Africa is bleeding $75 billion (approx. KES 10.8 trillion) annually—not to corruption, war, or disease, but to a spreadsheet bias. It is time to cut the cord. The proposed Africa Credit Rating Agency (AfCRA) is not just a bureaucratic addition; it is the continent's most vital weapon in the war for financial sovereignty.

For decades, the "Big Three"—Moody’s, Fitch, and S&P Global—have held a monopoly on the truth, deciding the fate of African economies with the stroke of a pen. Their assessments, often coloured by "outdated and flawed assumptions" as President William Ruto puts it, have consistently graded African debt as riskier than it is. The result? Punitive interest rates that strangle development before it can even breathe.

The Cost of Bias

Consider Kenya’s recent struggle. Despite a diversified economy and a resilient private sector, our credit ratings have often hovered in "junk" territory, forcing us to borrow at double-digit interest rates while Western nations with higher debt-to-GDP ratios borrow for peanuts. Research shows that a single-level improvement in Africa’s credit rating could unlock $15.5 billion in funding—enough to build a new Thika Superhighway in every East African capital.

AfCRA promises to change this algorithm. By incorporating indigenous data, informal economy metrics, and a nuanced understanding of African political risk, it aims to provide a "fairer, more context-specific" evaluation. It is not about cooking the books; it is about using the right ingredients.

• Reward Reform: Countries implementing tough but necessary fiscal reforms (like Kenya’s tax widening measures) should be rewarded with better ratings, not punished for the short-term social noise that accompanies them.
• Punish Indiscipline: AfCRA must also be rigorous. It cannot be a club of dictators patting each other on the back. To gain credibility, it must ruthlessly call out fiscal indiscipline where it exists, but do so based on facts, not prejudice.

A Revolution, Not Just a Rating

The African Union’s push to launch AfCRA is a declaration that the colonial hangover in global finance must end. We cannot continue to let New York and London decide the value of Nairobi and Lagos.

If implemented with integrity, AfCRA will not just rate the unseen; it will reveal the true wealth of a continent that has been undervalued for too long. It is time for Africa to tell its own story, especially the financial one.