For the IMF, the vision is to use the Shanghai Centre as a regional hub for research, policy dialogue and outreach, with a focus on emerging and middle-income economies. 

It is also expected to expand the Fund’s presence in a region that now drives more than half of global growth. China provided financial backing for the facility.

Chinese journalist Xu Zeyu said the opening is also the latest affirmation of China’s rising monetary status, noting that the renminbi joined the IMF’s Special Drawing Rights basket in 2016 with a 10.92% weight, later increased to 12.28% in 2022. 

This, Xu said, proved the currency’s growing acceptance as a “freely usable currency” and its impact on the global monetary landscape.

Johannes Wiegand, a veteran IMF economist, has been appointed the centre’s first director. Its opening was marked by a seminar on macroeconomic challenges in emerging markets, including structural change, finance and the rise of artificial intelligence.

Xu added that the Shanghai Centre could accelerate RMB internationalisation by deepening IMF research on regional financial connectivity and strengthening the yuan’s function as a regional anchor currency—providing Asian economies with more stable, autonomous trade settlement options.

The new outpost comes at a time when demand for IMF lending is at record levels. The Fund currently has around $162 billion in credit outstanding—its highest ever—with 86 countries owing money. Argentina, Ukraine and Egypt account for nearly half of the total.

Founded in 1944 to stabilise the post-war global economy, the IMF now has 191 members and a lending capacity of about $1 trillion. It finances its operations through quotas paid by member states, with wealthier countries acting as creditors and earning interest. Last year, roughly 50 such countries received around $5 billion in interest payments.

Argentina remains the IMF’s largest borrower, with debts of about $57 billion following years of economic crises and repeated bailouts. Ukraine , engulfed in war, owes more than $14bn, while Egypt has leaned on the Fund to manage inflation, currency shortages and fiscal stress.

For Beijing, hosting an IMF hub aligns with its push to expand influence in global economic institutions. Yet the Shanghai centre will not shift the Fund’s decision-making power, which remains anchored in Washington and weighted toward advanced economies.

For emerging Asian countries, the centre could offer easier access to technical support and policy advice, though it does not alter borrowing rules or the IMF’s often-criticised loan conditions.

Namalomba said the wage bill now absorbs 25% of all government recurrent spending, and a staggering 38% of domestic tax revenue goes straight to paying public workers. “This leaves very little money for roads, hospitals, schools, agriculture and economic growth,” he warned .

Officials say the crisis is being fuelled by outdated records, weak controls, duplicated roles, and widespread ghost workers (individuals who no longer serve in government but still receive salaries).

To address this, Malawi will conduct a Comprehensive Civil Service Payroll Audit between December 6, 2025 and February 6, 2026. Every civil servant must present themselves in person with their national ID, academic certificates, appointment letters and other documents. Those who fail to appear will be treated as illegitimate employees, with immediate salary suspension and dismissal proceedings.

Chief Secretary to the Government Dr Justin Saidi described the exercise as critical for “safeguarding public finances” and restoring order to government systems. He said the verification would help permanently eliminate payroll fraud and modernise Malawi’s HR and payroll infrastructure.

Seme warned that any government seen to be relying on opaque conditional loans would face relentless protests. “We are not ready as a population to support another regime that will go back, banking on hopes of being given money by the IMF under unclear conditions … We are not with you, protests will always be here,” he added.

Salim Mghanga, a local resident, accused successive administrations of borrowing and then siphoning funds offshore. “They borrow money from these institutions, then they steal it, take it back to London and Switzerland, leaving the people wallowing in poverty,” he said.

Fadhili Owino, another Nairobi resident, described international lenders as “business-oriented” and argued their programmes ignore the livelihoods of ordinary people. “IMF & World Bank don’t understand the reality of the situation in Kenya… They only give out loans because they are business-oriented,” he said, adding calls for greater self-reliance. “Africa is the richest continent in the world, yet it is the poorest in the world… We should exploit our mineral resources for the benefit of our people.”

Kenya’s Bold Step: Converting Dollar Debt to Yuan

Some African governments are rethinking how they borrow. Kenya has taken a pioneering step by converting $3.5 billion of loans from China into yuan-denominated debt, a move expected to save the country $215 million annually. This strategy reduces exposure to the strengthening U.S. dollar and signals a broader push toward “de-dollarisation”, diversifying currency options to stabilise national economies and increase fiscal independence.

Angola’s Return to Global Markets

While Kenya experiments with currency diversification, Angola has chosen to re-engage international investors. The country has issued five- and ten-year Eurobonds to raise $1.5 billion, marking its first bond sale since 2022. Led by major global banks including Citi, Deutsche Bank, JPMorgan, and Standard Chartered, the sale points to renewed investor confidence in African economies. Yet, experts warn that poor credit ratings still force many countries to borrow at interest rates as high as 12%, as noted by MacDonald Goanue of the ECOWAS Bank for Investment and Development.

Creative Financing and Regional Solutions

To ease the debt burden, several African nations are adopting innovative financial tools. Securitisation, which allows governments to use future revenue streams as collateral, and debt-for-nature swaps, which forgive debt in exchange for environmental protection, are gaining traction. Additionally, regional banks are offering concessional loans with lower interest rates and longer repayment periods. There is also growing advocacy for trading in African currencies and building stronger regional financial institutions to reduce reliance on Western lenders.

