UN chief warns of unrest due to failure to grant Africa debt relief

A growing debt crisis across the one billion-strong continent has seen a conflagration of civil unrest in recent months, after protests in Kenya, where police clashed with demonstrators rallying against proposed tax hikes. There were similar demonstrations in Nigeria and Uganda over the cost of living.

African nations have been seeking to restructure their debts through a rework architecture designed by the G20 called the 'Common Framework,' but the scheme did not as expected expedite talks between a myriad of leaders from Chinese state-owned banks to London-based asset managers and New York banks.

Zambia in June became the first country to successfully restructure its debt through the scheme, more than three years after it defaulted on its loans.

Deep reforms

Guterres told a major China-Africa cooperation summit in Beijing that Africa's debt "situation is unsustainable and a recipe for social unrest".

"They have no access to effective debt relief, scarce resources, and clearly insufficient concessional funding to respond to the basic needs of their population," he said.

Guterres proposed "deep reforms to the outdated, ineffective and unfair international financial architecture" and further stimulus "to provide developing countries with the liquidity they need while seeking medium- and long-term solutions."

Renewable energy

Beijing, the world's biggest bilateral lender, is hosting 50 African nations for the ninth Forum on China-Africa Cooperation Summit this week, at which China's President Xi Jinping pledged 360 billion yuan ($50.70 billion) in fresh financing to the continent over the next three years.

China approved loans worth $4.61 billion to Africa last year, the first annual increase since 2016.

Guterres said China's initiatives across Africa could drive a "renewable energy revolution" and "be a catalyst for key transitions on food systems and digital connectivity."

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