Nairobi: African churches have raised the alarm that the rising debt in the continent is threatening the sovereignty of countries.
And now churches have decided to create a powerful coalition in the continent that will campaign against the rising debt and corruption in the continent.
Speaking at a virtual event when he launched the All Africa Conference of Churches (AACC) Policy Brief on Debt and Corruption, the General Secretary of the organization, Rev. Dr Fidon Mwombeki, said that African governments are hiding the true extent of their indebtedness.
“They are not telling people the truth,” he said, adding that there was a worrying lack of awareness about the problem in the general population.
He noted that the countries whose debt had been forgiven after the campaigns in the early 2000s by churches under the umbrella of Jubilee 2000 were back in the same quagmire. The Jubilee 2000 initiative is credited with getting African creditors, mainly the OECD member countries and multilateral institutions, to forgive debt estimated at US$ 100billion owed by 35 of the world’s poorest countries in the 2000s.
AACC developed the Policy Brief to guide its stand on the debt crisis and corruption in the continent, as well as lay out its campaign on working with its network of churches across Africa to campaign against the two growing challenges.
Among those who attended the virtual launch were the Malawi High Commissioner in Nairobi, Mrs Agrina Mussa, Ms Barbara King, Second Secretary in the Australian EmbaSsy in Ethiopia representing the ambassador, and the Executive Secretary of the Advisiory Board on Corruption in the African Union, Ms Charity Nchimunya.
AACC will launch a continent wide campaign using its member churches to raise the conversation on debt in Africa, and pressurize governments to take action against escalating debt burdens.
The All Africa Conference of Churches is a continental ecumenical body that accounts for over 140 million Christians across the continent. AACC is the largest association of Protestant, Anglican, Orthodox, and indigenous churches in Africa, and is a member of the worldwide ecumenical network. AACC is a fellowship of 193 members comprising Churches, National Councils of Churches (NCCs), theological and lay training institutions, and other Christian organisations in 42 African countries.