WARNING: This is Version 1 of my old archive, so Photos will NOT work and many links will NOT work. But you can find articles by searching on the Titles. There is a lot of information in this archive. Use the SEARCH BAR at the top right. Prior to December 2012; I was a pro-Christian type of Conservative. I was unaware of the mass of Jewish lies in history, especially the lies regarding WW2 and Hitler. So in here you will find pro-Jewish and pro-Israel material. I was definitely WRONG about the Boeremag and Janusz Walus. They were for real.
Original Post Date: 2010-09-20 Time: 22:00:05 Posted By: News Poster
By Leslie Pitterson
Will the global economic crisis bring together both developed and developing nations to create oversight for foreign lending? This is the hope of many advocacy groups calling for a United Nations debt arbitration mechanism.
In a round table meeting in New York last week, advocate groups discussed the need to address Africa’s worsening debt crisis. According to the most current numbers from the IMF and World Bank, sub-Saharan Africa has over $231 billion in external debt. Though the region receives $10 billion dollars in aid per year, it loses more than $14 billion in debt payments annually.
Collins Magalasi, Executive Director of the African Forum and Network for Debt and Development (AFRODAD), said foreign debt was crippling African countries.
“The issue of debt is one of the biggest obstacles in development on the continent. We know that debt can be legitimate and it can also be illegitimate.”
As the Millennium Development ten-year anniversary summit approaches in September, AFRODAD will be working with Jubilee USA Network, an American organization that advocates for debt cancellation in impoverished countries in the developing world.
At present, there is no UN agency providing specific oversight of debt disputes. The United Nations Commission on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) has included in its charter principles to govern borrowing, but does not include specific framework to handle disputes that arise when a country is unable to make payments on its loans.
Magalasi stressed that the purpose is not to question whether or not countries should be borrowing. “That’s not our realm,” he said. “What we’re asking is: if a county is unable to meet their obligations and wants to appeal their debt, is there a third-party at the international level to listen or no? Right now is the answer no.”
Africa’s debt crisis is illustrated most vividly in countries like Malawi, which spends 40 percent of its GDP repaying foreign creditors and15 percent on its healthcare and education combined.
With Greece’s debt woes dominating business headlines in Europe and America, AFRODAD believes there is an opportunity for developing nations to gain support from developed nations for debt reform.
“Much of the discussion on vulture creditors has been quelled in the halls of power because it only applied to Africa and the third world,” said Magalasi. “Now, with developed countries in the West feeling their wrath as well, maybe there can be political will to push this change.”
While it is unclear if Greece’s woes will provide enough impetus to bring Europe and America to call for a UN arbitration mechanism, some think China’s increasing growth as a creditor nation may raise enough concern to help bolster efforts for reform.
Since 2004, China has pumped over $14 billion into Africa, providing capital for many much-needed infrastructure projects. However, China’s relationship with the government in Sudan despite ICC war charges against Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir has many weary of the giant’s presence on the continent.
“China’s move is massively scary because they have shown no regard for human rights and conditions in the countries,” said Magalasi. The AFRODAD executive stressed that weaknesses of African governance also played a role in the relationship with China. “Many leaders love Chinese aid because it is easier than dealing with the responsibilities that come with Western aid.”
The increased investment in Africa has provided tensions within Western creditor nations of the Paris Club of which China is not a member. The Club, an informal group of 19 creditor nations established in 1956, meets every six weeks at France’s Ministry of Economy, Finance, and Industry.
Also in attendance for last week’s round table discussion was Barry Herman, Visiting Senior Fellow at the Graduate Program in International Affairs of The New School. In an interview with MediaGlobal, Herman explained that China’s involvement in Africa was a source of concern for Paris Club:
“China, as well as Gulf donors/creditors, has caused some unease among OECD official creditors, as China is not in the Paris Club of OECD government creditors and so is not bound by any debt relief decision the Paris Club creditors might take.”
Not only does China remain unrestricted by the decisions of the Paris Club, it has now become a major creditor of many of the Western countries within the Club.
According to Eric LeCompte, Jubilee’s Executive Director, China’s rise underscored the need for debt reform.
“As China becomes a larger creditor – it illustrates that a sovereign debt work-out mechanism is necessary,” LeCompte told MediaGlobal. “We need a transparent and open process, so that no matter which country or international financial institution a country is in dispute with, there is a mechanism where the rules are clear and any country can have its case heard fairly.”
For AFRODAD and Jubilee, the roundtable was the start of a two week trip filled with meetings in New York and Washington. The groups will be working to generate support among US policymakers and NGOs in the months leading up to the Millennium Development Goals Summit in September. As part of their work with the Obama administration, Jubilee is trying to get the issue of debt reform in the President’s speech.
“We believe that the UN Millennium Development Goals Summit in September is the opportune time for the administration to state that it supports expanding debt cancellation and will work to reform the international financial system so that it serves everyone, especially the world’s poorest,” LeCompte stated.
So how much emphasis on debt reform is to be expected come September?
“Even a line,” noted Herman. “Even a line would help.”
Original date published: 16 August 2010
Source: http://allafrica.com/stories/201008161147.html?viewall=1