Is Debt a Constraint to Growth? A Conversation on Debt Sustainability and Growth in Sub-Saharan African Countries

Dr. Uzziel Ndagijimana is the Minister of Finance and Economic Planning in Rwanda’s Ministry of Finance and Economic Planning (MINECOFIN) and has been since April 2018. He served as Minister of State in Charge of Economic Planning (MINECOFIN) from July 2014 to April 2018.

Before joining the MINECOFIN, Dr. Ndagijimana was the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Health, Republic of Rwanda from May 2011 to July 2014. He also served in different leadership positions as the Vice Rector of the National University of Rwanda (2007-2011) and as the Rector of the School of Finance and Banking in Kigali, Rwanda (2002-2007).

Dr. Ndagijimana is an Economist, holding a PhD in Economics (1998) from the University of Warsaw and a MSc. Economics, with specialization in International Trade from Warsaw School of Economics (1992). He started his career as a Lecturer at the National University of Rwanda in 1999, Faculty of Economics, Social Sciences, and Management, before he moved to leadership positions in the Government of Rwanda starting in 2002. He is an author of papers in national and international journals. He speaks Kinyarwanda, French, English, Swahili, Polish, and basic Portuguese.

Carmen M. Reinhart is the Minos A. Zombanakis Professor of the International Financial System at Harvard Kennedy School. From 2020-2022 she served as Senior Vice President and Chief Economist at The World Bank Group and was Chief Economist at Bear Stearns in the 1980s. She has also been Policy Advisor and Deputy Director at the International Monetary Fund (IMF), a member of the Advisory Panel of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, and of the Congressional Budget Office Panel of Economic Advisors, among others. Her work has helped to inform the understanding of financial crises in both advanced economies and emerging markets. Her best-selling book (with Kenneth S. Rogoff) entitled “This Time is Different: Eight Centuries of Financial Folly” documents the striking similarities of the recurring booms and busts that have characterized financial history. It has been translated into over 20 languages and won the Paul A. Samuelson Award. She is an elected member of the Group of Thirty and is a Senior Fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations.

Reinhart is ranked among the top economists worldwide according to Research Papers in Economics (RePec). She has been listed among Bloomberg Markets Most Influential 50 in Finance, Foreign Policy’s Top 100 Global Thinkers, and Thompson Reuters' The World's Most Influential Scientific Minds. In 2018, she was awarded the King Juan Carlos Prize in Economics and NABE’s Adam Smith Award, among others.

Victoria Kwakwa is the World Bank Regional Vice President for Eastern and Southern Africa.

An economist and development expert with over 30 years of experience, Dr. Kwakwa leads the Bank’s engagement with 26 countries. She oversees an active portfolio of 313 operations totaling $58 billion and an extensive program of cutting-edge analytic work, technical assistance, and policy advice.

At the core of Dr. Kwakwa’s vision is a stable, integrated and resilient region with dynamic economies and prosperous societies in which all citizens, notably women, children, and youth enjoy equality of opportunity.

Abha Prasad, Practice Manager for Macroeconomics, Trade and Investment in the Eastern and Southern Africa Region. She brings with her over 20 years of experience in developing countries and has worked across all regions of the World Bank, with extensive work in small states and subnationals.

Prior to this she was Lead Economist, Development Finance working on IDA policies and replenishment. She has also been the Program Leader for the Equitable Growth, Finance, and Institutions (EFI) global practices for the Caribbean countries, lead debt specialist and the Program Manager for the World Bank’s Debt Management Facility. She was supporting the Bank’s debt management advisory and technical assistance work program. Before joining the World Bank, she was the Director with the Reserve Bank of India, managing as part of an expert team the debt of India’s central and 28 state governments. She was actively involved in providing policy advice for framing India’s fiscal responsibility legislation.