Zambian Finance Minister Situmbeko Musokotwane urged other African nations considering using the Group of 20’s Common Framework mechanism to restructure unaffordable debt to act quickly, Bloomberg News reported. Africa’s first pandemic-era sovereign defaulter has been using the template to rework external liabilities totaling $12.8 billion. In recent weeks, Nigeria and Ghana have announced they’re considering revamping their liabilities. Rising interest rates and a surging dollar may push more nations into default as they struggle to pay for imports from fuel to food. The Common Framework is the best option for governments of poor countries, even though progress has been slow, Musokotwane said in an interview. “I would encourage my colleagues from the other African countries not to hesitate but to come forth and get their problems solved,” he said in Washington, where he’s attending the World Bank and International Monetary Fund annual meetings. “This is the only viable option as of now that is available for countries to resolve their debt unsustainability.”
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