The protest, organized by the Trades Union Congress (TUC) of Ghana with support from the International Trade Union Confederation Africa (ITUC-Africa), urged a total overhaul of the global debt system, which unions say is crippling Africa’s growth prospects.
Ghana, Africa’s top gold producer and second-largest cocoa exporter, is still recovering from one of its worst economic downturns, marked by a 2022 debt default and inflation that once soared above 50%. By March, its external debt had climbed to $28.5 billion — more than a quarter of the nation’s GDP.
Chanting patriotic songs and wearing red and black, demonstrators said Africa’s external debt now above $1.3 trillion is a major barrier to development. More than 20 African nations, including Ghana, are restructuring their debt.
The unions submitted a petition to President John Mahama’s government, calling for “total and unconditional cancellation” of Africa’s unsustainable debt as a form of reparative justice. They argued that freed-up resources should fund jobs, wages, social safety nets, climate resilience, and long-term reforms.
Ghana’s Finance Minister, Cassiel Ato Forson, who received the petition, agreed with their concerns, stressing that in 23 African countries, debt servicing costs are now higher than spending on health and education. “There is a difference between not being able to pay and not being willing to pay. These countries simply cannot pay,” he said.
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