From Necessity to Strategy

Africa ’s debt story is evolving from borrowing out of necessity to borrowing with strategy. However, global inflation, commodity price drops, and geopolitical instability still threaten progress. As Kenya, Angola, and others demonstrate, African countries are reclaiming agency in the global financial system. The focus is shifting from repayment to reimagining the structures that have historically constrained the continent’s growth.

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World Reframed is produced in London by Global South World, part of the Impactum Group. Its editors are Duncan Hooper and Ismail Akwei.

ISSN 2978-4891

“We’ve always known that there’s a cost to the persistent stereotypical media narratives about Africa. Now we’re able to put an actual figure to it,” said Moky Makura, executive director of Africa No Filter. “The scale of these figures underscores the urgent need to challenge [these] negative stereotypes about Africa and promote a more balanced narrative.”

Biased reporting on African elections

The report emphasises that global media coverage of African elections is particularly problematic, often focusing on conflict, corruption, poverty, and poor leadership. This portrayal creates a significant gap between perceived and actual investment risks, further reducing Africa’s attractiveness to international investors.

African elections are frequently covered with an overemphasis on violence and fraud, while positive stories about progress and development are often ignored, the study indicates.

“Typically, election coverage is narrowly focused on the horse race between the incumbent and main opposition party or parties. In Africa, it is often peppered with stories of election violence and rumours of corruption,” Makura explained. “The fixation on election drama rather than the issues at stake is sometimes driven by the desire for headline-grabbing stories. It’s easier to sell stories about tainted politicians and violent clashes than it is to dig into healthcare reform or job creation policies.”

Africa vs. the ‘Rest of the World’

The study highlights stark disparities in media coverage between African and non-African countries with similar political and socioeconomic conditions. For example, Malaysia, which experienced a corruption scandal during the same period as Kenya, saw significantly fewer global news articles on corruption compared to Kenya.

A key finding is that 88% of global news articles about Kenya and 69% about Nigeria are negative, compared to just 48% for Malaysia. Similarly, Egypt, whose political regime and press freedom are comparable to that of Thailand, had more headlines focused on violence than its Southeast Asian counterpart.

When compared to other African nations, South Africa and its president, Cyril Ramaphosa, have received more favourable reporting in the media; however, there are media narratives that portray South Africa as failing like other African nations. This disproportionate focus on negative stories in Africa skews global perceptions and plays a role in the continent’s higher borrowing costs.

Higher interest rates due to media bias

According to the study, negative media sentiment directly influences credit ratings and bond yields, which in turn increase borrowing costs for African nations. Egypt, for example, has a negative sentiment score of 66% and faces bond yields of around 15%, while Thailand, with a sentiment score of 32%, has bond yields of just 2.5%.

African nations often pay significantly higher interest rates compared to other regions. The United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) Secretary-General Rebeca Grynspan  revealed that African countries pay about eight times more in interest than European countries and four times more than the US for the same level of debt.

According to the research, inflated rates are largely driven by heightened perceptions of risk influenced by media portrayals, despite some countries having decent credit ratings.

“The real commercial opportunity is obscured from international investors because of this risk premium,” noted Marcus Courage, chief executive officer of Africa Practice. He added that the $4.2 billion figure only accounts for the impact of negative media on sovereign debt, excluding broader effects on tourism, foreign investment, or aid.

Reducing the debt burden

More economic restrictions are being placed on the people of various African countries as a result of the adoption of additional levies, increased taxes, and other revenue-enhancing measures to pay off debt.

With the World Bank reporting that nine African countries entered 2024 in debt distress , and many more at high risk, the report concludes that a more balanced and accurate media portrayal of Africa could reduce borrowing costs, allowing African countries to invest more in public infrastructure and other critical needs.

According to Anywar, maintaining their appearance is part of their professional presence and, by extension, their effectiveness as public representatives.

During a parliamentary session on April 11, she stated that even though the house is content with the establishment of a gym in the building, only a few women use it due to an obvious dishevelment of their hair when they are through with bodily exercise.

"One of them is myself; my hair and nails and whatever are part of the woman," Ms Anywar said . "What I am really saying is that we ladies can come early, and spend more time in the salon and then the house."

In recent years, the Ugandan Parliament has drawn considerable attention due to a string of unusual requests. One such request is the recent proposal for a flyover that would connect Bowman House, which houses offices for several MPs to parliamentary grounds.

The rationale behind the proposed flyover is the necessity for a safe passage between Bowman House and the Parliament Building.

Meanwhile, an online protest in March exposed numerous corruption - misuse of public funds, deteriorating hospitals, and potholed streets plaguing Kampala, Uganda's capital city.

The social media campaign, known as "#UgandaParliamentExhibition", gained traction on social media platform X and relied on leaked official documents that were framed as an "exhibition," presented through a series of posts, highlighting contentious issues.

The campaign claimed that Speaker of Parliament Anita Among received approximately $894,500 in per diems and entertainment allowances between July 2023 and January 2024. This amount, deemed extraordinary in a country struggling with budget implementation challenges and enduring revenue shortages, raised significant concerns.

On the other hand, Uganda still struggles with healthcare infrastructure. According to an Afrobarometer report in 2021, the country's health sector was falling short of a 15% budget allocation recommended by the Abuja Declaration, a millennium declaration, adopted by 189 heads of state in 2000 to improve social and economic conditions in the world's poorest countries.

Additionally, the report highlights several significant hurdles confronting Uganda's healthcare system. These include severely underpaid healthcare workers, a scarcity of medical personnel, inadequate supplies of medicines and essential equipment in government facilities, a shortage of hospital beds, high expenses, and limited accessibility to healthcare services, notably in rural regions.