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Announcement :: Civil & Human Rights : Economy : Globalization : International Relations : Political-Economy : Regime |
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Total Debt Cancellation for Africa URGENT ACTION |
Current rating: 0 |
by cerrv via scott e
Email: scottisimo (nospam) hotmail.com (verified) |
25 Dec 2004
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TITLE: Total Debt Cancellation for Africa URGENT ACTION
AUTHOR: Africa Social Forum and AMECEA
CATEGORY: Economic Justice
DATE: 1/6/2005
SOURCE: begoinarra (at) wananchi.com
SOURCE WEBSITE: www.amecea.org
SUMMARY & COMMENT: Send a letter (or an e-mail) your head of government
and finance minister (if G7). In Canada,or if not in G7 country send to
the Prime Minister Paul Martin and-or to the Minister of Foreign Affairs
Pierre Pettigrew of the Government of Canada asking for the full debt
cancellation for African Countries.
Address for the Prime Minister of Canada:
You can send your comments by e-mail to pm (at) pm.gc.ca or write or fax the
Prime Minister’s office at:
Office of the Prime Minister
80 Wellington Street Ottawa K1A 0A2 Fax: 613-941-6900
Address for the Minister of Foreign Affairs
Foreign Affairs Canada
125 Sussex Drive Ottawa, ON, Canada K1A 0G2
Fax: (613) 944-0687
E-mail: info.ccfpd (at) dfait-maeci.gc.ca
You are asked to send a blind copy of your message to:
begoinarra (at) wananchi.com and to: kirkwood (at) web.ca |
Total Debt Cancellation for Africa
There are discussions going on now within the G-7 (in particular
proposals by the UK and US governments), the International Monetary Fund
(IMF) and World Bank, and other forums about possibilities for 100 per
cent (full) multilateral debt cancellation.
During the African Social Forum in Lusaka, Zambia, December 10-14, 2004,
a letter of petition was circulated. We give you a summary of this
letter. You are asked to send a letter to the Governments of the G7 to
ask them the full debt concellation for the African countries
(The Group of Seven or G7 is a coalition of the major industrial
democracies: the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, and the
United States and Canada.)
The Association of Member Episcopal Conferences in Eastern Africa
(AMECEA) sponsors an African Social Forum Campaign for the total debt
cancellation for the African countries. After many years of
half-measures, full cancellation is being discussed at these levels.
Extracts of the Letter from the African Social Forum
” As civil society organizations from across the continent of Africa, we
are confronted every day by the devastating reality of the crisis of
debt. Debt payments to wealthy institutions like the IMF and World Bank
rob our countries of resources we desperately need to provide health
care, fight HIV/AIDS, provide education, and make clean water available.
Debt is a tool of domination used by rich country governments and
creditors like the IMF and World Bank. Conditions attached to debt
relief and loans are devastating our economies and undermining our
choices as sovereign nations.
For impoverished nations, multilateral creditors - in particular the IMF
and World Bank -- are the largest creditors. They are also the most
powerful. Because of their "preferred creditor" status, countries must
pay their debts back first to these institutions. If countries do not
pay, they are penalized and excluded from most forms of aid and
assistance.
The Heavily Indebted Poor Countries (HIPC) Initiative was launched by
the World Bank in 1996 to provide a "robust exit" to the crisis of debt
faced by impoverished nations. Eight years on, the program has failed to
achieve this goal. HIPC has provided too little relief, to too few
countries, with devastating conditions. It is time to move beyond the
failed HIPC Initiative towards another approach - Full (100 per cent)
multilateral debt cancellation for all impoverished nations, without
harmful conditions.
We are aware of discussions going on now within the G-7 (in particular
proposals by the UK and US governments), the IMF and World Bank, and
other forums about possibilities for 100 per cent (full) multilateral
debt cancellation. We are encouraged that after many years of
half-measures, full cancellation is being discussed at these levels.
However, we must be clear about the principles for such discussions to
meet the goals and aspirations of African civil society.
First, 100 per cent multilateral debt cancellation is critical. Attempts
to determine a “sustainable" level of debt for impoverished nations
desperately trying to address the crises of HIV/AIDS and economic
injustice should be rejected. For impoverished nations struggling to
meet the human needs of their peoples, full 100 per cent multilateral
debt cancellation is the only option.
Second, this cancellation must come without any economic
conditionalities. The HIPC program and PRSPs are riddled with conditions
such as privatization, indiscriminate trade liberalization, opening up
markets, fiscal and monetary targets. These conditions have devastated
our economies long enough. Debt cancellation must come without any
economic conditions attached.
Moreover, we reject and find that the IMF’s Poverty Reduction and Growth
Facility (PRGF) must be dismantled and abolished. The PRGF is not a
force for development in our countries; the conditions attached to loans
from this facility have devastated our economies.
It is time to end the role of the IMF in poor countries once and for
all; closing the PRGF is a critical first step towards doing this.
Third, multilateral debt cancellation must apply to all impoverished
nations, not just the 42 HIPC nations. We reject proposals which only
address countries that have reached HIPC “completion point." Many
countries would be excluded from this approach. Moreover, non-HIPC
countries must be included in efforts towards 100 per cent debt
cancellation. Countries including Haiti, Jamaica and Nigeria are not
part of HIPC despite their extreme indebtedness.
Finally, we think that the multilateral financial institutions should do
their fair share, and should contribute the bulk of the resources to
finance debt cancellation. The IMF and World Bank are two of the richest
financial institutions in the world. The IMF sits atop more than $30
billion in gold which currently serves no productive purpose.
The IMF could sell this gold and use proceeds to cover debt owed to the
World Bank and other multilaterals. The IBRD could easily mobilize more
than $10 billion in accumulated profits and reserves and could commit a
share of its annual multi-billion dollar profit to debt cancellation.
The IMF should close down the PRGF facility and use its resources to
cancel IMF debt. These are wealthy institutions; it is high time for
them to do their fair share and by paying for debt cancellation, begin
to acknowledge their role and responsibility in the debt crisis.
We do not believe that concerns about the additionality of debt
cancellation should be allowed to postpone the full cancellation of the
multilateral debt. Cancellation is significantly more valuable to our
peoples than additional aid. Aid comes with its own conditions, and
often creates more debt. The resources realized from debt cancellation
can be used as governments -- with ample interventions from civil
society - see fit. Aid is a promise we have seen broken far too often;
cancellations benefits would be lasting.” |
This work is in the public domain |
