China in the driver's seat amid calls for Africa debt reliefFILE PHOTO: A health worker checks the temperature of a traveller as part of the coronavirus screening procedure at the Kotoka International Airport in Accra, Ghana January 30, 2020. REUTERS/Francis Kokoroko/File PhotoSupport is growing for debt relief to help the world’s poorest, indebted nations - most of them in Africa - confront the economic havoc wreaked by COVID-19. Unlike major Western countries that granted debt relief in the past, a large part of China’s debt to Africa carries commercial terms. The ODI estimates lending from China makes up 33% of external debt service in Kenya, 17% in Ethiopia and 10% in Nigeria. The Trump administration has in the past signalled reluctance to support broad debt relief, given Africa’s heavy borrowing from China.

Source: Standard Digital April 13, 2020 06:33 UTC