Although the debt crisis that gripped Latin America during the 1980s (the so-called
"Lost Decade")
was fairly well-known, little attention has been focused on the foreign debt problems in
Sub-Saharan Africa, where debt places a much greater burden on countries with less
economic
strength. While the ratio of debt to exports of goods and services for Latin America and
the
Caribbean peaked at 377 percent in 1986 and declined steadily to 258 percent in 1991, in
Sub-Saharan Africa the ratio peaked at 357 percent in 1987, but has remained stubbornly
high, at
340 percent in 1991. Thus, Africa faces a problem of the same magnitude, but has made
little
progress in bringing debt to manageable levels.
African governments forced to service large external debts have had scant resources left
over for
other major needs. As governments have fallen behind in their payments, their credit
ratings and
lending limits have fallen, setting off an economic chain reaction. With sharply reduced
access to
international capital markets, governments have been forced to borrow domestically. Bad
loans to
state-owned enterprises have consistently limited the amount of resources available to the
private
sector.
One of the difficulties most frequently cited by promoters of the private sector is that
available
capital is both scarce and expensive. When there are no funds, businesses cannot start up,
expand,
renovate, or ultimately operate. As a result, the growth of the private sector and the
economy as a
whole suffers.
Improving Government Policies
Last year, the Center for International Private Enterprise, the African Business
Roundtable and the
African Development Bank brought private and public sector professionals together with
representatives from international organizations for a pan-African conference to discuss
strategies
for stimulating economic growth and alleviating the continent's debt crisis.
The conference ex-amined some of the principal factors contributing to the debt crisis in
Africa,
in-cluding poor government economic management, deteriorating terms of trade, shrinking
market
shares for major exports, and poor lending practices. Conference participants debated
whether
external causes like the deteriorating terms of trade experienced in the 1980s, or
internal causes
like gross mismanagement, could be singled out as the primary reason for the crisis. While
there
was disagreement over the causes and solutions to the crisis, everyone agreed that better
attention
needs to be paid to the quality of programs that are eventually funded with borrowed
money.
A major topic of discussion was how to service the external debt without diverting scarce
resources away from investment in the productive sector and thus inhibiting economic
growth.
Government policy must play a vital role in achieving this goal. Some of the most
important policy
improvements suggested by participants to maximize financial resources were the following:
Reduce Government Inefficiency. Public mismanagement was often cited as a major
contributor to the debt crisis. Donor countries lent money for the start-up of viable
large
enterprises, as in the case of the shipping industry, but these were not managed properly
and
therefore did not produce returns. While the objectives were sound, a lack of good
management and planning (often due to the absence of appropriate incentives), in addition
to
a weak economic environment, made it very difficult for these enterprises to succeed. In
other cases, governments incurred enormous debts on behalf of their nations without taking
into consideration whether projects would actually work.
Strengthen Weak Institutional and Legal Frameworks. Corruption was seen as a major
problem, with money often lent as a political favor to individuals connected with
high-level
officials-and rarely repaid. In other cases, bank managers have been known to advise their
borrowers to declare bankruptcy so their loans could be written off the books. Many of the
participants felt that African countries needed to strengthen their legal frameworks to
protect
against corruption and encourage the development of a strong private sector.
Democratization will help enormously in the process by permitting greater transparency in
the use of funds and promoting a more even application of laws. Enhanced press freedoms
will also create greater transparency. Chambers of commerce and other business groups
must expand education, outreach and lobbying efforts to ensure that laws and policies
affecting the private sector reflect true business concerns.
Diversify Exports. A heavy reliance on commodities for export earnings has made many
African economies vulnerable to fluctuations in world prices. In Côte d'Ivoire, for
example,
deteriorating terms of trade in cocoa and coffee made it especially difficult for the
government to meet its financial obligations once the prices collapsed. Dependence on
commodity exports has been compounded by inefficient production methods, lack of
flexibility, and limited resources, making many countries unable to respond to changing
market conditions and causing them to lose market shares in important products.
Strengthen the Financial Sector. Conference participants agreed that renewed lending
should
focus on financing private sector growth, although some concessional funds still need to
be
made available to governments for social programs. They also focused on the need to
channel new money to the private sector through banks that operate independently of
government. This action would help protect banks' assets and ensure that entrepreneurs can
borrow on the merits of each project rather than at the discretion of the minister of
finance.
Also, a strengthened banking sector would ensure that new commercial bank loans are used
for restructuring the private sector and not solely for the refinancing of past loans.
