Yes, between the 1970s and 1990s, many African countries went through a period of structural adjustment programs, commonly known as SAPs. These were promoted by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank. The SAPs required governments to deregulate and privatize state functions and state-owned enterprises. As a result, many local industries were dismantled or severely weakened.

 

What are the challenges that come with maintaining a system that keeps African governments trapped in ongoing public debt?

 

: It can be a lot. One major challenge is the rise of illicit financial flows. These are resources or funds generated through illegal activities that openly violate the law. For example, there’s the poaching of animals like elephants and rhinos for their tusks or horns—this is illegal but generates a lot of money. Then you have human trafficking, drug trafficking, and arms smuggling—again, all illegal, yet highly profitable.

 

There are also environmental crimes like illegal deforestation and unregulated fishing, which produce significant income but fall outside legal frameworks. Additionally, there are illicit financial flows linked to corruption, where individuals accumulate large sums of money through corrupt means.

 

: Thank you Mr. Braganza. That was Jason Rosario Braganza, the Executive Director of the African Forum and Network on Debt and Development known as AFRODAD. He shared important insights to help us get a glance on how Africa’s debt story began and how it continues to affect the continent today.

 

According to a recent World Bank report, Kenya’s financial policy should now focus on creating more and better jobs, improving public services, and promoting inclusive economic growth. The report also emphasizes the importance of strengthening systems that prevent the misuse of public funds—so that borrowed money truly benefits the citizens.

 

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Back to Candice. She is finishing up her workday and is about to leave to pick up her children from school. I’m curious to find out her views on what the government in Kenya is doing to support the education sector in her country.

 

So, Candice, how would you describe the government’s efforts in improving education?

 

That’s a good question! I feel like the government is not doing much in the education sector. For example, in the past, we were enjoying free primary education, and the government would cover part of the school expenses so that school fees were not too high. All that is not happening now. The quality of education—especially in primary schools—has gone down due to the implementation of a curriculum that our economy currently cannot sustain. There is no money to train the teachers who are supposed to implement the curriculum, so the children are not really learning. I have a child in Grade 9 and honestly, I cannot tell you what kind of future I should expect for her beyond primary school.

 

: So where do you think the money that should be allocated for education is going?

 

Well, for the past years, concerns have been raised by citizens and civil society groups about the possible misallocation of borrowed funds, including expenditures on non-priority government operations. Meanwhile, we—the taxpayers—are forced to dig deeper into our pockets to cover rising expenses and poor services in education and other sectors. It is very disappointing.

 

: What about the health sector in the country? How would you say it’s working?

 

Not better unfortunately. My mother and my parents-in-law are elderly, and they constantly need good healthcare. But you can’t find proper care in public health facilities, which are supposed to be affordable. The government system for healthcare is just not working. We are forced to seek help in private facilities, and it’s extremely expensive.

 

What would you like to see changed in how your government handles public debt to improve things for you and your family?

 

I would like the government to prioritize essential services like health and education, and make them more affordable. I feel that we are heavily taxed, but we don’t really see the benefits of those taxes. We need to see tangible results.

 

The government should also stop borrowing money and channeling it into non-priority projects. Honestly, if the taxes we pay were used properly, there wouldn’t be so much need to borrow. There must be a system to ensure taxes and borrowed funds are used for real development. Things must definitely change.

 

The need to change how governments in Africa deal with debt is urgent, and it calls for practical, well-tested solutions to ensure that the next generation of children does not continue to shoulder the burden of massive public debts. Jane Nalunga is the Executive Director of the Southern and Eastern African Trade Information and Negotiations Institute—better known as SEATINI—which is based in Uganda. I had the opportunity to speak with her about the steps her organization believes are most effective in tackling public debt in Africa, particularly in Uganda. She told me that one of the key initiatives they are spearheading focuses on adopting a bottom-up approach to address tax issues in the country.

 

Mrs. Nalunga, would you like to tell us more about the work you do, and how you proceed?

 

Our organization played a key role in establishing the Tax Justice Alliance for Uganda, a network that brings together people from different walks of life. We have members from the sub-county and sub-national levels, cutting across various sectors of society. We engage with the government by submitting recommendations on tax policies for each financial year, especially those related to revenue generation.

