Debt Restructuring

Following its 2020 default on its US$42.5 million Eurobond payment, Zambia became the first African country to experience a sovereign default during the COVID-19 pandemic. Since then, it has been engaged in a protracted effort to restructure its debt, notably under the G20 Common Framework. This Update explores the divergent positions in this dispute and situates the debate within the broader context of the evolving role of regional multilateral development banks in sovereign debt restructuring. It will also examine Zambia’s strategy of third-party subrogation of Afreximbank’s debt and assess whether it offers a viable path forward in resolving its debt crisis and furthering the relevance of African Multilateral Development Banks in the long-term.

The African Sovereign Debt Justice Network, (AfSDJN), is a coalition of citizens, scholars, civil society actors and church groups committed to exposing the adverse impact of unsustainable levels of African sovereign debt on the lives of ordinary citizens. Convened by Afronomicslaw.org with the support of Open Society for Southern Africa, (OSISA), the AfSDJN's activities are tailored around addressing the threats that sovereign debt poses for economic development, social cohesion and human rights in Africa. It advocates for debt cancellation, rescheduling and restructuring as well as increasing the accountability and responsibility of lenders and African governments about how sovereign debt is procured, spent and repaid. Focusing in particular on Kenya, Zambia, Zimbabwe, Mozambique, Nigeria and Senegal, the AfSDJN will also amplify African voices and decolonize narratives on African sovereign debt . Its activities include producing research outputs to enhance the network’s advocacy interventions. It also seeks to create awareness on and elevate the priority given to sovereign debt and other economic justice issues on the African continent and beyond throughout 2021.

The African Sovereign Debt Justice Network, (AfSDJN), is a coalition of citizens, scholars, civil society actors and church groups committed to exposing the adverse impact of unsustainable levels of African sovereign debt on the lives of ordinary citizens. Convened by Afronomicslaw.org with the support of Open Society for Southern Africa, (OSISA), the AfSDJN's activities are tailored around addressing the threats that sovereign debt poses for economic development, social cohesion and human rights in Africa. It advocates for debt cancellation, rescheduling and restructuring as well as increasing the accountability and responsibility of lenders and African governments about how sovereign debt is procured, spent and repaid. Focusing in particular on Kenya, Zambia, Zimbabwe, Mozambique, Nigeria and Senegal, the AfSDJN will also amplify African voices and decolonize narratives on African sovereign debt . Its activities include producing research outputs to enhance the network’s advocacy interventions. It also seeks to create awareness on and elevate the priority given to sovereign debt and other economic justice issues on the African continent and beyond throughout 2021.

The African Sovereign Debt Justice Network, (AfSDJN), is a coalition of citizens, scholars, civil society actors and church groups committed to exposing the adverse impact of unsustainable levels of African sovereign debt on the lives of ordinary citizens. Convened by Afronomicslaw.org with the support of Open Society for Southern Africa, (OSISA), the AfSDJN's activities are tailored around addressing the threats that sovereign debt poses for economic development, social cohesion and human rights in Africa. It advocates for debt cancellation, rescheduling and restructuring as well as increasing the accountability and responsibility of lenders and African governments about how sovereign debt is procured, spent and repaid. Focusing in particular on Kenya, Zambia, Zimbabwe, Mozambique, Nigeria and Senegal, the AfSDJN will also amplify African voices and decolonize narratives on African sovereign debt . Its activities include producing research outputs to enhance the network’s advocacy interventions. It also seeks to create awareness on and elevate the priority given to sovereign debt and other economic justice issues on the African continent and beyond throughout 2021.

Malawi is facing a period of heightened fiscal and economic uncertainty, with rising debt pressures coinciding with a politically significant moment following the return of President Lazarus Mutharika. On the 4th of October 2025, President Mutharika was sworn in as Malawi’s 7th President, taking over from ex-President Lazarus Chakwera. This debt update examines Malawi’s current political and economic landscape, and the fiscal and debt sustainability challenges President Mutharika has inherited. Further, the update highlights perspectives from the IMF and analysts, as well as the evolving role of China in Malawi’s borrowing framework. Drawing solely from recent reporting and analysis, the update highlights both the opportunities and risks that the country faces as it navigates this complex macroeconomic environment.

