South African opposition leader Julius Malema has urged African countries to exercise caution over borrowing from international financial institutions such as the World Bank and International Monetary Fund (IMF), describing such loans as “debt traps” that could undermine the continent’s future.
Speaking in Enugu today at the opening of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) Annual General Conference, Malema warned that excessive foreign borrowing risks mortgaging Africa’s future generations.
“The debt trap of Africa to our foreign colonisers must be stopped, and that begins by regulating these loans that our leaders commit future generations to,” he said, according to Channels Tv.
Malema, who leads South Africa’s Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF), revealed that his party has introduced the Public Finance Management Amendment Bill in South Africa’s parliament to curb unregulated borrowing.
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The bill seeks to make parliamentary approval mandatory before the National Treasury secures foreign loans, while also demanding greater transparency on loan terms and conditions.
The outspoken politician’s remarks come amid rising debt burdens across several African nations, including Nigeria and Ethiopia.
He praised Nigeria’s historical support during South Africa’s anti-apartheid struggle and called for stronger collaboration between the continent’s two largest economies.
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“Nigeria and South Africa must industrialise together, build factories together, and process our resources on African soil,” he declared.
Malema insisted that Africa’s long-term prosperity lies in self-reliance rather than dependence on external powers.
“Our salvation will not come from Washington, London, Brussels, or Beijing. It lies here, in Lagos and Johannesburg, in Abuja and Pretoria, in the hands of Africans who refuse to be divided,” he told delegates at the conference.
Image Credit: Naija News
