The Mozambican government, through the Deputy Minister of Economy and Finance, considered this Thursday that the growth of debt has "a catastrophic effect" on Africa and argued that the continent should have three members on the IMF board.

"In addition to the rise in interest rates, which makes financing for African countries more expensive, the conflict in Ukraine is a shock with adverse consequences for African countries because they are importers of fossil fuels and cereals and have to absorb this shock in a context where there is not enough margin to cushion them and in a situation of vulnerabilities associated with debt servicing, which are having a catastrophic effect," said Amílcar Tivane, quoted by Lusa.

Speaking on the sidelines of the Annual Meetings of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank, which are taking place in Marrakech this week, he stressed that the growth of debt in this context "absorbs a significant amount of fiscal space" and lamented: "Countries are not having the capacity to create fiscal cushions to cushion this shock further and meet development expenses."

For Tivane, it is necessary to "rethink the international financial architecture in a creative way, with innovative mechanisms" that include freeing up more Special Drawing Rights for developing countries, particularly those in Africa, investing in green finance and working to improve the macroeconomic scenario in order to attract capital on the international markets.

Asked how the process of increasing the number of African members on the IMF's board from two to three, giving Africa more say and decision-making power, Amílcar Tivane said that "a ministerial committee of the constituencies of the IMF's African group will be set up to come up with solutions on how to divide the countries into three constituencies, i.e. creating another one for sub-Saharan Africa".