KIGALI– Ahead of the Jubilee 2025 year that faith communities are celebrating world-wide, African interfaith leaders called for debt forgiveness and processes to support economic development.
Representing Catholic, Anglican, Lutheran and other Christian denominations, Muslims, as well as national councils of churches, interreligious councils across 13 countries in Africa, and regional religious organizations, the dignitaries released a statement to G20, G7, United Nations, IMF and World Bank decision makers.
“Our countries … face again agonizing choices between spending and investing on their people and paying their creditors,” they said. “This year alone, Africa will spend $90 billion servicing public debt. Yet, the average African country’s combined spending on health, education and social protection is two-thirds of their debt payments.”
The religious leaders recalled the work of faith communities 25 years ago during the Jubilee 2000 year which led to the largest ever collective debt relief initiative. The Heavily Indebted Poor Countries/Multilateral Debt Relief Initiative (HIPC/MDRI) mobilized more than $130 billion in debt relief in 38 countries.
“Former President Julius Nyerere, of Tanzania, was among the first African political leaders raising their voices to question the need to put debt above the lives of our children,” said Rev. Canon Makunzo Moses Matonya, Secretary General of the Christian Council of Churches in Tanzania.
“Unfortunately, we have seen debt rise to levels where we have to face that question again.” Since 2010, African countries’ interest payments more than doubled, as a percentage of their revenue. At the same time, their combined spending on health, education, social protection and climate amount to two-thirds of debt payments. “Early in the millennium, debt relief freed the fiscal space for important poverty reduction investments,” said Bishop Matthew Hassan Kukah, of the Catholic Diocese of Sokoto, in Nigeria.
“An important focus for us, as then, is that we have good governance safeguards to protect public participation and accountability in the use of those funds.” Faith leaders in Africa have become increasingly vocal as the continent faces the effects of multiple crises.
“We have allowed a divorce between traditional economic approaches and spiritual values,” said Sheikh Ibrahim Lethome, of the Supreme Council of Kenya Muslims. “As faith leaders, we have a role in guiding our communities so they can make those connections.”
The faith leader statement called for responsible lending and borrowing principles, debt contract clauses that share climate and other risks, and additional sources of finance that do not create debt in order to prevent new high indebtedness cycles.
“While we have moved forward critical debt relief and aid, we still need improvements in debt relief and aid processes,” said Eric LeCompte, Executive Director of the religious development organization Jubilee USA Network, and a co-organizer of the convening of African leaders.
“If we had the debt policies and institutions religious leaders called for 25 years ago, we would have tools to help address the climate and poverty crises.”