Deputy Finance Minister calls for action on Africa's debt crisis at G20 meeting

David Masondo, South Africa’s Deputy Minister of Finance, on Tuesday warned of Africa’s spiralling debt crisis, urging the development of “tangible, actionable solutions” to shift the continent from distress to “long-term financial resilience and sustainable growth”. Speaking at the Group of Twenty (G20) International Financial Architecture Working Group Debt Side Event in Pretoria, he told African representatives, international financial institutions, and private lenders that rising debt-to-Gross Domestic Product (GDP) ratios, a pivot to private creditors, and structural weaknesses demand faster debt resolution. Africa’s debt has ballooned, especially in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA), where World Bank data shows nominal public debt tripled since 2010 to $1.1 trillion (R20 trillion) by 2022. The median debt-to-GDP ratio in SSA jumped from 32% in 2010 to 57% in 2022, fuelled by weak debt management, poor…