Debt cancellation initiative for African countries gaining traction – Osinbajo

Vice President Yemi Osinbajo on Monday said the debt cancellation initiative for African countries is already gaining considerable traction.

Osinbajo said this in Abuja while declaring open the maiden Conference of Speakers and Heads of African Parliaments (COSAP), with the theme: ‘Strengthening legislative leadership for Africa’s development.

He said one of key issue during early discussions before the meeting was the issue of debt cancellation for African countries which is achieving success.

“One of those things that were discussed was the special drawing rights (SDR) of about $650 billion. Of course, there is the argument of how much the African continent got. I think it is important to recognize that

“The Economic Commission for Africa recently proposed that our countries can help their financing needs by leveraging SDR through unbending vehicles such as liquidity sustainability facilities and multilateral and regional programs as well as the poverty reduction and growth plans.

“The pandemic exposed the vulnerability of our health care systems and has shown how interconnected and interdependent we all are as a continent. So, we must collectively invest in our health system and our health emergency structures so that we can deal with pandemics as they arise. We just heard that another pandemic could as well be around the corner.

“Vaccination is important to post COVID recovery. But Africa has lagged behind so far compared to the rest of the world with only 16 per cent of our population fully vaccinated. There is a need for the African continent to free itself from all external mechanisms and guarantee our own system.

“We may not be able to do that unless we have the number of resources to work with. The time has come for us to begin to produce our vaccines. This is not a feat that is impossible, but t must be a collective boast.

“Legislation must be put in place across the continent to make research and development possible, harmonies drug registration, to build world-class facilities. Our SDR could release development finance facilities for the creation of vaccine facilities. So, we have a unique opportunity.

Read also: FG’s growing appetite for debt ignores fiscal alarm bells

“Africa’s post COVID strategy must also include increase social protection for all and this is also an important issue. The pandemic revealed the importance of social protection schemes in responding to a wide range of economic options and most African countries Implemented various social protection safety nets.

“But going forward, we must leverage these experiences and drive progress towards more inclusive. More effective and more equitable social protections. Social protections are expensive and subject to hydrological argument. It is no longer a socialist idea but has become fundamental. Our legislators need to champion this idea,” he urged.

He said Federal Government during the COVID-19 pandemic rolled out an N2.3 trillion economic stimulus package t noo help in mitigating the effects of the pandemic and speed up the recovery of critical sectors.

Also Akinwumi Adesina, President of Africa Development Bank (AfDB) said the continental bank has designed a $1.5 billion emergency food production plan with the view to supporting African countries to avert the looming food crisis.

Adesina who spoke virtually, expressed grave concern over the impacts of the ongoing war between Russia and Ukraine on the African continent, especially on food production.

He said: “The Russian war in Ukraine has added another challenge to what we are facing in Africa. the dependency of African countries on Russia and Ukraine, the war disruption has added to the looming food crisis in Africa.

“Africa should be decoupled from food import dependency. Africa must feed itself and do so with pride. The economic recovery must be felt in day to day lives of people.

“The recovery must create jobs and recover jobs lost, focus on MSMEs, the recovery must focus on youths and tackle debts of Africa.

“The recovery will require close partnership with executive arm and legislative arm of government. Regardless of the challenges facing our country, be the solution providers, drive for an economic recovery that’s felt by all,” Dr Adesina noted.

On the adverse effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on the continent, the former minister of agriculture tasked Nigeria and other African counterparts with the need to establish a Healthcare Defense System, prioritize the development of local vaccines and build quality healthcare infrastructure.

“COVID-19 pandemic affected the growth and develop Africa as well as the rest of the world. Africa’s confirmed COVID-19 cases stand at 11.5 million people with 253,000 deaths.

“Africa’s economic growth was in decline by minus -1.5 per cent, over 26 million people fell further into poverty, while 30 million jobs were lost.

“The trajectory of economic recovery from the pandemic is shaped by access to vaccines, and on this the divergence between developed economies and developing economies is stuck.

“Developed countries accounted for 63% of the people vaccinated globally, Africa our continent have only 16 per cent of these people fully vaccinated which is extremely low compared to 63 per cent of North America, 69 per cent for Asia and so on.

“We must not be complacent, next pandemic is just around the corner, God helps us. Africa must build what I call Healthcare Defense System. This must include the development of local vaccines and building quality healthcare infrastructure.

“While foreign companies are now establishing vaccine manufacturing companies in some parts of Africa, we must go well beyond that. We must encourage African owned vaccine manufacturing companies. Legislations should be designed to encourage this,” he said.