African Debt
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Introduction: According to an essay written by Ann-Louise Colgan titled Africa's Debt published online on the African Action website, in the 1960s and 1970s, African countries became indebted to international lenders as they accepted loans for political and economic stabilization in the post-independence era. Many of these loans were made to corrupt regimes, and much of the money went into the hands of repressive governments or de facto dictatorships. Sub-Saharan Africa's debt crisis worsened during the 1980s, as the ratios of foreign debt to the gross national product rose from 51 percent in 1982 to 100 percent by 1992. This foreign debt continued to grow during the 1990s. The 48 countries in what is commonly referred to as sub-Saharan Africa pay approximately $13.5 billion every year to repay debts to foreign creditors. These repayments divert money directly from basic human needs such as health care and education, and fundamentally undermine African governments' efforts to combat the AIDS pandemic as well as efforts to promote sustainable economic development (Golgan). Beginning in 1989, a range of measures were enacted to reschedule and restructure these debts and the debt repayment schedule. According to an article by David Ransom published in New Internationalist, in 1996 the IMF and World Bank conceded that some of the debts owed by the poorest and most indebted countries might have to be written off and formed the Heavily Indebted Poor Country (HIPC) Initiative.
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According to the CIA World Factbook online, Angola's economy is in chaos as a result of a quarter century of nearly continuous warfare. A peace treaty was signed in 2002, but the economy of Angola may take decades to recover and much of Angola's food requirements must still be imported. Subsistence agriculture provides the main livelihood for 85 percent of the population. Oil production and the supporting activities contributing about 45 percent to Angola's gross domestic product and accounted for more than half of exports. To address the debt crisis, Angola must find ways to exploit its natural resources which include gold, diamonds, its forests, and oil deposits. To accomplish this, Angola must continue reforming and liberalizing government policies while reducing corruption in the government. Angola also needs additional foreign investment as well as a moratorium on foreign debt payments in order to eventually be able to pay down the foreign debt (Angola).
The country of Benin has undertaken significant economic reforms since 1990. The government accepted the need for structural adjustment programs recommended by the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund. The economic reforms and pol
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Approximate Word count = 1589
Approximate Pages = 6 (250 words per page)
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