Former President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo has renewed his call for the establishment of an African-led credit rating agency.
According to him, existing global rating systems are biased against the continent and hinder fair access to development financing.
Speaking at the 32nd Annual Meetings of Afreximbank in Abuja, Nigeria, Akufo-Addo praised the bank for supporting Ghana during its 2022 financial crisis when international markets were inaccessible.
“At a time when Ghana couldn’t access international capital, Afreximbank stepped in with $750 million. When others looked away, Professor Oramah and his team stood with us. Ghanaians, and I as former President, remain grateful,” he said.
However, Akufo-Addo criticised international rating agencies for applying double standards that unfairly penalise African nations.
“Countries in similar situations outside Africa receive better ratings simply because they aren’t African. We are charged higher risk premiums based on skewed assessments,” he said.
His comments come in the wake of Fitch’s recent downgrade of Afreximbank’s rating, partly due to Ghana and Zambia indicating they may include the bank’s debt in their restructuring plans.
Ghana, however, maintains that Afreximbank does not qualify as a multilateral lender under IMF rules and should be treated as a commercial creditor.
Akufo-Addo urged African countries to reclaim control over their financing tools by supporting homegrown institutions like Afreximbank and the African Development Bank.
“We cannot develop our continent if the levers of finance remain outside our control,” he said.
He also reiterated his proposal to the African Union, urging member states to allocate 30% of their sovereign reserves to African financial institutions.
“These funds are sitting in foreign accounts earning little, while we struggle to fund infrastructure,” he added.
Afreximbank has invested over $2 billion in Ghana over the years, supporting cocoa financing, forex swaps, and power sector relief, including a 2014 bailout for the Volta River Authority during the energy crisis.
With Ghana still navigating debt restructuring, its continued engagement with Afreximbank remains crucial.
ID/MA
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