South African opposition leader warns Africa against the World Bank, ‘IMF Debt Trap

The South African opposition leader, Julius Malema, has warned African countries against excessive dependence on foreign loans.

He warned that borrowing from the Bretton Woods Institutions – World Bank, International Monetary Funds (IMF) and similar bodies at risk of mortgaging the future of the continent.

Malema, the leader of the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF), delivered a warning on Sunday at Enugu while serving as the main speaker at the opening ceremony of the Annual General Conference of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA).

He described the increase in the profile of the African countries as a “trap” designed to perpetuate dependence, emphasizing that leaders must regulate loan practices to protect future generations.

“African debt traps to foreign invaders we must be stopped, and it starts by setting this loan by our leaders in the future, because they will not be there when the invaders come to collect,” Malema said.

Eff leader revealed that the South African parliament had considered the law to curb these practices. According to him, the Public Finance Management Amendment Bill, which was sponsored by his party, would require parliamentary approval in front of the Ministry of National Finance can get foreign loans, thereby ensuring transparency in loan conditions and obligations.

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Malema’s statement emerged amid increasing fears of the increasing burden of the debt of African countries, including Nigeria and Ethiopia, where dependence on external loans had triggered a long-term economic vulnerability.

Outside of debt issues, South African politicians urged closer relations between Nigeria and South Africa, given the role of Nigeria in supporting South Africa during the Apartheid struggle. He suggested that the two countries must lead African encouragement to industrialization together by developing factories and processing raw materials on the continent rather than exporting them in their states.

“Combined, we have minerals that provide power to modern technology, energy resources that trigger the global industry, and human resources to build an independent continent. The path is clear: Nigeria and South Africa must unite,” he said.

Malema further emphasized that the future of Africa depends on internal unity and self -determination, not external forces.

“Our safety will not come from Washington, London, Brussels, or Beijing. It is here, in Lagos and Johannesburg, in Abuja and Pretoria, in the hands of Africans who refuse to be shared,” he told the Attendance of Lawyers and High Officials.