African leaders create fund to provide cheaper debt

Beset by debt and billions of dollars in unfunded priorities, African leaders have approved a fund to provide concessional lending to cash-strapped governments.

The facility, known as The African Financial Stability Mechanism (AFSM) will be managed by the African Development Bank (AfDB), Reuters reported Tuesday.

It will have its own credit rating and will be able to borrow from international money markets, the bank said in a ststement.

The call to create the facility was made in 2022 as the Covid-19 pandemic and the war in Ukraine drove sovereign defaults and debt crises in developing countries.

The bank said membership of the fund will be voluntary and open to any member state of the African Union.

Cover photo:  African heads of state attend the 37th Ordinary session of the Assembly of the African Union (AU) Summit at the AU headquarters in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, on Feb. 17, 2024