How rating agencies push Africa to pay eight times more on loans

African countries are paying eight times more in interest on loans than their European counterparts and four times more than the US on account of distorted assessments by global credit rating agencies, the United Nations has said.

The UN Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) says the high cost of credit has resulted in countries in the continent, including Kenya, spending more to service the debts from rich countries than investing in key economic sectors.