ABSTRACT
Most of the states of Africa are caught in a seemingly intractable debt trap. The IMF noted that only fifteen out of forty-four African states had been able to service their debts without falling into arrears, or needing debt relief during 1980-5. 1 The tutelage of the IMF and the World Bank has proven to be an inadequate response to what has emerged as a long-term crisis rather than the short-term liquidity problem that was initially anticipated. As we have seen, the Fund's stabilization programmes are of dubious efficacy in the African context. Austerity often leads to stagnation and lowered living standards, without eliminating the economic waste associated with clientelist polities. Free-market policies and devaluation will have a limited effect in boosting African exports that are faced with a stagnant world economy and fiercely protected European and American markets.