The News and Events category publishes the latest News and Events relating to International Economic Law relating to Africa and the Global South. Every week, Afronomicslaw.org receive the News and Events in their e-mail accounts. The News and Events published every week include conferences, major developments in the field of International Economic Law in Africa at the national, sub-regional and regional levels as well as relevant case law. News and Events with a Global South focus are also often included.

The African Sovereign Debt Justice Network, (AfSDJN), is a coalition of citizens, scholars, civil society actors and church groups committed to exposing the adverse impact of unsustainable levels of African sovereign debt on the lives of ordinary citizens. Convened by Afronomicslaw.org with the support of Open Society for Southern Africa, (OSISA), the AfSDJN's activities are tailored around addressing the threats that sovereign debt poses for economic development, social cohesion and human rights in Africa. It advocates for debt cancellation, rescheduling and restructuring as well as increasing the accountability and responsibility of lenders and African governments about how sovereign debt is procured, spent and repaid. Focusing in particular on Kenya, Zambia, Zimbabwe, Mozambique, Nigeria and Senegal, the AfSDJN will also amplify African voices and decolonize narratives on African sovereign debt . Its activities include producing research outputs to enhance the network’s advocacy interventions. It also seeks to create awareness on and elevate the priority given to sovereign debt and other economic justice issues on the African continent and beyond throughout 2021.

This paper examines the contested claim that the African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank) enjoys Preferred Creditor Status (PCS), particularly in the context of its recent downgrade by Fitch to BBB-. While Afreximbank cites provisions in its founding treaty as evidence of such status, the realities of sovereign debt restructuring suggest that PCS is not a legally enforceable right, but a practice shaped by consistent behaviour and market consensus. The analysis argues that, despite normative justifications advanced by African multilateral development banks and sympathetic scholars, the inconsistent treatment of Afreximbank’s claims by African sovereigns has weakened its path toward recognition. Drawing on recent debt workouts in Ghana and Zambia, the paper highlights how systemic pressures and the absence of a global debt resolution framework have compelled member states to treat Afreximbank as an ordinary creditor. It concludes that recognition of PCS for regional development banks cannot be achieved solely through legal assertion or treaty clauses. Instead, it must be earned through consistent practice, reinforced by institutional behaviour, and ultimately sponsored by a reformed global financial architecture. In the interim, the creation of a differentiated PCS tier for regional development banks could serve as a pragmatic step toward balancing developmental imperatives with restructuring realities.

The African Sovereign Debt Justice Network, (AfSDJN), is a coalition of citizens, scholars, civil society actors and church groups committed to exposing the adverse impact of unsustainable levels of African sovereign debt on the lives of ordinary citizens. Convened by Afronomicslaw.org with the support of Open Society for Southern Africa, (OSISA), the AfSDJN's activities are tailored around addressing the threats that sovereign debt poses for economic development, social cohesion and human rights in Africa. It advocates for debt cancellation, rescheduling and restructuring as well as increasing the accountability and responsibility of lenders and African governments about how sovereign debt is procured, spent and repaid. Focusing in particular on Kenya, Zambia, Zimbabwe, Mozambique, Nigeria and Senegal, the AfSDJN will also amplify African voices and decolonize narratives on African sovereign debt . Its activities include producing research outputs to enhance the network’s advocacy interventions. It also seeks to create awareness on and elevate the priority given to sovereign debt and other economic justice issues on the African continent and beyond throughout 2021.

While Ghana has completed three major debt restructuring operations comprising of domestic debt restructuring, external bilateral debt restructuring, and commercial bondholders debt restructuring, Ghana’s economy is unable to take any more uncertainty with regards to whether the terms of the MoU agreement and the $13 billion agreement in principle are official and agreed to.