The Country Directors of ActionAid in Africa have urged the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank to stop imposing austerity policies and debilitating indebtedness on African countries to ensure global stability.
They made the call in a joint statement on Tuesday, a few days after the IMF/World Bank meeting ended in Marrakech, Morocco.
“We are calling for the IMF and World Bank to definitively move away from the failed neoliberal economic model.
“To stop imposing austerity policies and constraints on public sector wage bills and instead to support debt cancellation and ambitious and progressive tax reforms nationally and internationally,” the statement, also signed by ActionAid Nigeria (AAN) Country Director, Mr. Andrew Mamedu, said.
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They said, “The IMF and World Bank have imposed a neo-colonial model of economic development based on exploitation and extraction from the Global South, which has given rise to regular debt and economic crises.
“Although some of the rhetoric has changed in recent years, in practice, the IMF and World Bank are still attached to this cult of austerity, undermining progress on health, education, and other public services and blocking Africa’s ability to respond and adapt to the climate crisis.”
The statement said that ActionAid’s research showed in particular that IMF-enforced cuts and freezes to public sector wage bills have consistently blocked the recruitment of urgently needed teachers, nurses, midwives and other public sector workers.
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