G-5 Sahel Heads of State Launch New Appeal To Cancel External Debt

At the end of the 7th ordinary session of their Conference held on 15 February 2021 in N’Djamena, the Heads of State of the G-5 Sahel launched a new solemn appeal for the cancellation of the external debt of their countries which are going through an uncertain situation due to the COVID-19 pandemic and which must therefore meet increasing needs in terms of health, education, employment, and the economy.

Here is the full text of that statement:

“The Heads of State
– Considering the situation, still uncertain, linked to the COVID-19 pandemic and its disastrous consequences at the health, economic, social, and budgetary levels in the space of the G-5 Sahel.
– Noting that this context has created a situation of strong ‘state demand’ to meet the growing needs related, particularly, to health, education, employment, and the economy.
– Recalling the plea of the G-5 Sahel Declaration on the COVID-19 pandemic of 27 April 2020 to mobilize additional resources and for the cancellation of the external debt of States to face the shocks of the pandemic which put a heavy strain on the limited resources of the States, already very affected by the high expenditure linked to security and development challenges as well as by the burden of debt service.

Declare:
– We, Heads of State of the G-5 Sahel member countries, solemnly appeal to the international community for a strong and urgent response to avoid a deep disaster in the Sahel.

– We recall that the COVID-19 crisis, which was declared a pandemic by the WHO in March 2020, seriously penalizes African economies by causing a considerable external financing gap, a sharp contraction of real GDP and budgetary revenues, and strong pressures on spending.

– Considering this situation of economic and health crisis, the African Union (AU) launched an appeal, in April 2020, for the cancellation of the debt and the implementation of a set of debt relief measures for African countries. Since then, the crisis has only worsened, making the AU’s appeal still relevant.
– We express our deep concern about the capacity of the countries of sub-Saharan Africa to bear the increasing burden of their debt, given the decline in economic activity in the context of the pandemic. Public revenues in 2020 will be significantly lower than projections prior to COVID-19, under the combined effect of this drop in revenues, the sharp increase in social spending to limit the effects of the pandemic on the poorest and in the support to the private sector to avoid the collapse of national economies.

– We recall that at the sub-regional level, the G-5 Sahel countries face an even more tense situation, being among the countries with the lowest incomes, with more than 40% of their 81 million inhabitants living in the extreme poverty with very low access to basic services compared to the rest of the continent.

– We note that in this difficult context, our countries should nevertheless devote more than one billion dollars to the payment of the service of their external debt in 2020. This amount should increase to 1.2 billion US dollars in 2021. The strong social demand facing the G-5 Sahel countries, following the COVID-19 pandemic, requires the implementation of expansive budgetary policies, in total contradiction with the level and profile of their indebtedness.

In the absence of a deep restructuring of this debt, countries will have no choice but to implement austerity policies. However, these are quite simply incompatible with the efforts underway to restore security in the region.

– We welcome the upsurge of solidarity and the significant efforts already made in favor of the Sahel by multilateral and bilateral partners to contain the crisis and its serious socio-economic consequences for our States, and call on them to devote more resources, without crowding-out effect on current funding, to rise to the challenges of the Sahel.

– We also welcome the debt-service moratorium initiated by the G20 in April 2020, and renewed last October, which enabled the beneficiary states to better cope with the economic and social effects of the COVID-19 pandemic.

– We call for the mobilization of all parties concerned for a deep restructuring of the debt of our countries so that they can respond to the urgent and legitimate expectations of our populations.

– We warmly thank the President of the French Republic, the Secretary General of the United Nations, the Chairperson of the Commission of the African Union, the President of the European Council, the World Bank, and the International Monetary Fund for their important roles in raising awareness around the problem of the debt of poor countries.

N’Djamena, 15 February 2021

The Conference of Heads of State of the G-5 Sahel “.