The debt moratorium granted by the G20 to poor countries is welcome among the international community. According to Tidjane Thiam, a member of the Africa COVID task force, this decision will allow the beneficiaries to get available resources to face the urgent challenges that come with the pandemic.

“The idea for the moratorium came from the fact that if an operation could suspend the payment of a debt, governments would immediately have resources available that they could use to fight the disease. It's a very powerful idea, and everybody now sees that it's the fastest way to make money immediately available for people, rather than waiting for disbursements that, in the best case, will take several weeks to arrive in the different countries,” Mr. Thiam said in an interview with Radio France Internationale (RFI).

The decision is however criticized by many NGOs. According to the French Debt and Development platform, the moratorium is just deferring the debt payment period and could in the worst case increase debt. “As debts have not been canceled, the repayments expected in 2020 will still be due in 2021, plus the interest accumulated over the period: the debt will be all the more unbearable in 2021,” explains Fanny Gallois, the coordinator of this platform.

Tidjane Thiam acknowledges this weakness in the “G20 offer,” but says that in the face of this kind of emergency, waiting for better solutions can be detrimental. “There has been a sense of urgency since we started this work. This is a moratorium. But it gives us time to take more permanent measures, to deal with the debt issue where necessary and to have restructuring where necessary. But as someone I know said, the most important thing in life is not to die,” he commented.

The total amount of debt cancelation for countries announced by the G20 is not specified. Some NGOs estimate it to be only $12 billion, representing the bilateral share of the debt of poor countries. There is also a private share, which is held by banks or large companies, especially commodity traders, and which is not directly within the G20's remit.

Oxfam demands that the debt repayments due in 2020 be completely canceled, whatever their nature (private, multilateral, or bilateral). So far, only France, through its president and Minister of Finance, has declared itself in favor of “massive debt cancelation for African countries.” Within the G20, there seems to be more support for the possibility of renewing the extension of maturity. The stance of China, Africa’s biggest trade partner, on this point is not known yet. But the country has committed to joining the international community's efforts to help the continent.