Former Ghanaian president Nana Akufo-Addo has renewed calls for Africa to establish its own credit rating agency, accusing global financial institutions of unfairly penalising African nations and undermining their development efforts.

Speaking on the sidelines of the African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank) annual meetings in Abuja, Nigeria, Akufo-Addo praised the lender for stepping in when international markets shut out Africa during the COVID-19 pandemic.

“At a time when Ghana couldn’t access the international market and funding was virtually impossible, Afreximbank came through with $750mn in 2022,” Akufo-Addo told delegates.

“When everyone else turned away, Professor Oramah and his team stood with us. That’s why Ghanaians, and I as former president, will always be grateful to them.”

But Akufo-Addo warned that global credit rating agencies continue to impose what he called “skewed assessments” on African economies.

“It is simply not fair. Countries in similar economic positions elsewhere receive better ratings than African countries, just because they’re not African,” he said. “We are constantly forced to pay higher risk premiums based on these unfair assessments.”

His comments follow Fitch’s recent downgrade of Afreximbank’s credit rating to just one notch above junk, citing concerns over the inclusion of the bank’s debt in Ghana and Zambia’s restructuring plans.

Ghana, however, argues that Afreximbank does not meet the criteria for a multilateral lender under the IMF’s Common Framework and should be treated as a commercial creditor.

Akufo-Addo said the episode underscores the urgent need for Africa to take control of its own financial destiny.

“We cannot develop our continent when the levers of financing are not in our hands,” he said.

He reiterated his proposal for African countries to deposit 30 percent of their sovereign reserves with African multilateral institutions.

“These funds are sitting idle in foreign accounts earning next to nothing, while our countries struggle to finance infrastructure and development,” Akufo-Addo said.

The former president also urged African nations to strengthen institutions like Afreximbank and the African Development Bank to reduce dependence on external financial systems.

Afreximbank has been a key player in Ghana’s economy beyond pandemic support. The lender has disbursed over $2bn in financing to Ghana, backing projects from cocoa syndicated loans to forex swaps for local banks and emergency support for the Volta River Authority during the 2014 energy crisis.

As Ghana continues to negotiate its debt treatment plan, its standoff with Afreximbank remains a sticking point. But Akufo-Addo’s message was clear — Africa must chart its own path.

“If America says America First, Africa must also say Africa First,” he declared. “Let’s believe in ourselves and invest in our own future.”