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Dear
JCTR Bulletin Readers:
Zambia, like the rest of Africa, looked on as the G8 met in Scotland to solve its problems. Hopes were high in the run-up to the summit as well as during the proceedings. At last, debt would be cancelled, trade imbalances would be removed to achieve greater fairness, and aid to poor countries would be increased. All this would be done not as a matter of charity on the part of the G8 but rather as an act of justice. As the meeting ended, there were mixed feelings over its achievements.
Certainly, we are happy that some debts were cancelled. The full meaning of this cancellation still needs to be revealed though. There is definitely a need for more to be done. The debt relief, for instance, comes with the same policy conditions that have seen poor countries sink deeper into debt rather than recover from it over the years. On the other hand, how the relief translates to the lay person on the street is not at all clear. At best, the hope remains that things will get better in the future while the present continues to be as tough as ever if not tougher.
For poor countries to recover and grow economically there is need for fair trade. Africa continues to be the dumping ground for subsidized goods. Like most of the third world, Africa continues to be the source of raw materials obtained cheaply while the processed goods return at much higher prices. This trade imbalance benefits the West to the detriment of the poor countries. Poverty eradication needs serious political and economic will. The question was and still is: “Can the G8 countries that are among the beneficiaries of this arrangement be the very ones to turn it around?” Complete letter
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