African countries spend about $90 billion every year servicing debt and pay another $75 billion in additional interest because of the high risk premium attached to borrowing, Kenya’s Principal Secretary for Foreign Affairs, Korir Sing’oei, has said.
Mr Sing’oei stated that the cost was forcing African governments to make difficult choices between servicing debt and spending on health, education and climate resilience, even as the continent requires about $1.3 trillion annually to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals.
He spoke on Friday in Nairobi, Kenya, at the closing ceremony of the sixth African Conference on Debt and Development (AfCoDD VI), organised by the African Forum and Network on Debt and Development (AFRODAD).
“Africa pays $90 billion a year in debt service. That is more than aid and climate finance combined,” Mr Sing’oei said.
He noted that the continent’s debt burden was not simply the result of frequent defaults, arguing that African countries generally default less than is often assumed. Rather, he said, they pay more because of the risk premium attached to African borrowing.
