Debt restructuring was my darkest, painful episode – Akufo-Addo 

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 presidency.

He said that although the initiative offered some temporary relief, it also came with severe social and human costs.

Speaking at the AU-EU High-Level Seminar in Brussels on Thursday, October 2, 2025, ahead of the AU-EU Summit, Mr. Akufo-Addo reflected on the toll of Ghana’s debt crisis.

“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 cut the debt-to-GDP ratio from the mid-80s to 70.5 percent, restoring some investor confidence and anchoring an IMF-backed programme.

Despite these gains, the former president said the prolonged and sequential process weakened public trust and left ordinary people — including pensioners, youth, and small investors — severely affected.

“The most painful part was the impact on ordinary people. Their lives and livelihoods were shattered,” he said.

He also spoke to Africa’s wider debt burden, noting that more than 30 African countries now spend more on debt interest 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 stressed.

Mr. Akufo-Addo called for bold reforms, including immediate debt service suspension, comprehensive restructuring, and concessional financing, while rejecting the idea that debt relief is an act of charity.

“Debt relief for Africa is not an act of generosity. It is an act of justice,” he declared.

He proposed a new “Debt Relief for Green Investment and Resilience” framework to link debt cancellation with climate action, emphasising Africa’s exposure 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 urged.

Concluding, the former president warned that without reforms to global finance, African efforts at economic diversification and governance would remain 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 said.