wfn.org | Statement from the Anglican Archbishop of Cape Town

["Christopher Took" <storm@indigo.ie>]

ACNS LC056 - 28 July 1998

Statement from the Anglican Archbishop of Cape Town,
Archbishop Njongonkulu Ndungane

EMBARGOED UNTIL 10am GMT+1 TUESDAY 28TH JULY 

Statement from the Archbishop of Cape Town, Archbishop
Njongonkulu Ndungane,  after a meeting at Lambeth Palace on
Tuesday, 28th July 1998  with representatives from the OECD
countries.  

"The human cost of the international debt burden is intolerable.
Its effects are evil and sinful. Leaders of Western nations
remain complacent in the face of the vast human tragedy generated
by unpayable debts. At our meeting today, I represented to the
utmost of my ability, the urgency of the debt crisis. 

"The HIPC Initiative and the other measures taken, show that
Western governments have not yet fully grasped the critical need
for immediate action in addressing this issue. For many of the
countries represented at Lambeth, servicing their debt repayment
takes priority over expenditure on health, clean water,
sanitation and education. In some nations 40% of government
budgets are immediately appropriated by creditors. 

"International debt is the new slavery of the 20th century.
Bishops here speak of the new economic colonialism destroying the
lives of millions in their countries.  

"While the slow processes for agreeing debt relief grinds on
inside the international financial institutions, bishops this
week spoke of children dying for lack of basic health services.
They spoke of women being exported and exploited as servants and
prostitutes to raise hard currency to repay debts - in countries
like the Philippines. They spoke of homeless families in their
dioceses  living without clean water because sanitation projects
have collapsed.  They spoke of the ending of free primary
education in some African countries.   

"As a follower of Jesus, committed to the health and salvation of
every person, regardless of colour or creed, I cannot keep silent
on this issue. It is a matter of life and death. 

"I am constantly being told that there is a lack of political
will to write off these debts. Yet in May of this year Jubilee
2000 gathered 70,000 ordinary British people in Birmingham to put
pressure on the G8 leaders. Clearly the people have shown the
will. We want to see their leaders follow them, and take action. 

South Africa and "Odious debts" 

"Today in my discussions with the British Chancellor and the
German ambassador, Gebhardt von Moltke, the Russian Ambassador
Yuri Fukine and Michael Monderer, Director of International Debt
policy, US Treasury - I raised the following questions. 

"Why do Western creditors, from strong economies, refuse to offer
immediate and substantial debt relief to the poorest countries,
except on the basis of consensus from all creditors?  Why in
particular will they not write off odious debts? 

"South Africa did not wait for such consensus before writing off
all the debt owed to her by Namibia. In doing so, the new South
African government did not ask whether we could afford to offer
such relief; we did not wait to reconstruct our own economy
before offering debt relief; we did not ask whether the debt was
payable or unpayable.  Nor did we impose any conditions on our
neighbour.  We merely declared those debts as immoral, odious
debts incurred while Namibia was occupied by the apartheid
regime.  

"We call upon the rich countries to follow the example of the new
South African government. To write off the odious loans given to
dictators like Suharto of Indonesia, Marcos of the Philippines;
to Mobutu of Zaire and to the various military regimes of Brazil
and Nigeria.   

"Western allies did this for Germany after the Second World War.
Let us do it now. To enable the impoverished people of debtor
nations to have a fresh start; to give us hope for a new
millennium." 

For further information, contact:

   Lambeth Conference Communications
   Canterbury Business School
   University of Kent at Canterbury
   Telephone: 01227 827348/9
   Fax: 01227 828085
   Mobile: 0374 800212

   http://www.lambethconference.org