Brown renews call for debt relief
Nombini Matomela
19 January 2005
Cape Town - British Chancellor of the Exchequer Gordon Brown has called on rich countries to take action to resolve issues of debt relief hindering Africa's economic growth.
"I think this is a once-in-a-generation opportunity, because what we have coming together is the pressure to resolve the issue of debt relief", Brown, who was in Cape Town for a two-day meeting of the Commission for Africa, told a media conference on Monday.
"This morning has shown a unity of purpose, strength and determination not only among all African nations but also across Africa, Europe and North America", Brown said.
"And that not only must we take action together on trade, debt relief, along with funding development, but there's an urgency which we have got to add."
The Commission for Africa was established by British Prime Minister Tony Blair in 2004 as an initiative to address the continent's development.
Eighteen finance ministers from
African countries such as Nigeria, Algeria, Mozambique, Rwanda and Angola attended the meeting, which has been polishing a draft copy of the commission's final report into development funding, expected to be published in March.
"The commission's report should become the world's vehicle by which we agree to the request I have heard from all over Africa, that finally for the poorest countries we write off the historic and unpayable debts of the past and end an injustice that has lasted for far too long", Brown said.
According to research cited by Brown, Africa's share of global trade has fallen to 2% from 6% in the past 20 years. It also indicated that 80% of African countries' debt is owed to the International Monetary Fund, African Development Bank or World Bank.
At the current rate of progress, Brown said, it would take about 150 years to meet the United Nation's millennium development goals - such as halving poverty and eliminating avoidable infant mortality -
which were meant to be achieved by 2015.
"The whole world should know, 150 years is too long for any people to wait for justice", Brown said.
The way forward, he explained, should include issues such as "greater transparency about growth and what rich countries are doing with agricultural protectionism".
Brown promised to take the issue of debt relief to a summit of European finance ministers starting in Brussels, Belgium on Tuesday.
He said he would also take the commission's proposals to the G8 meeting in Gleneagles, Scotland in July, the United Nations summit in September, as well as trade talks in December.
Finance Minister Trevor Manuel said that a strong view to bring about change, particularly in Africa, had emerged from Monday's session.
"People are in a position to articulate views about what should be in the report, and we're getting a sense that people don't want too many ideas", Manuel said.
"They want a measurable
programme, something that can be linked to performance, arguments to be made so that the G7, finance ministers and heads of state have no room to escape."
Brown's visit to South Africa marked the end of a four-nation African tour which included Tanzania, Mozambique and Kenya.
Source: BuaNews
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