Since the G20 launched its Debt Service Suspension initiative in May 2020, of the 25 African countries that qualified, only four — Ethiopia, Senegal, Cameroon, and Ivory Coast — had applied. What had held many others back, was the implicit knowledge (threat) that the acceptance of the “aid” (a mere postponement of payment, not forgiveness) would be a “mark” on their credit rating, and be held against them in future negotiations with the Western financial elites, specifically the IMF.
As if to prove them right, at the end of business last Friday, Aug. 7, Moody’s financial services issued downgrade alerts for these very same four African nations, going so far as downgrading Ethiopia, and putting the other three up for “downgrade review.” A rating downgrade would erode the benefits supposedly gained from the debt relief as countries would have to pay more interest on the same volume of debt, thus negating any benefit of any so-called “relief” service.
