Panel discussion on “Credit Rating Agencies, Fiscal Space and Fragility in Africa.” 1 March 2022
The Office of the Special Adviser on Africa (OSAA) and the African Peer Review Mechanism (APRM) are co-hosting a panel discussion on “Credit Rating Agencies, Fiscal Space and Fragility in Africa.”
The event takes place on the margins of the Eighth Session of the Africa Regional Forum on Sustainable Development (ARFSD8) and will discuss the role of Credit Rating Agencies (CRAs) and how their current business model impacts Africa’s fiscal space, debt sustainability and socio-economic fragility.
The panel, composed of experts from the multilateral system, the private sector and academia, will discuss pertinent issues for the continent’s debt sustainability, including the Africa premium, which dramatically raises the cost of borrowing for African Member States.
The aim of the event is to raise awareness on the role of CRAs and the disproportionate impact they have in determining the conditions of Africa’s access to finance, thereby contributing to fragilities by reducing fiscal space and state capacity to address vulnerabilities. It also seeks to provide pragmatic policy recommendations on how to transform and better align the CRAs business model with Africa’s development priorities and vision, as articulated in Agenda 2063.
Date: Tuesday 1 March 2022
Time: 09:00 to 10:30 AM (New York time)/ 04:00 to 05:30 PM (Kigali, Rwanda, local time)
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