When I entered the High-Level Dialogue on Rethinking Debt Sustainability and Exploring Africa’s Alternative Financing Models on 17 November 2025 in Johannesburg, I felt the pulse of a continent refusing to be defined by its liabilities. Convened by the African Union Commission, AFRODAD, UNDP, UNECA, and the Open Society Foundations, the gathering felt like a  political moment for Africa to raise its voice and challenge the financial architecture with a long history of limiting Africa’s development.

Across the conversations,  in panel discussions, side corridors, and in my own reflections, one message reverberated: Africa’s debt crisis is not a natural disaster, but a structural condition. Current debt sustainability frameworks underplay the fundamental ways in which value is extracted from our economies. It is not enough to focus on debt-to-GDP ratios when the system allows capital to flee through illicit financial flows, profit repatriation, and commodity under-pricing. Those flows are not incidental; they are the architecture of extraction. This resonated as I strongly believe the struggle for justice can never be an isolated struggle for issues. It is interlinked, connected and it’s solutions come from bringing together all the struggles and raising the African voice in all places that have continued to plunder our resources.

Misuse and abuse of debt both by borrowers and lenders has deeply gendered consequences. When debt servicing crowds out public spending, it hits the care economy hardest. Women, especially in rural and informal settings  absorb these shocks through increased unpaid labour or decreased public services. Every cut to health, education, or social protection is a cut to care; every austerity measure shifts the burden home.

If we are serious about debt justice, we must also be serious about care justice. This means re-envisioning public investment not just in hard infrastructure, but in the systems that support human life: childcare, elder care, community health, social protection. These are not luxuries  they are foundational to sustainable development.

One of the most powerful ideas that emerged from the dialogue is the concept of economic sovereignty. Sovereignty is not just about political borders — it’s about the capacity to marshal resources, to choose how to finance development, and to define what “sustainable debt” means on African terms. For too long, borrowing has been reactive: responding to crises rather than building resilience.

True transformation will require African-led institutions that reduce dependency on external capital. Regional financial instruments, debt swaps, and novel governance frameworks can help Africa reclaim its policy space. But technical solutions alone are not enough, we need political will. We must refuse the imposed austerity cycles and demand financing that supports growth, care, and dignity.

The recent G20 Leaders’ Declaration in Johannesburg offers a rare alignment with some of these ambitions. The 122-point declaration explicitly recognizes that unsustainable debt constrains the ability of low-income countries to invest in infrastructure, healthcare, education, and disaster resilience.

Critically, the declaration commits to:

• Greater debt transparency, including from private creditors.
• Reforming the IMF–World Bank debt sustainability framework to better reflect the realities of low-income, highly vulnerable countries.
• Investing in the care economy, with explicit pledges to develop care policies by 2030.
• Mobilising quality infrastructure aligned with national priorities, not external conditionalities.

These are not trivial concessions: they signal a political opening. As President Cyril Ramaphosa put it, “together, we must create a virtuous cycle: reduced debt, higher public investment, and more inclusive growth.”

Inspired by the Johannesburg dialogue and the G20 commitments, here is what must come next  grounded in justice, care, and sovereignty:

1. Define debt sustainability on Africa’s terms. Let fiscal rules reflect social goals, not just macro ratios.
2. Build a care-first infrastructure paradigm. Investment must centre care systems: health, social protection, and community support.
3. Demand full transparency in lending. Private and public creditors alike must be accountable.
4. Deepen continental financial institutions. African-led funding mechanisms are not a substitute; they are essential to sovereignty.
5. Strengthen civil society traction. Feminist, community, and women-led movements must shape how restructuring happens.
6. Push for global institutional reform. The G20 promises are opening; multilateral development banks and global financial bodies must be remade to serve development, not debt

The calls are not just a moral claims, they are  social, political-economic demands for humanity. When African governments are freed from predatory debt burdens, they can invest boldly: in women, in farmers, in small-scale miners, in the care systems that sustain communities.