Former President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo has described Ghana’s debt restructuring under the G20 Common Framework as “one of the darkest and most painful episodes” of his administration, citing the heavy toll it took on citizens despite restoring macroeconomic stability.

Speaking at the AU-EU High-Level Seminar in Brussels on Thursday, October 2, 2025, ahead of the AU-EU Summit, the former president reflected on the human and social costs of Ghana’s debt crisis.

“I witnessed the suffocating grip of debt on our economy and our citizens.

This deeply troubled me and still does,” he told African and European leaders.

Ghana joined the Common Framework in 2023, restructuring $13 billion in Eurobonds and securing $10.5 billion in external debt service relief through 2026.

The programme helped reduce the country’s debt-to-GDP ratio from the mid-80s to 70.5%, restored some investor confidence, and anchored an IMF-supported programme.

However, Mr. Akufo-Addo stressed that the prolonged negotiations eroded public trust and left ordinary people — including pensioners, youth, and small investors — bearing the brunt.

“The most painful part was the impact on ordinary people.

Their lives and livelihoods were shattered,” he said.

Turning to Africa’s broader financial challenges, Mr. Akufo-Addo highlighted that more than 30 African countries now spend more on debt interest than on healthcare, calling it a profound injustice.

“Every dollar diverted to creditors is a dollar taken from a hospital, from a child’s vaccination, from a community’s future. This is not economics, it is inequity,” he stressed.

He called for bold reforms, including immediate debt service suspension, comprehensive restructuring, and concessional financing, while rejecting the framing of debt relief as charity.

“Debt relief for Africa is not an act of generosity. It is an act of justice,” he declared.

Mr. Akufo-Addo proposed a “Debt Relief for Green Investment and Resilience” framework to link debt cancellation with climate action, pointing to Africa’s vulnerability to climate shocks despite contributing less than 4% of global emissions.

“To our European partners, I say this: hear the voice of your neighbouring continent.

Stand with the AU and South Africa’s G20 Presidency to advance ambitious reform of the Common Framework,” he urged.

Concluding, the former president warned that without a fairer global financial system, Africa’s drive for economic diversification and good governance would remain undermined by predatory lending and punitive trade terms.

“The sacrifices we make today, the compromises, and the collaborations we engage in today can only inure to the benefit of our world.

When Africa rises free from the weight of debt, the whole world rises with it,” he said.