Debtors’ prism: mounting crises of Africa’s loans
The Intelligence from The Economist
The Economist
4.5 • 3.7K Ratings
🗓️ 31 May 2023
⏱️ 26 minutes
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Summary
Many of the continent’s economies are hamstrung by debt—much of it held internationally. We look at the growing need for closer co-operation between China, Western creditors and multilateral institutions. A city on Ukraine’s front line has become an unlikely locus for love stories. And unpicking the link between workers’ productivity and their drugs of choice.
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Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | Hello and welcome to the Intelligence from the Economist. |
| 0:07.1 | I'm your host, Jason Palmer. |
| 0:09.6 | Every weekday we provide a fresh perspective on the events shaping your world. |
| 0:18.1 | Even amid the Thuddingly Repeditive Grimness of War, there are stories of love triumphant |
| 0:23.8 | to be found. |
| 0:25.2 | We climb aboard an express train line in Ukraine's Harkiv Province, where many of those stories |
| 0:30.3 | are playing out. |
| 0:33.3 | And there's a curious correlation between recent slipping American productivity numbers |
| 0:38.4 | and a pinched supply of ADHD drugs like Adderall. |
| 0:42.2 | Coincidence? |
| 0:43.2 | Maybe. |
| 0:44.4 | But throughout history, drugs of all sorts have affected how workers perform. |
| 0:55.7 | First up, though. |
| 1:03.8 | The West African country of Ghana got a lifeline this month from the International Monetary Fund, |
| 1:09.1 | a $3 billion financial assistance program. |
| 1:12.4 | The International Monetary Fund executive board finally has approved a 36-month arrangement |
| 1:17.9 | under the extended credit facility equivalent to around $3 billion dollars now this decision. |
| 1:24.4 | But first, the fund needed assurances from Ghana's creditors that the country's debts |
| 1:28.6 | would be restructured. |
| 1:30.2 | Let me highlight that this program and policies and reforms together with the debt restructuring |
| 1:35.5 | will help Ghana overcome immediate economic and financing challenges and pave the way for |
| 1:39.9 | a brighter future for all Ghanaians. |
... |
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