Call for an end to the conditions of debt relief

Jack Jones Zulu, Policy Analyst at the Jesuit Centre for Theological Reflection, Zambia [Caroline Irby/CAFOD]

Debt relief can only work if conditions are not imposed and if the Zambian government plans make the most of the extra resources for the long term, says CAFOD partner Jack Jones Zulu.

"Over the past years the Government used to pay an average of $200 million in debts. After the G8 deal, significant debts have been written off.

There have been some immediate effects. For example, in rural health centres, user fees have been scrapped. But those health centres can only offer good quality service if the money is channeled into buying life-saving drugs and employing medical staff.

For the first time in history, 71 per cent of our budget is being domestically financed. Inflation is in single figures, and we have just had a bumper harvest, so the price of maize and other foods has fallen.

People are bringing in equipment and capital, which we hope will gradually create jobs and mean in the future we can fulfill our development plan to increase our own exports.

No silver bullet

The Zambian Government has pledged to use money freed up by debt relief to fund free healthcare in rural areas. [Gideon Mendel]

But debt relief is not a silver bullet. It is important, but whether the benefits reach poor communities depends on our priorities.

You can have all this money but it alone doesn't mean poverty will go away. The Government needs to consult people to deal with all the issues.

Zambia is a land of great potential but planning is really important if that potential is to be reached. It’s not right that we should be appealing for food aid when we have so many resources here, and so many unemployed but able-bodied people.

Conditions should suit Zambia’s needs

Policies need to be designed to make the most of debt relief. We’re not saying that conditions are bad, rather that the Zambian people should have a say in what they are. We are lobbying for our own conditions to suit our needs.

The problem is that sometimes the externally written conditions push us to do things that do not fit in with our plans and priorities.

The conditions we oppose are things like privatization and liberalization.Since we liberalized, our companies and industries have collapsed. Big established companies are coming in and our local companies cannot compete. Many of our companies have gone under and tens and thousands of jobs have been lost.

Monitoring is vital

Millions more Zambian children will now get an education thanks to debt relief. [Annie Bungeroth]

It is vital that we monitor the spending so that in ten years time we can look back and say yes, the campaigning to drop the debt was worth it, things are better. We are lobbying for this monitoring to be done by a committee that includes civil society and MPs as well as government officials.

Our cry to CAFOD supporters in the UK is to ask them to support our call for an end to the conditions of debt relief that are reducing the sovereignty of our government.

Debt relief has transferred resources, but we need to address unfair trade and get more and better aid that is aligned with our national plans for the Millennium Development Goals to be attainable."

Jack Jones Zulu is a policy analyst at the Jesuit Centre for Theological Reflection, and coordinates the JCTR’s debt and trade project.

Jack Jones Zulu was interviewed by Tara Burke.

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