Debt, or borrowing money, or xalis, arises to cover a deficit. But when it rises beyond control, in the public or private space, a crisis emerges that requires urgent relief. In terms of public debt, a country may well receive some relief. Sometimes with harsh conditions by the creditors, resulting in social instability.
No wonder the United Nations system, through the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), has raised concern about rising world debt, especially among low-income developing countries, in A World of Debt Report, 2025, It is Time for Reform. It states in the introduction that “Public debt can be a powerful tool for development, enabling governments to finance critical expenditures and invest in a better future for their people. However, when public debt grows excessively or its costs outweigh its benefits, it becomes a heavy burden.” p.3.
Therefore, debt, or rented money, or bori xalis, like any other tool in the box, can be put to bad or good use. Rent paid in excess, wasted borrowing, or outright theft can lead to mass misery due to resources being diverted away from priorities such as education, health, and infrastructure. Amidst current global challenges, including territorial and trade wars, and economic slowdown, it is observed that “interest payments in many countries are rising faster than spending on essential public services such as health or education.” p.3. How can social stability then be achieved? Simply a recipe for social disaster, sooner or later, if this price for enriching just the few is accepted without remedy. Witness recent social unrest, across all regions, largely spearheaded by the grassroots, tech-abled youth.
The UNCTAD report shows that richer countries not only borrow the most, about two-thirds of the estimated total, but also get to borrow cheaper than the poor ones. Thus, there is mounting pressure for systemic change or reform of the financial architecture. Global nominal debt was valued at about 102 trillion US dollars in 2024, close to the nominal value of global output of goods and services, or Gross Domestic Product (GDP) at about 110 trillion US dollars in the same year, or a ratio of about 93 percent. Some countries, rich and poor alike, have ratios well above 100 percent. The point is, which countries could afford to pay creditors, without harming the basic needs of the people?
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) is said to use a benchmark public debt-to-GDP ratio of 60 percent to indicate high debt levels, footnote p.8. Africa lies around this troublesome median or midpoint ratio of heavy debt burden on the people, about the same level for developing countries, and slightly below that of Latin America and the Caribbean. However, in terms of borrowing costs, or bond yields, Africa pays about 10 percent on average since 2020, being the highest among all regions, and more than 3 times that of the United States of America, at about 3 percent. p.15. Clearly, Africa needs its own solutions, beyond what creditors dictate.
Plunder or progress from public debt under supervision?
In Senegal next door, the debate amidst mass misery is raging on hidden public debt, estimated around seven billion US dollars, and how much was plundered to enrich the few, or invested for the public good. Under the previous regime, the deficit is said to be double what was reported; and the heavy debt burden ratio, the IMF benchmark, was close to 100 percent, not the 70 percent reported. Who is accountable for the misreporting revealed by the new regime, right under the supervision of IMF/World Bank, and central bankers? While the wahala, or said debate, rages on, Senegal’s heavy debt burden has shot above 100 percent. Negotiations with the very financial institutions involved have dragged on, while withheld support and increased borrowing costs have added to mass suffering.
On the Gambian front, the alert bells also keep ringing. Even with the risk of double-counting, billions of dalasis are at stake in audit, parliamentary, and financial assessment reports. How much was plundered to enrich the few, or invested for the public good? An audit is not a mere, but certified, opinion, given by professionals, in accordance with standards from supreme audit institutions and enacted laws. Spinning responses to audit queries in the media cannot replace verified answers to questions of irregularities raised in the auditor’s management letter.
The IMF/World Bank themselves refer to public, and publicly guaranteed, debt for clarity on the total sum borrowed by government, for and by the people.
