THE COMMUNIQUE
THE POSITION OF CIVIL SOCIETY ON THE HIPC INITIATIVE IN ZAMBIA
Jubilee-Zambia held a national partners conference under the theme “Debt Relief Under HIPC: Zambia’s Experience,” on 23rd April 2002 at Fairview Hotel, Lusaka. The main objective of the Conference was to come up with civil society’s position in the HIPC
Initiative in Zambia. Critically analyzing the HIPC initiative in Zambia, a total number of 104 delegates representing the Church, NGOs, professional bodies, students and Youth bodies concluded that:
It is a great concern that most development initiatives implemented in Zambia have a heavy donor influence. The “voice” of the Zambian people is rarely heard or taken into consideration. This could be the possible major reason why the debt and poverty problems are worsening.
There is need for civil society to engage and participate effectively in the HIPC Initiative process in Zambia. The areas of involvement identified were monitoring, information generation and dissemination and implementation of debt relief resources. There is an urgent need for civil society to quickly organize itself to properly engage in the HIPC initiative in Zambia. The major concern is that the HIPC initiative has already been implemented, resource allocation has began and more sadly, some of the resources have been misused.
To effectively participate in the HIPC initiative, civil society demands access to full information on the HIPC initiative, the total expected debt relief, how much has been received so far and the programmes that Government has drawn up for these resources.
Civil society will monitor the utilization of HIPC debt relief resources for one key reason- to ensure that debt relief resources are properly utilized to benefit the poor. In light of this, civil society calls upon Government to ensure that debt relief resources are used to achieve significant poverty reduction and social development.
Civil society’s involvement in monitoring the HIPC debt relief must not only be confined to the line of rail. The monitoring system must be extended to outlaying areas of the country to ensure effective monitoring and mass participation in the HIPC process. To properly monitor the HIPC debt relief in Zambia, it is pertinent and necessary for civil society to build relevant capacities in monitoring and also strengthen its network.
Civil society should not rely on workshops and conferences to learn about processes and issues that affect the social and economic living of the people in Zambia. Instead, civil society must become proactive in sourcing literature and information on key issues such as the Budget, HIPC and PRS from public documents. This information will enable civil society to be well informed about national financial plans and expenditures. This information will enable civil society to engage in effective and meaningful dialogue with central authorities on national matters of concern regarding public finances. Further it is important for civil society to simplify information from these documents for easier assimilation by the general public.
It is important to include the Youth in the entire HIPC initiative process in Zambia, namely in the planning, implementation and evaluation processes. Youth involvement in development processes such as HIPC initiative and the PRSP is key because they are part of the productive age group as well as the future leaders.
For the HIPC initiative to succeed in Zambia, there is need for serious political will and commitment of Zambia’s creditors, the national Government and all the people of Zambia. The creditors as a matter of principle must fulfill their debt relief pledges in time while Government must avoid and prevent all chances of misuse of debt relief resources. Lastly Zambians must get involved in ensuring that debt relief resources are used to meet their needs.
25th April 2002