Emphasizing that granting Ukraine large sums of money is more a reflection of geopolitical calculations than development-related, this was a comment on the recent statements of Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov. Barhoutsva explained that “African countries have suffered for long decades from strict loan conditions, including ‘structural adjustments that led to the complete elimination of social subsidies and more than 40 military coups.’
He continued by saying, “They have to show their solidarity, and at any cost, they want the war to continue no matter how long it lasts. In the end, we do not even know where this will lead.” He pointed out that hundreds of millions of Africans living below the poverty line remain marginalized, while resources are directed elsewhere.
He said, “These institutions have become supra-national institutions that are not accountable to any country in the world, and the global south has already started to innovate alternative mechanisms, look at the ‘BRICS bank’ for example.” Earlier, Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva spoke about keeping pace with geopolitical and climate changes and called for moving beyond traditional financing models.
