African countries need better systems for tracking public debt and stronger parliamentary scrutiny of government borrowing, said some development experts said on Wednesday.
They spoke at the sixth African Conference on Debt and Development (AfCoDD VI), organised by the African Forum and Network on Debt and Development (AFRODAD) in Nairobi, Kenya.
Douglas Bitonda Kigabo, an economic affairs officer with the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa, stated that governments should publish information covering not only central government debt but also borrowing by sub-national governments and state-owned enterprises.
Government guarantees and other liabilities that could eventually become public obligations should also be disclosed, he said.
From left: Prof. Jean-Emmanuel Pondi, President, Pondi Foundation; Prof. Horman Chitonge of the University of Cape Town; Hon. Dr. Khanyisile Litchfield-Tshabalala, Member of South Africa’s National Assembly; and Prof. Grieve Chelwa of The Africa Institute, Sharjah, UAE, during a panel session at AfCoDD VI.
