By BUUMBA CHIMBULU in Johannesburg
A FLAGSHIP event offering increased reporting on debt and other socio-economic issues, including advancing reparative justice and the reform of the global financing system has opened today in Johannesburg, South Africa.
The event is being hosted by the African Forum and Network on Debt and Development (AFRODAD) in partnership with the African Monitor, Institute for Economic Justice (IEJ), and the Stop the Bleeding campaign (STBc).
The fifth edition of the AFRODAD Media Initiative (AfroMEDI V) would provide increased capacity to report on debt reparative justice, through humanising the issues, focusing on data-driven reporting, offering historical context of injustice and proffering policy solutions from interviews with technical persons in the civil society space.
This flagship event will be themed Media’s Role in Advancing Africa’s Position on Reparative Justice, according to a concept note.
AfroMEDI V would strategically link the African Union’s (AU’s) theme to current global processes and campaigns such as Financing for Development, South Africa’s presidency of the G20, the Stop the Bleeding campaign and the feminist debt justice.
“Through AfroMEDI V, participating journalists will be capacitated to link reparations to global development processes and to prioritise in-depth reporting that advances Africa’s position on reparative justice with a keen focus on public debt and related issues including taxation, trade, labour (in the context of the STBc), climate finance, feminist debt justice and legal elements of debt.
“The media play a crucial role in shaping public discourse, influencing policy decisions and bringing attention to socio-economic issues.
Therefore, empowering journalists to set an agenda that aims at ensuring accountability and keeping people informed on key processes remains crucial,” the note indicated.
This year, participants have been drawn from 34 African countries including Angola, Benin, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cameroon, Chad, Cote d’Ivoire, Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Ethiopia and Gabon.
Other countries include Gambia, Ghana, Kenya, Lesotho, Liberia, Madagascar, Malawi, Mali, Mauritius, Morocco, Mozambique, Namibia, Nigeria, Senegal, South Africa, Sierra Leone, South Sudan, Sudan, Tanzania, Togo, Tunisia, Uganda, Zambia and Zimbabwe.
Africa was facing one of its worst sovereign debt crises that threatens to reverse years of development gains and historical debt relief efforts.
“From the African Debt Risk Map, countries like Sudan, Somaliland, Somalia, Ghana, Sao Tome & Principe, Congo Republic, Zambia, Mozambique, Malawi, Zimbabwe,Cameroon, Angola, Central African Republic, South Sudan, Ethiopia, Chad, Eritrea, Djibouti, Gambia, Guinea-Bissau, Sierra Leone, Tunisia and Kenya are struggling from a heavy burden of debt.
“Some countries have been pushed to implement harsh policies and budget cuts from social investment to loan repayment, leading to unrest as countries are forced into positions of implementing deeply unfair and unpopular policies, sometimes leading to civil unrest as witnessed in Kenya and Nigeria in 2024,” the concept note indicated.
