Africa, don’t swallow the poison pill of austerity any more | Business and Economy

In the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic, millions of people around the world have fallen into poverty. That includes an estimated 55 million people pushed into poverty in Africa.

Yet, amid the threat of recession and continuing inflation, at the precise moment when needs are greatest, governments across the continent – from Ghana to South Africa – are reducing public spending.

Why?

Roots of the crisis

The continent has 34 out of the world’s 39 Heavily Indebted Poor Countries, per the World Bank, under constant and intense pressure to repay what they have borrowed.

Yet this crisis…