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Statement
from Zimbabwean civil society organisations and social movements on the
outcomes of the G8 summit
Global Call to Action
Against Poverty (GCAP)
July
15, 2005
As
the G8 Summit concludes, we the Zimbabwean organisations and national
networks, bringing together women’s organisations, labour, researchers,
development and advocacy NGOs across the country, meeting under the auspices
of the Global Call to Action Against Poverty, would like to express our
disappointment at the outcomes of the Summit.
The
outcome of the G8 Summit is disappointing in the sense that Zimbabwe will
not directly benefit from the Summit’s key provisions. It is lamentable
that governance and human rights issues have been used to overshadow Zimbabwe’s
legitimate claims to debt cancellation as an issue of social justice and
as a condition sin qua non for Zimbabwe to effectively meet the socio-economic
development needs of its people. The Highly Indebted Poor Countries conditionalities
used to identify the beneficiaries of debt cancellation is at once restrictive
and unsuitable for Zimbabwe and other African countries as it only serves
to maintain the G8’s guardianship over the economies of debtor countries.
The
Summit has simply reaffirmed existing decisions on debt cancellation and
doubling of aid. The debt package provides only 10% of the relief required
and affects only one third of the countries that need it. While recognising
US$500 million in new aid monies, the majority of the US$50 billion pledged
is drawn from existing obligations and will not be available until 2010.
Further, both packages are still attached to harmful policy conditionalities.
The G8 missed a historic opportunity to write off the debt of over 62
least developing countries.
In light of the Summit’s outcomes,
we would like to reiterate that:
- It
is immoral for the Zimbabwean government to heed calls for honouring
unjust and odious external debt repayments when research has shown that
the country’s human development indicators have dropped significantly
and basic needs cannot be met.
- The
Government of Zimbabwe should stop all foreign debt repayments and instead
utilise the resources it has to address the social and economic crisis
affecting the country.
- The
G8 Ambassadors and representatives of institutions like the International
Monetary Fund and World Bank, should consider that debt repayment must
not be a priority for Zimbabwe and other countries faced with humanitarian
crises and severely shrinking economic bases that cannot sustain the
basic livelihoods of their populations.
- The
government of Zimbabwe should fully exercise its right top protect our
economy and essential health and education services.
Over the next six months, we shall
intensify our campaigns for:
- Total
and unconditional debt write-off for all of Africa failing which, debt
repudiation becomes the logical conclusion for African Governments.
- The
G8 to meet the 0.7% GNI target for international development assistance
and front load those commitments without donor imposed policy conditionality.
- The
WTO to recognise the right of African states to redress and to protect
their fragile economies without losing their right to access industrialised
countries markets.
- The
removal of OECD market access constraints and an end to subsidies that
lead to dumping of products on Africa markets and the crowding out of
African producers.
Statement sponsored by:
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