Africa Jubilee South Declaration at the Illegitimate Debt Audit Workshop
Posted on June 13 2004 |
1. We are united by our common history of slavery, colonization, neo-colonialism and struggles against domination arising from the policies of globalisation advanced by International Financial Institutions and driven in particular by the World Bank, International Monetary Fund (IMF) and western industrialized countries.
2. We are conscious of our richness in human and natural resources which has the potential to develop a sustainable economic system that galvanizes our continent to shape our economic destiny in the interest of the poor and the marginalized.
3. We further acknowledge Africa’s potential to be a community of nations enjoying peace and human security. But these aims will only be achieved if our continent frees itself from the bondage arising from the systematic domination, exploitation and control of capitalist globalisation.
4. However, we note that the overwhelming majority of the people in Africa live in conditions of appalling poverty and are already suffering the effects of the HIV and AIDS pandemic and that
• many of our governments are concerned with preserving the status quo in the interest of the minute ruling elites, the profits of trans national corporations, and lack the political will to challenge and fundamentally resolve the structural inequalities that exist between the north and south, the local elites and the overwhelming majority poor
5. We further note the rise of resistance and struggles of workers, youth, peasants, women, expressing themselves in growing movements in alliance for fundamental and transformative change.
6. As African countries we have paid a major price for our support, shelter and solidarity for the anti-colonial and anti-apartheid struggle, which includes the burden of illegitimate debts that we now carry.
7. We are deeply concerned with South Africa’s sub-imperialist role and its use of NEPAD to promote the neo- liberal paradigm to further dominate the rest of the African continent politically, economically, culturally and militarily, serving the interests of transnational corporations.
We note further
8. That Africa carries a debt burden of over US$300 billion yet has 5% of the developing world’s income and spends over US$15 billion on debt repayments annually to wealthy nations and institutions.
• This is at the expense of providing basic social services, environmental security, food security, diversifying its economic production and reclaiming its sovereignty.
9. Africa’s debt is illegitimate because
• Historical inequalities arising from slavery, slave trade wars, colonial legacy and unequal trade relations framed the structure for imperial domination and control of our economies and the resultant debt crisis.
• The international financial institutions and northern industrialized governments have used the deepening cycle of indebtedness as a tool of domination to create favourable conditions for predatory corporate expansion to further loot and plunder Africa’s human and natural resources.
• In this cyclical process Africa has repaid this debt several times over and no longer do we just shout – WE DON’T OWE WE WONT PAY but declare that AFRICA IS THE CREDITOR.
We demand
• Full unconditional cancellation of Africa’s total debt
• Reparations for damage caused by debt devastation
• Immediate halt to HIPIC and PRSPs and the disguised structural adjustment program through NEPAD and any other agreements that do not address the fundamental interests of the impoverished majority and the building of a sustainable and sovereign Africa.
• A comprehensive audit to determine the full extent and real nature of Africa’s illegitimate debt, the total payments made to date and the amount owed to Africa.
As African activists we
• Call for the growing debt movement on our continent and all other social movements in the diaspora to unite and build our social weight, collective wisdom and power to achieve our demands.
• We call for unity and collective action with other continents of Latin America, the Caribbean, Asia and the Pacific and with democratic forces everywhere to challenge and replace the currently dominant neo-liberal ideology and globalizing capitalist system.
• We call on our governments to work to unite with social movements in achieving and defending these demands and in whatever consequences we may be confronted by as a result of challenging global economic powers.
As African solidarity partners in the struggle against apartheid we state that
• Our countries have made great sacrifices for the political freedom of South Africans. We note painfully the great difficulties that some of the delegates have experienced in getting entry visas into South Africa. We call for a process to be started immediately to remove all barriers to our freedom of movement within our continent.
We express our solidarity with the people of Haiti
• in their ongoing struggle to achieve true freedom, democracy, economic and social well-being. In particular, we support them in their demand to respect their right to self determination and the withdrawal of all foreign military forces now occupying Haiti.
• We further call for the cancellation of the debt that is illegitimately claimed from the majority of the people of Haiti who have never benefited from its accumulation.
• This year marks the 200 hundredth anniversary of the successful struggle for political emancipation of the first slave nation in the Americas and all the world. We call especially for reparations for the devastation and domination which that debt has signified historically for the people of Haiti.
Participating Organisations:
1. Ecumenical Service for Peace, Cameroon
2. Economic and Social Alternatives – Cameroon
3. Economic Justice Network – South and Eastern Africa
4. Liga Jubilee 2000 Angola - Angola
5. Malawi Economic Justice Network - Malawi
6. D’appui pour la promotion rurale (association paysanne)
Nouvelles alternatives pour le development (association d’education)
Democratic Republic of Congo
7. Tanzania Association of Non-Government Organisations - Tanzania
8. Mozambican Debt Group (DIVIDA) - Mozambique
9. Forum National Contra la Dette et la Pauvrete (FNDP) – Ivory Coast
10. Southern Africa Peoples Solidarity Network - Zimbabwe
11. Zimbabwe Coalition on Debt and Development - Zimbabwe
12. Free Trade Union Zambia - Zambia
13. ECONEWS AFRICA – Kenya
14. Foundation for Socio- Economic Justice Movement –Swaziland
15. Jubilee South Africa – South Africa
16. Citizens Debt Auditing – Brazil
17. American Friends Service Committee Africa Region - Zimbabwe
18. Dialogo 2000/Jubilee Sur/Americas – Argentina
19. Jubilee South Secretariat – Philippines
20. Jubilee Zambia - Zambia
21. Alternative Information and Development Centre – South Africa
22. Network of Fellowship of Christian Councils in Southern Africa
For further details contact – Jubilee South – 27 –21\447 5770 – brian@aidc.org.za
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