ADDIS ABABA, May 14 — United Nations (UN) Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has called for reforms of the global financial architecture, which he said perpetuates century-old injustices, to champion Africa’s development.
Speaking at a joint press conference organized by the UN and African Union (AU) on Wednesday at the AU headquarters in Addis Ababa, the capital of Ethiopia, Guterres said today’s global financial architecture is not providing adequate levels of support, nor sufficient voice and participation for Africa.
“Many African countries face vast debt repayments that drain public resources and undermine long-term investment in critical systems, including water and sanitation,” Guterres said, noting that the existing global system was designed without Africa’s participation.
He stressed that the global financial architecture must reflect current reality with much stronger participation of developing countries across institutions and decision-making processes.
According to the secretary-general, African countries often have to pay up to three times the benchmark rates for borrowing, making it three times more expensive for them to finance education, health, or water systems.
He emphasized the need to mobilize financial resources, reform the international financial architecture, and encourage investment to help African and other developing countries meet the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.
The UN is working to introduce a development-oriented debt architecture while putting in place effective mechanisms for debt relief, Guterres said, adding that the existing credit rating system locks many developing countries out of the borrowing tools they need. (Namibia Daily News / Xinhua)
