The Historical Origin of African Debt and External Finance Problems

In this paper an attempt to address the historical origin of African external finance and debt problem is made. It will be argued that Africa's external finance problem is the result of the structure of its trade in the world economy in general and its place as a commodity producer in particular. This is compounded by the adverse effect of Northern (industrialized countries) macroeconomic policies. The whole purpose of this paper is to underline the existence of an economic structure, primarily built in the colonial era, which still continues to shape the external economic condition of countries in the continent.