wfn.org | Global network should improve quality of life

[Theo Coggin +2711-487-0026]

Wednesday 10 June 1998

A meeting of the International Monetary Fund in Washington was told
yesterday (Tuesday 9 June) that a framework should be designed for a
global security network aimed at improving the quality of life of the
world’s people.

Making the call was the Anglican Archbishop of Cape Town, the Most Revd
Njongonkulu Ndungane, who told a conference on economic policy and
equity that any policies aimed at achieving equity should recognise the
interdependence of countries.  

Archbishop Ndungane, internationally known for his outspoken campaign
for the eradication of poverty and for international debt relief,
pointed out that this interdependence was reflected in the various
international conventions and instruments that had been designed to
regulate people’s lives.  

“It is imperative that conditions are created in the world in which
every person has access to the basic necessities for human living, such
as shelter, clothing, food, health care, education and clean water.  
This is quite possible.  We possess the resources and technology.  All
that is required is the political will and economic commitment,” he
said.

Archbishop Ndungane said that he was aware that there are those “wedded
to the economics of developed world” who that would argue that the
answer is to leave matters to market forces alone.

“Market forces have their place, as we have seen in countries like
Uganda and Botswana, but even here they are allowed to run in harmony
with the norms and values of the culture of the society in which they
operate,” he said. 

But he added that market forces were as likely to practise unacceptable
forms of social engineering, because of their very commitment to
promoting the wellbeing of those who already have plenty, as the most
despicable political policy or ruling despot. 

Archbishop Ndungane said that agreements that govern lending and
borrowing money are needed for a new global security network to succeed. 

“These will ensure that the relationship developed in such deals between
countries is government by a fair set of principles, mutually applicable
to all the parties concerned. The adoption of such principles would lead
to greater security in our world.  For it is predicated on the belief
that governments, in the interests of their people, commit themselves to
the moral imperative of ensuring the preservation of their environment,
in the fullest sense of that world. The UNDP has told us that poverty is
no longer inevitable. 

“The opportunity now lies within our grasp, as responsible people
committed to the continued existence of creation, to roll back the bleak
years in which we have seen poverty reproduce itself and begin to put
resources in the hands of men and women, boys and girls, to make them
proud citizens of the 21st century,” he said.

He added: “Now, more than ever, is the need for a global framework for
economic and social action that will promote economic actions by many
developing countries.  This is a view held by many in the developed
world as well.  Recent activity by the UN, the World Bank, the IMF and
the World Trade Organisation, all hint at the hope that fair economic
competition and minimum social standards are attainable. Supranational
institutions have to play an integral part, together with nation states,
to ensure that regulatory competencies are enforced and work for the
benefit of all.”

Turning to the issue of debt cancellation, Archbishop Ndungane said the
cancellation of the debt of developing countries would enable countries
to start again with a clean financial slate, as well as a fresh
understanding of the implications of what it means to be accountable in
the world’s economy.

The 20th century had seen the end of  inhumanities, such as the
after-effects of slavery, fascism, apartheid and, to a great extent,
despotic and corrupt rulers in Africa like Amin and Mobuto. 

“We need to guard against the re-emergence of such political practices
that impact on the world’s economy.  As those charged with the
responsibility of being stewards of the word’s economic relations, we
should therefore be ever vigilant that the political colonialism of the
past is not replaced by an economic colonialism,” he said.

Debt cancellation could not occur in isolation, however. Debt
forgiveness must be accompanied by committed economic and
socio-political reform, as we have seen in countries like Mozambique,
Namibia, and Uganda.  A model was also required for taking international
responsibility, involving all the players.