"Joining hearts and heads": Solidarity between North and South

Zambian activist Charity Musamba [Diakonia]

Zambian campaigner Charity Musamba urges CAFOD supporters to demand action from the UK government on debt, trade and aid.

At meetings across the country in November 2004, Charity Musamba urged people to make the most of the opportunities next year offers to make poverty history.

"2005 is a real chance," she says. "The British government will be in charge of a very important process.

"So I am calling upon all the people in the UK to come out in large numbers to ask their leaders to listen to the voices from the South, especially on debt, trade and aid.

"Our problems in Zambia aren’t national problems – they’re global problems. When we hear people in the North supporting us we’re strengthened to continue working harder."

As she set off for the first stop on her ten-date tour, Charity told CAFOD staff how unfair trade rules and the continuing debt crisis are hurting Zambia – and how UK campaigners have an opportunity in 2005 to help make poverty history.

Debt relief helps - but the crisis continues

As coordinator of the Debt Programme of the Jesuit Centre for Theological Reflection in Zambia, Charity played a leading role in the global Jubilee 2000 movement for debt cancellation.

Zambia has now received two-thirds of the debt relief it was granted under the ‘Heavily Indebted Poor Countries’ (HIPC) debt relief scheme, initiated by the World Bank as a response to Jubilee 2000.

Yet Zambia still owes US$6.5 billion – and this sum is growing, due to new borrowing and the worsening terms of trade.

The proceeds of debt relief have been used to fund healthcare, improvement of infrastructure, such as roads to rural areas, and, most successfully, education.

"In some cases, debt relief has really helped," says Charity. "But the first phase of debt relief has failed to bring the significant changes needed in relation to the size of the problems we face.

"We need total debt cancellation, accompanied by good economic policies – not rampant liberalisation. That will solve the crisis, not HIPC."

Jubilee Zambia and other civil society organisations are monitoring the spending of debt relief money. “Civil society is very strong,” says Charity, “and we’re trying to encourage even greater participation by the public to hold the government accountable.”

Free trade hurts the poor

Charity told how the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and World Bank - the global lending institutions - have forced Zambia to implement free trade policies, as a condition for new loans and for debt relief. The rapid switch from state-run economy to free market has resulted in escalating poverty.

"Zambia followed IMF and World Bank policies and privatised almost the entire economy in six months. It has totally liberalised trade. You can walk in and out of Zambia as much as you want with your goods.

"But no one paid attention to the consequences. Trade liberalisation has crushed our local entrepreneurs. Our economy now relies heavily on goods from South Africa and the rest of the world. Most of our small-scale farmers were wiped out."

The IMF and World Bank have recently allowed the Zambian government to resume some control of agricultural policy and to support small-scale farmers with subsidies for seed and fertilisers. Bumper harvests are predicted this year, and the threat of hunger is receding.

We should support each other

"One small part of the world is benefiting from trade liberalisation at the expense of this bigger, huge part of the world, which is getting into deeper poverty," said Charity.

"Global development shouldn’t be the privilege of a few in the world. We are all brothers and sisters across the world. We should support each other. We should join hands in identifying the problems and finding the solutions together. We should join hearts and heads in making sure the solutions are implemented."

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