Abstract
When discussing the Heavily Indebted Poor Countries initiative (HIPC initiative), a joint debt relief initiative by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank currently being implemented in 29 African countries, one has to remember that debt relief programs are not new in the African continent. The issue of African debt is lingering since the 1970s and the making of this enormous debt. In this respect, the example of Zimbabwe is quite striking. According to estimates, in 2008 Zimbabwe, thought to be the most indebted country in the world, had a public debt amounting to 265.6% of its GDP1. Despite several attempts by the International Financial Institutions (IFI) to tackle this huge handicap for the development of African states, few countries actually succeeded in reducing their debt and their indebtedness towards the IFIs. Here, we will focus on explaining the issues stemming from the implementation of one of those programs in the 1980s, the Structural Adjustment Programs (SAP). Those were not ordinary loans, as one can easily understand by paying attention to the fierce and heated discussions and criticisms that arose from the implementation of the SAPs in Africa.
