Rising debts and illicit financial flows (IFFs) are twin challenges that are stifling the development of Africa.

African workers are convinced that tackling the challenges requires concerted global efforts. While African leaders take pleasure in amassing loans meant for development mostly from international financial institutions, such money is also looted and taken back to their sources in the developed countries by the same African leaders thereby depriving their people of the needed development.

Gathering in Lusaka, the Zambian capital, workers under the aegis of the African Regional Organisation of International Labour Confederation (ITUC-Africa) advocated debt relief for African nations over the rising debt profile of the continent.

Speaking during a continental awareness campaign rally tagged ‘stop the bleeding, break debt chains’, in the Zambian capital, ITUC-Africa President, Martha Molema, said the continent can only achieve meaningful development only when her debts are cancelled.

According to her, Africa as a continent loses $89 billion every year to IFFs, stressing that such money would have been enough for the continent to develop, provide required amenities and feed its people very well.

Also, in a letter addressed to the Zambian government on behalf of other governments in the continent, representatives of the World Bank, International Monetary Fund (IMF) and members of the diplomatic corps, Molema, further urged African governments to desist from mortgaging the future of its people and unborn children through borrowing.

The rally was part of the line-up activities at the ongoing 14th new-year school of the African regional organisation of the International Trade Union Confederation in Lusaka.

At the school, workers unanimously said the skyrocketing debt of African countries in the international financial institutions will further exacerbate low wages, hunger and suffering in the continent because of austerity measures.

With over 5,000 Africans comprising ITUC-Africa members from different trade unions across the continent, members of Zambian Congress of Trade Unions (ZCTU), concerned citizens, and students from universities and secondary schools converged at Garden Corner in Chilulu, Lusaka for the rally.

The mammoth crowd displayed banners with inscriptions such as ‘the global financial system works against Africa, restructure it’, ‘debt relief: fairness for African citizens,’ ‘public debt takes away money for health,’ ‘lower the cost of sovereign borrowing for countries at risk debt distress,’ ‘drop the debt; Africa can’t breathe,’ ‘unsustainable debt disproportionately hurt women and girls,’ ‘more debt, more taxes, more inequalities,’ ‘we demand debt relief for Africa’s development’.

Tagged ‘Urgent call for bold and transformative solutions to address Zambia’s and Africa’s debt crisis, the African workers’ demands read in part: “We, the African Labour Movement represented by the African Regional Organisation of the International Trade Union Confederation, the Zambia Labour Movement represented by Zambia Congress of Trade Unions (ZCTU), the Zambia Debt Alliance, the Stop the Bleeding Campaign, CSOs, Churches and citizens come before you with an urgent plea for bold and transformative solutions to alleviate the crippling debt crisis facing not only Zambia but also many nations across Africa and the global South.”

The workers’ unions stated that their demands were clear and that their resolve was unwavering as they stood in solidarity with vulnerable citizenry and communities affected by the burdens of debt, inequitable trade policies, and the climate crisis.

The workers’ representatives declared that the current plight of African workers, exacerbated by the weight of national debt and a broken global financial architecture, cannot be understated.

“The burden of debt on African workers and citizens perpetuates poverty, exacerbates inequality, and hinders access to essential services while undermining economic development and perpetuating cycles of dependency. We refuse to negotiate from a position of fear, for we are not a global liability but rather the victims of historical exploitation and systemic injustice perpetrated by slavery, colonialism, environmental exploitation, and the exacerbation of climate crises.

“The global financial rules are rigged and skewed against Africa and most economies in the global south. At the core of our struggle lies the insidious practices of IFFs that siphon off rightful earnings through tax evasion and avoidance, perpetuating poverty and inequality among our people. The policies enforced by international financial institutions such as the World Bank often exacerbate our debt burden, prioritising structural adjustments that further marginalise workers and vulnerable segments of society,” the union said.

They observed that the privatisation of public services and state-owned enterprises, championed by powerful private players and supported by foreign financial institutions only serves to commodify human dignity and exacerbate inequality.

The unions lamented that women who experience the worst of unpaid care work and who are disproportionately affected by regressive tax policies are forced into unsustainable debt cycles as basic services become inaccessible.

They stressed that despite previous debt relief efforts, the underlying structural problems remain unaddressed, perpetuating a cycle of poverty and economic dependence.

The unions added: “We encourage multinational corporations headquartered in their respective countries to refrain from wage evasion, unfair tax practices and exploitative resource management, in favour of equitable and sustainable practices. We advocate for a restructuring of the global financial architecture to prioritise the rights and needs of workers over the interests of powerful financial institutions and multinational corporations.”

The African workers also expressed their support for the call for the establishment of a United Nations (UN) Tax Convention that could help improve the governance of global tax administration in a more transparent, inclusive, democratic, effective and fair manner.

“We call upon the diplomatic community to advocate for structural reforms, transparency and accountability in fiscal policies and labour practices. Multinational corporations must adhere to national laws, pay fair taxes and observe ethical business practices for the benefit of all citizens.

“Our message is that Africa will not continue to negotiate out of fear, blackmail and within a rigged global rule regime. We demand our continent genuinely engaged in ways to reverse the historical injustices we have suffered as a people,” they stated.