Attract Investment. While many at the conference believed direct foreign investment should
be encouraged as a source of both foreign capital and managerial skills, significant
foreign
investment in the region will not materialize, they argued, until the economies improve,
political regimes become stable, infrastructure is developed and clear legal frameworks
are
established. Joint ventures were seen as feasible in manufacturing, the financial sector,
tourism, and the service sector, all areas perceived to be of great growth potential.
Conferees also favored the idea of promoting pan-African investment and African
integration
to develop economies of scale and create bigger markets, making them more attractive for
investors.
Seek Debt Relief. Most participants maintained that Africans must assume responsibility
for
the loans they have accrued in order to maintain a credible stance with the outside world.
Even so, conference participants concurred that the international response to African
external debt has been insufficient. The international community could play a part in
alleviating the crisis through debt forgiveness and debt relief measures such as
debt-equity
swaps, debts for exports, and conversions, among others. In short, a Brady Plan type of
approach, which has had some success in Latin America, should be applied to Africa.
Toward Financial Institutions That Promote Business
As noted in the roundtable recommendations, one of Africa's pressing needs centers on
creating an
effective financial sector, including well-functioning capital markets. In other
developing countries,
such as Chile, Mexico, Argentina, Thailand and Malaysia, booming stock exchanges have
helped
fuel economic growth by providing companies with equity capital and by creating the
liquidity and
capital stock necessary to support effective privatization programs.
Unfortunately, in Africa, neither the economies nor the policies currently in place have
the capacity
to expand the basic financial infrastructure necessary to promote business. The financial
intermediaries in Africa today, including commercial banks, building societies, insurance
companies,
and finance houses, are not prepared to take risks. They prefer to deal with the
traditional
customer whose borrowings are by and large guaranteed by long-term fixed deposits. Even
loans
to these customers are by most standards considered short-term (i.e., a maximum of two
years),
with no risk for the lender.
Private banks in Africa are generally in weak financial condition and offer a poor quality
of
services. In addition, there are very few countries in Africa where venture capital exists
in any real
sense. In those places where it does exist, it is often merely an extension of commercial
banking
operations, with everything but risk involved in the portfolio.
Another problem is the lack of a legal framework favorable to the accumulation of domestic
savings; this, in turn, underscores the problem that the countries are too poor to have
the financial
instruments that might encourage those with capital to invest in various forms as a way of
diffusing
the inherent risk. In this respect, it is significant to observe the very small number of
bond issues: In
all of the West African CFA countries, for example, only five bonds were issued over a
fifteen-year
period, and these were issued by governments.
The absence of financial instruments for collecting savings is prejudicial, especially
considering the
traditionally cautious behavior of bankers. For about ten years, government banks
attempted to
make up for the lack of a private banking system, but the lack of professionalism of those
appointed by decree and subjected to the influence of public decisions undermined the
viability of
these institutions. Given the absence of effective regulatory institutions and legal
enforcement
mechanisms, government-owned banks were subjected to political manipulation and
corruption, as
officials could use the funds obtained from abroad for their own purposes. This
unfortunate trend
has exacerbated Africa's debt problem to a large degree.
The most effective approach for strengthening Africa's financial sector must be based on
private
banks and competition. Private banks have to start specializing in loans to small
entrepreneurs using
techniques that have proven successful in other countries. This is a hard-to-reach, yet
vital group
that desperately needs capital to prosper. Competition among banks also will help foster
the
creation of a financial landscape endowed with attractive products and provide the private
sector
the financing needed to carry out profitable ventures successfully.
This package of financial reforms is crucial to any African economic reform program. In
fact, the
success of private sector policy reforms highlighted in the first article will be
dependent on them. In
order to move toward a competitive position in world markets, African countries must
reduce their
enormous foreign debt load and create a private sector that attracts investment.
A HEAVY LOAD
External debt as a percentage of GNP, 1992
Sub-Saharan Africa
108%
Latin America and the Caribbean
38%
South Asia
36%
Central Europe and NIS
28%
AFRICAN DEBT ROUNDTABLE
Jaime Aguinaldo, African Development Bank,Côte d'Ivoire
Alain Bambara, COSMIVOIRE, Côte d'Ivoire
Asoma Abu Banda, Amtrak Group (GH) Ltd., Ghana
Robert Calderisi, World Bank, Côte d'Ivoire
Pamela Creevey, African Business Roundtable, Côte d'Ivoire
Aziz Dieye, Cabinet Aziz Dieye, Senegal
Alhaji Yusif Ibrahim, Dara-Salam Group Limited, Ghana
Siyanga Malumo, Meridien B.I.A.O., Côte d'Ivoire
Mima Nedelcovych, African Development Bank, Côte d'Ivoire
Peter Rwelamira, African Development Bank, Côte d'Ivoire
Newton Siame, Visachi Investment Limited, Zambia
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