Togo, Lomé – 15 May 2025 – The African Union Commission’s Department for Economic Development, Tourism, Trade, Industry, and Minerals (ETTIM) convened a three-day African Union Conference on Debt in Lomé, Togo, under the theme: “Africa’s Public Debt Management Agenda: Restoring and Safeguarding Debt Sustainability.”
Opening the conference, Togo’s President of the Council of Ministers, H.E. Faure Essozimna Gnassingbé, called the event “a conference on our future,” and not just on debt. He decried existing frameworks as “obsolete and counter-productive,” adding that they keep African countries in austerity, which impedes economic transformation.
The President of Ghana, H.E. John Dramani Mahama, on his part, affirmed that Africa must adopt a three-pronged approach if the continent is to unlock debt as a tool for development, transparency and accountability, pursue productive, efficient and responsible borrowing and regional solidarity, and support global financial reforms.
President Mahama indicated that, "Africa must speak with one voice to push for fairer global financial rules. Credit rating agencies must adopt methodologies that reflect the structural reforms and the growth potential of African economies. Not just penalise us for volatilities we did not create."
The conference brought together over 500 delegates from AU Member States, policymakers, financial experts, and key stakeholders, including representatives from Ministries of Finance, Central Banks, Regional Economic Communities, African financial institutions, and civil society. It focused on exchanging best practices in debt management, formulating a common African position on global financial reforms, identifying innovative financing mechanisms, and recommending strategies to restore and safeguard debt sustainability across the continent.
The APRM was represented by Ms. Ejigayhu Tefera, Economic Governance expert, who contributed to the Panel on Enhancing Credit Ratings in Africa: Challenges, Opportunities and Paths Forward. The session explored how Africa can strengthen its credit ratings’ ecosystem, the role of the upcoming Africa Credit Rating Agency, and the impact of ratings on debt sustainability and development finance.
At the conclusion of the conference, the Lome Declaration was adopted. Among its key resolutions, the Declaration “Further Resolved to expedite the ongoing establishment of the African Credit Rating Agency to develop [a] more permanent solution towards supporting Africa’s access to affordable capital, which is currently highly priced because of the high-risk premium placed on the African countries by international credit rating agencies.”
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