According to expert, Africa is facing challenges as a result of the global financial crisis

Olivier Pognon is the president of an organization dedicated to strengthening African countries' capacity to deal with foreign debt. During the G20 debate in the Brazilian city of Fortaleza, the Beninese lawyer emphasized the need for reform of global financial architecture, an idea that is aligned with the Brazilian presidency's priorities.

"We are talking about Africa today, but there is a global crisis in the international financial architecture, in terms of revenue, fiscal and budgetary issues all around the world," argued Olivier Pognon, president of the African Legal Support Facility (ALSF). Pognon took part in a debate about strengthening the capacities of African countries to seek foreign debt relief and boost regional development. The meeting on Tuesday (11) in Fortaleza, capital of the Brazilian state of Ceará, was organized by the G20 Working Group that addresses this subject.

The ALSF works towards leveraging African countries’ capacity to access the international financial system, providing information so that governments can manage their debts "in the best possible way" and avoid crises. Pognon believes that the impacts of natural disasters on African countries need to be taken into account by global financial institutions, and advocates an increase in concessional credits for the region.

Towards a fair global financial architecture

Pognon pointed out that Africa is responsible for only 4% of the factors aggravating the world's climate crisis, but is intensely affected by extreme weather events caused by emissions from the richest countries. Like Brasil, several regions across Africa have recently faced flooding as a result of heavy rainfall.

Pognon believes that the impacts of natural disasters on African countries need to be taken into account by global financial institutions, and advocates an increase in concessional credits for the region.

"This is why we need to review the international financial architecture, so that we can direct more concessional loans to climate change adaptation issues which are still receiving inadequate attention. There must be justice in the international financial system. We need to do our homework, but the global system must also be fair and sustainable," he said.

Significant deliveries

Mariana Davi, a member of the forum's Finance Track team, which is coordinated by Brasil's Ministry of Finance—stated that the activity with African representatives is one of the group's main deliverables towards developing a fairer international financial architecture, a priority in Brasil's G20 presidency.

"Some of the proposals refer to greater participation and representation of African countries in international financial organizations, the attempt for multilateral development banks to also have greater participation in creating solutions to the debts of African countries, priorities of the Brazilian G20 presidency," explained Davi.

"Africa is a critical part of the equation when it comes to global financial architecture reform. I think it is crucial to hear the perspectives of all stakeholders. It's very important for Africa to consult on debt management issues and then go into detail and delve into the dynamics of development problems and debt accumulation," added Pognon.

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