Breaking the Chains of Global Debt

 Archbishop Njongo Ndungane’s address at the Jubilee Debt Campaign event in the United Kingdom on 18 May 2008

Dear Friends, I am truly delighted to be here today, and share both in celebrating all that has been achieved and in campaigning for all that remains to be done.

More than ten years ago I began to work for the elimination of unpayable and illegitimate debt.

In those early days, people could not understand what we meant by odious debt. 

They thought ‘if you borrow money, you have to repay it.’ 

They did not understand that much of the debt should never have been lent in the first place:
• to support dictators and line corrupt pockets,
• or for unnecessary and inappropriate projects,
• or to countries that could not afford it,
• or on terms that were unsustainable.

And they did not understand that this was at least as much the lenders’ fault as it was the borrowers’ fault; nor that now many countries were paying back far more than they received in aid;

Nor did they understand that loans were amongst the most damaging influences on poorest countries’ economies, since servicing debt was taking money that should have fed and cared for their own populations.

But all this was happening – and it had to stop. 

Ten years ago, I was not able to be in Birmingham.

But I felt the effect of what you achieved then.

Because in July 1998, at the last Lambeth Conference, I led a group of Bishops and Archbishops from all round the world to meet Gordon Brown then the Chancellor of the Exchequer, and the Development Secretary, Clare Short.  We talked about the effect that debt was having on so many of our countries.

And we could see that politicians were beginning to get the picture! 

They were beginning to realise that this was not only an economic issue.  It was a justice issue, and it was a human issue – because it affected the lives of individuals – the poorest and most vulnerable, none of whom had ever been asked whether they wanted this burden of debt to be put round their necks. 

So, the politicians in countries such as Great Britain realised they must act.

And so, dear friends, it is wonderful that we have come such a long way in the last ten years. 

But of course there is still a lot of work ahead.

The HIPC (Heavily Indebted Poor Countries) Initiative, the MDRI (Multilateral Debt Relief) Initiative, the Paris Club – they have all done a lot, but they can all do more.

What do we need?
• ready access to these initiatives by all who need them.
• better assessment of where a country’s debt fits into its overall economic picture so that properly tailored terms and conditions can be applied
• targeting of resources on priority needs and on sectors that are likely to have the greatest lasting impact, especially amongst the very poorest
• money freed up by relief to be channelled into broad-based development, and especially towards the priority areas of the Millennium Development Goals
• effective monitoring that this is really happening
• and further scaling up of the overall resources allocated to debt relief. 
All this must take place within an improving climate of aid and development policies – including further increases in the untying of aid, improved conditionality, and more participatory mechanisms in loan contracting. 

Much of this must happen from the side of the donor countries and institutions, and I thank you for the sustained pressure you have maintained upon them over the last decade.

But there must be action from our side also.

Within Africa our governments need to get their own houses in order.

We need to have clear aid exit strategies, to free ourselves of the vicious cycle of debt.

We need to acknowledge honestly the relationship between our own development policies and our dependency on aid, especially where aid is necessary to fill the savings gap, and short- as well as long-term problems with financial flow.

We need to put in place more viable mechanisms both for contracting new loans, and for managing them within our overall development strategies.

Political and economic transparency is fundamental – so that our development strategies are not only voiced by finance ministry officials in closed discussions with donors, but are set out clearly before our citizens, who are of course those most directly affected.

I am glad to say, we are heading in the right direction. 

Our politicians are certainly saying the right words – within the African Union, and its NEPAD initiative, the New Partnership for Africa’s Development. 

NEPAD’s first goal is to eradicate poverty, and the primary commitment towards achieving this is good governance, as the fundamental building block of peace, security and sustainable political and socio-economic development.

But we need our countries not only to talk the talk – they must walk the walk.

One of the great lessons of the Jubilee 2000 campaign was the extent to which public pressure can change policies. It showed how the voice of civil society could hold governments accountable and shape their behaviour.

This is what we are trying to do increasingly within Africa.

This is why, two years ago, I launched the African Monitor initiative.

The African Monitor is an independent continent-wide non-governmental organisation, which acts as a catalyst to monitor development funding commitments, delivery and impact at the grassroots level.  Alongside this, we bring strong African voices, especially those of civil society, to the development agenda.

One of our priorities is to call our own governments to keep the promises they have made – particularly on good governance, but in every other area of development, including the handling of debt questions, and policy making on new loans.

So, dear brothers and sisters – we are in this together!  African civil society is learning to keep up the pressure on our governments, as well as to bring our side of the story to the international table.

My request to you is to keep on with what you are doing – maintain the pressure on your own governments, and on the international financial institutions.

And together, we will go on making a difference to the lives of those who need it most.

May God bless you all in what you are doing, and continue to make you a blessing to others.

Thank you.