IN DECEMBER 2023, Ethiopia became the third African country in as many years to default on its global debt payment. It was supposed to pay $33 million to holders of the country's only international government bond on December 11 but failed to do so even after the 14-day grace period ended on December 25. Zambia and Ghana are the other two countries to have defaulted on their debt since 2020.
Several African nations are faced with a debt crisis. Many of them have faced downgrades from prominent credit rating agencies in the past five years. These nations include Kenya, Morocco, Nigeria, Ghana and Egypt. Speaking at the World Economic Forum in Davos on January 17, Nonkululeko Nyembezi, chairperson of Standard Bank Group, the continent's biggest bank by assets, said that sovereign-debt crisis is the biggest issue facing Africa. Sample these cases. Nigeria is in talks to secure as much as $1.5 billion in budget support from the World Bank. Zambia's bilateral creditors have rejected a plan to restructure its $3 billion in Eurobonds-a debt instrument issued in a currency other than that of the home country or market. Kenya has secured $685 million from the International Monetary Fund and raised a $210 million loan from the Trade and Development Bank before its $2 billion Eurobond repayment is due in five months.
This story is from the February 16, 2024 edition of Down To Earth.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber ? Sign In
This story is from the February 16, 2024 edition of Down To Earth.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber? Sign In
THE GREAT FARM HUSTLE
Agroforestry is fast emerging as a win-win strategy to mitigate climate change and improve farmers' income. It is particularly so in India, home to one-fifth of the agroforestry carbon projects in the world. Over the past months ROHINI KRISHNAMURTHY has travelled to almost 20 villages across the country to understand how this market works. At all locations, she finds that communities and their land and labour are central to the projects. But they do not always benefit from the carbon revenue
CAN AGROFORESTRY CREDITS BE SAVED?
Ensure that farmers benefit from the carbon revenue and stay protected against market failure
Urban trap
Fearing loss of autonomy and access to government schemes, several villages across India are protesting against the decision to change their status to town
Dubious distinction
How Madhya Pradesh displaced Punjab as the country's leading state in stubble burning
TRADE TENSIONS
Why the benefits of agroforestry carbon trade do not trickle down to farmers
A fantastical lens
BIOPECULIARIS A LAUDABLE ATTEMPT TO CARVE A SPACE FOR SPECULATIVE CLIMATE FICTION WITHIN INDIAN LITERATURE. WHILE THE STORIES MAY NOT ALWAYS HIT THEIR MARK, THE ANTHOLOGY IS AN IMPORTANT STEP IN A GENRE THAT DESERVES MORE ATTENTION
Help on hold
US' decision to pause foreign aid could lead to hunger deaths, ruin economies of nations across Africa
Irrigation by snow
Declining rain and snowfall make farmers collect snow from higher altitudes to water their apple crops
Stem the rot
A fungal disease has hit the most widely sown sugarcane variety in Uttar Pradesh, threatening the country's sugar production
The mythos of ancient India's scientific excellence
Policymakers are obsessed by a fuddled idea of resurrecting a glorious civilisational past, and even IITs have fallen in line
