Abstract
Africa’s external debt rose sharply between 1970 and 1980 and between 1980 and 2007. A small
decrease could be observed after 2007 under the Heavily Indebted Poor Countries (HIPIC) and the
multilateral debt relieve initiatives (MDRI) in 2006. The debt cancellation under these initiatives was
meant to generate between 25 to 30 billion US Dollars per year for economic and human development.
However, were these funds properly invested for the purpose for which they were borrowed meaning
reducing poverty by investing on human capital and infrastructures to ignite economic growth? The
paper starts by providing an overview of the of the state of debt and poverty in Africa, followed by the
history of debt in Africa in which the debt stock cases of Cameroon and Gabon are examined to draw up
appropriate policy recommendations for the future decisions. It also provides the rationale for theoretical
perspectives on pertinent issues on development in Africa as well as a critical assessment of findings
related to Africa’s governance and its position on Debt Cancelation including the Implication of Debt
Cancelation for Africa’s Development. It concludes by providing a set of policy recommendations for
future research