Former President Nana Akufo-Addo has described Ghana’s debt restructuring under the G20 Common Framework as “one of the darkest and most painful episodes” of his time in office.
Speaking at the AU-EU High-Level Seminar in Brussels on Thursday, October 2, 2025, ahead of the AU-EU Summit, he admitted that while the framework offered temporary economic relief, it came with severe social and human costs.
“I witnessed the suffocating grip of debt on our economy and our citizens. This deeply troubled me and still does,” he told African and European leaders.
Ghana joined the Common Framework in 2023, restructuring $13 billion in Eurobonds and securing $10.5 billion in external debt service relief through 2026.
The deal lowered the debt-to-GDP ratio from the mid-80s to 70.5 percent, restoring some investor confidence and helping anchor an IMF-backed programme.
Despite these gains, Akufo-Addo said the prolonged and sequential process created uncertainty, weakened public trust, and left ordinary Ghanaians suffering. He pointed to pensioners, youth, and small investors as some of the hardest hit.
“The most painful part was the impact on ordinary people. Their lives and livelihoods were shattered,” he said.
Turning to Africa’s broader debt challenges, the former president stressed that the continent’s $1 trillion burden reflects a global system “not built to free us, but to bind us.” More than 30 African countries, he noted, now spend more on interest payments than on healthcare.
“Every dollar diverted to creditors is a dollar taken from a hospital, from a child’s vaccination, from a community’s future. This is not economics, it is inequity,” he argued.
Akufo-Addo renewed his call for bold reforms, including immediate debt service suspension, comprehensive restructuring, and concessional financing.
He emphasised that debt relief should not be seen as charity: “Debt relief for Africa is not an act of generosity. It is an act of justice.”
He further proposed linking debt cancellation to climate resilience through a “Debt Relief for Green Investment and Resilience” framework, noting Africa’s vulnerability to climate shocks despite contributing less than 4% of global emissions.
“To our European partners, I say this: hear the voice of your neighbouring continent. Stand with the AU and South Africa’s G20 Presidency to advance ambitious reform of the Common Framework,” he appealed.
While acknowledging the responsibility of African nations to diversify their economies and strengthen governance, he warned that without reforms to global finance, local efforts would continue to be undermined by “predatory lending and punitive trade terms.”
“The sacrifices we make today, the compromises, and the collaborations we engage in today can only inure to the benefit of our world. When Africa rises free from the weight of debt, the whole world rises with it,” he added.