President Paul Kagame on Tuesday, March 29, said that modernising international debt architecture should not be a Covid-19 emergency measure, but, rather, a long-overdue discussion that tackles apparent inequalities. He was speaking at the high-level meeting of Heads of State and Government on the international debt architecture and liquidity. The meeting was jointly convened by the Secretary-General of United Nations, António Guterres, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau of Canada, and Prime Minister of Jamaica, Andrew Holness. In his remarks, Kagame highlighted that much as global countries are seeking to recover from Covid-19 adverse effects, inequalities have to be dealt with as well. He said: “Recovery from the Covid-19 pandemic depends on adequate fiscal space and liquidity. However, there is a sharp dividing line in today’s world.” “Without corrective action, this divergence will entrench a profoundly unequal global order, in which the poor have no chance of ever catching up with the prosperous,” he added. Kagame, therefore, proposed some measures that should be considered by the international community to ensure effective Covid-19 recovery. “Modernising the international debt architecture should not be seen, as merely a Covid emergency measure. It is a long-overdue discussion that goes to the heart of the inequalities that continue to bedevil our world,” he noted. Among the measures he proposed include extending the G20 Debt Service Suspension Initiative and a new issuance of Special Drawing Rights would enhance liquidity. He emphasized that debt relief negotiations should be conducted with the welfare of citizens in mind, and with a long-term view of development objectives, including the SDGs. The Debt Service Suspension Initiative, which is where bilateral official creditors are, during a limited period, suspending debt service payments from the poorest countries that request the suspension, took effect in May last year and is expected to end in June this year. Concerning IMF’s Special Drawing Rights, Kagame underscored that; “there needs to be a system of accountability for how SDRs are used, as well as a method of allocating them according to need rather than quota.”