 

The voices of all members of society are critical. That’s why, when we organize dialogues, we make sure that groups such as women are included and have a seat at the table—so they can write and present petitions in response to the tax proposals put forward by the Ministry of Finance. This approach promotes inclusive and evidence-based advocacy by the people who are directly affected.

 

Thank you for sharing that insight with us. Are there any other interventions that your organization is involved in when it comes to addressing public debt in other parts of Africa?

 

Yes, we are also involved in analyzing trade negotiations between governments. In doing so, we are careful not to issue blanket statements condemning these negotiations. Instead, we provide specific, constructive feedback based on clauses within the negotiations that we find contentious. We also raise objections based on credible evidence, such as the reports produced by auditors general and other reputable documents.

 

It has really changed my life—and that of some of my fellow group members. The pasture species we were trained to grow have become a source of income for me. I plant Napier, Guyana, and Brachiaria pasture species. Locally, we call Brachiaria “Ekiryama” and Napier “E’bigada Byente.” I sell the pasture to fellow farmers who also keep animals. I pack it in sacks, each of which I sell for 30,000 Ugandan shillings (USD 9). In addition, we were trained on proper planting methods for food crops. For example, when planting maize, we now place only two seeds per hole, unlike before. As a result, we have food throughout the seasons and no longer experience famine.

We also use improved seed varieties. Even the pasture seeds we multiply in our tree nurseries come from the research institute, developed and supplied by scientists.

 

Considering that public debt is affecting many African countries, do you think there is hope that this may become a thing of the past—especially now that we have more organizations working on mitigation measures?

 

The situation is not getting any better at the moment, because a number of countries—such as Zambia and Ghana—have gone into crisis. However, their situation needs to be properly contextualized. For example, the global economic environment has worsened. In fact, if you look at the countries that are in the worst positions, many of them saw their economies suffer significantly as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, which disrupted trade. As a result, we had to borrow more just to make ends meet.

 

We in Africa are no longer receiving the concessional loans and large amounts of aid that we used to get in the past. Many people blame this solely on corruption in Africa, but I believe there’s a need to look at the bigger picture—to understand why the debt situation is becoming worse, and to approach it from a more holistic perspective.

 

That was Jane Nalunga, the Executive Director of the Southern and Eastern African Trade Information and Negotiations Institute (SEATINI) in Uganda. We’re happy to learn that there is still room for Africa to change the trajectory of its debt situation. Public debt in many African countries is a growing problem that urgently needs coordinated action to ensure better living conditions for citizens—both in this generation and in the generations to come.

 

Perhaps, by actively engaging in initiatives that hold governments accountable for how they manage debt and generate revenue, we can begin to see the changes that are so badly needed in how public funds are spent.

 

We’d love to hear your thoughts. Please send us your comments and suggestions on this topic via text message to the number provided at the end of the program.

 

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And with that, we come to the end of our program. Today, we’ve learned that public debt can play a positive role in development when it is used responsibly by governments—to fund essential expenditures, protect and invest in their citizens, and pave the way for a better future. However, when public debt grows excessively or its costs outweigh its benefits, it becomes a heavy burden—one that current and future generations may be forced to carry. This is also a call to action for all citizens across the African continent.

 

You, too, can help reduce public debt by paying your taxes, avoiding illicit transactions, and taking a stand against corruption—which remains one of the main drivers of public debt. You can also make your voice heard by participating in public budget forums, whether at the national or county level, to give input on essential priorities and discourage wasteful spending. And finally, by voting for leaders who show a real commitment to transparency and responsible debt management—and holding them accountable—you can be part of the solution.

 

To help us better understand this issue, we heard from Jason Rosario Braganza, Executive Director of the African Forum and Network on Debt and Development (AFRODAD); Jane Nalunga, Executive Director of the Southern and Eastern African Trade Information and Negotiations Institute (SEATINI) based in Uganda; and Candice (not her real name), a Kenyan citizen and mother of two.

 

We’d love to hear your comments and suggestions on this topic. Please send us a text message using the number provided at the end of this program.

 

From the studio, I am [HOST NAME]… Goodbye!