Short-term loans risky for developing countries, debt analyst warns

Economic experts have resounded the warning for developing countries against seeking short-term loans because they carry high-interest rates that many are currently choking on.

This comes days after a new report by the UN Global Crisis Response Group, titled A World of Debt, indicated that almost 40 percent of the developing world is in “serious debt trouble”.

It further revealed that half of humanity lives in countries that are forced to spend more on servicing their debt than on health and education, which is nothing less than a development disaster.

Fidelite Nshimiyimana, the Campaign and communications manager at the African Network on Debt and Development, tells KFM that commercial lenders are taking advantage of the dire situation in many poor countries including Uganda, whose public debt now stands at Shs 80 trillion.

Written by Moses Ndhaye