EFL Home

The Dictatorship of Debt

When the leaders of the world’s seven wealthiest countries met in cologne in June for their annual summit, they were greeted by a human chain 35 000 strong, a symbol of an extraordinarily effective grassroots campaign to lift the burden of debt from the world’s poorest countries. Once an obscure issue for numbers crunchers and policy. Wonks, debt Relief has been forced onto the political agenda of the international community. Led by that jubilee 2000, a coalition of nongovernmental organizations, churches and aid agencies that support complete cancellation of Third world debt, ‘’Drop the Debt’’ is being described as the most successful international campaign since the anti-apartheid movement.
    At present, 41 of the world’s poorest countries owe collectively more than 200 billion to governmental and multilateral and multilateral lending institutions such as the World Bank and the international Monetary Fund. This amounts to 357 for every man, woman, and child in sub-Saharan Africa, Where governments spend four times as much on debt repayment as on health care and education. For the most deeply indebted countries, annual debt-service
Spending absorbs 40 percent of government budgets. Many believe that the mountain of unplayable debt-and the economic austerity programs imposed on debtor countries by
Lenders-now stand as the biggest obstacles to reducing poverty in the Third World.

    At the Cologne summit, the Group of Seven leaders, prodded by the British Government came up with a plan to provide greater and faster debt relief to more poor Countries. But critics contend that their solution is too little, with too many strings attached.
Does it ensure that savings on debt payments will flow to providing clean water, hospitals, And primary schools, rather than into the pockets of corrupt politicians? And will the debtor Nations and institutions actually deliver on their pledges?
                                                       Margaret Bald, in World Press. October 1999 page 6.


Vocabulary:

A wonk: a critic
To prod: to lead
Grassroots: the base.