THE COST OF ANTI-APARTHEID:  INDEBTEDNESS

Because of the important contribution of this city (Lusaka) in the freedom struggle of the people in south and elsewhere, it no longer belongs to Zambia alone.  It belongs to our continent as a whole. (Nelson Mandela, 1990)

Did you know that:

A study on "Apartheid-caused debts: The Case of Zambia" was undertaken by Jubilee 2000-Zambia in August 2000.  The study aimed at establishing the amount of debt Zambia accrued and development opportunities foregone as a result of the position and role it played in the abolition of the apartheid system in South Africa?

"Apartheid" the ruling system in South Africa from 1948 to 1990 was declared a "Crime against Humanity" in November 1973 when the United Nations passed the International Convention on the Suppression of the Crime of Apartheid as Resolution 3068 (XXVII)?

In 1989, the UN Declaration on Apartheid and its Destructive Consequences on Southern Africa (A/RES/S-16/1) recognised the impact of apartheid on Zambia and Southern Africa?

That Zambia opposed the apartheid system because it believed in the equality of all human beings regardless of one's race.  This strained the relations between the two countries since 1964 to 1990 when apartheid was abolished in South Africa?

Zambia hosted a lot of liberation fighters and refugees from Zimbabwe, Angola, Namibia, and Mozambique who fled from their countries due to conflicts perpetuated by the South African supported regimes and movements?

Tazara rail, the Great North Road, TAZAMA Oil Pipeline, Kariba North Bank, Indeni Refinery and Kafue Gorge Power Station were built from loans obtained to lessen dependence on South Africa during the apartheid system?

The Zambian Government increased its military expenditures on equipment, training and size of the sector as a result of the hostile situation in southern African region.

That debt, displacement, deaths and injury, lands and lack of development in some areas of the country are the legacy and long-term effects of apartheid on Zambia.

That total amount of Zambia's foreign debt linked to Apartheid causes is $5,345.2 at 1998 values and by March 2000, the Government still owed debt for apartheid-cost related infrastructure, utilities, defence and trade to creditors?

Jubilee 2000-Zambia:  February 2001