What do Zambians think about our external debt problem? What do they know of efforts to solve that problem? And what do they think of the “Jubilee” movement to secure cancellation of Zambia’s debt?
These were the serious questions that were addressed in a national Public Opinion Poll recently undertaken by Jubilee-Zambia, sponsored by the Debt Project of the Catholic Commission for Justice and Peace (CCJP) and the Jesuit Centre for Theological Reflection (JCTR). This was the third such poll undertaken by the CCJP/JCTR Debt Project, the previous two having taken place in 1998 and 2000.
Conducted in seven provinces of Zambia by M and N Associates Limited, the objectives of the poll were two-fold:
1. To generate information on public perception and knowledge on the debt problem that would aid Jubilee Zambia plan its work.
2. To achieve a better understanding of the public awareness and involvement with the “cancel the debt” campaign.
In late December 2001 and early January 2002, face-to-face interviews were conducted in Lusaka, Chongwe, Kafue, Kabwe, Livingstone, Mongu and Ndola. A total of 1626 people were interviewed. Of the total respondents, 52% were male and 48% female; 44% were between 25-40 years of age.
Among the findings coming out of this poll are the following, which have significant implications both for government action around the debt issue and also for the campaign efforts of Jubilee-Zambia.
· The majority of the respondents (60%) reported that they have indeed heard about the Jubilee-Zambia “Cancel the Debt!” campaign.
· Mongu is the only town where the majority (60%) of the respondents reported that they have never heard of the campaign.
· Radio is the most effective medium to communicate the message of the campaign, with 43% of the respondents reporting they have heard about the campaign through the radio. Radio has also been very effective among the people in the rural areas.
· Hearing about the campaign from friends and relatives was mostly sited by the respondents in the “below 24” age group, while church was mostly mentioned by those in the “above 41” group.
· The survey revealed that the majority of the respondents (55%) know that the larger portion of Zambia’s external debt was contracted in order to assist liberation struggles in neighbouring countries. However, the majority of respondents in Mongu (66%), Kafue (60%) and Kabwe (53%) reported that they did not know this fact..
· About three-quarters (74%) of the respondents reported that Zambia was justified in supporting the liberation struggles in the neighbouring countries. However, there is evidence suggesting that young people do not really appreciate the role Zambia played in supporting its neighbours.
· The majority of respondents (67%) think that Zambia should not continue paying its debt. An interesting gender difference was reported (similar to findings from the 1998 poll), with a slightly higher percentage of women than men saying that Zambia should pay its debt.
· The majority of respondents (52%) have heard of the HIPC initiative of the World Bank and the IMF. There is a strong link between those who reported that they have heard about the Jubilee-Zambia campaign and those who said they have heard about HIPC. This would suggest that more people are becoming aware of debt-related issues because of the Jubilee-Zambia campaign.
· The majority of female respondents (55%) and those in the “below 24” age group (57%) have never heard of HIPC.
· Almost half of the respondents (49%) think that HIPC resources will never reach the poor people in Zambia. (This is similar to findings in the 2000 poll.) Reasons for this include the lack of transparency in government and the misuse by leaders of money.
· The majority of respondents (66%) are not aware that the HIPC resources have actually started coming to Zambia, even when they may have heard of the Jubilee-Zambia campaign.
· Slightly less than half of the respondents (47%) want the church and NGOs to monitor HIPC resources because they feel in this way the money would reach the poor.
Jubilee-Zambia is committed to carrying forward its campaign, under the title “Debt Cancellation for Poverty Eradication!” We know that the huge external debt of Zambia – acknowledged by the Minister of Finance and National Planning to now exceed over U$$ 7.3 billion (Budget Address 1 March 2002) – is a block to Zambia’s future development and a unbearable burden for the poor of this country. So we will continue to advocate for total debt cancellation so long as we can be assured that any debt relief will in fact benefit the poor.
The Public Opinion Poll presents some very important data gathered from people around the country that must shape our future efforts in this debt campaign. Among key conclusions and recommendations are the following:
1. As a way of taking debt issues to the doorsteps of the ordinary Zambian citizen, Jubilee-Zambia has recently intensified its mobilisation activities by forming Provincial Groups in five key areas of the country. This is a sensible approach, as the survey results show that more work has to be done in order to increase awareness.
In particular, the survey shows that emphasis should also be put on young people and women in the country. One way of doing this could be intensifying the interactive approaches such as through peer groups and church activities.
2. Jubilee-Zambia has been concerned about the urgent need to ensure that debt relief resources are properly utilised for the benefit of the poor in an open transparent, participatory and accountable manner. For this reason, we have proposed the adoption of a “Debt Mechanism” and have launched a national petition campaign to advocate its adoption by government.
The survey has revealed that many people support this concern across the country. In their own way respondents bemoaned the lack of structures that would ensure that the poor benefits from debt relief resources. For this reason, many respondents nominated the church and NGO as institutions that should monitor the use of HIPC resources.
3. Lastly, Jubilee-Zambia has joined other Jubilee movements in southern Africa in addressing some of the historical experiences that have impacted negatively on the development of countries in the region. One such key issue is the case of so-called “Apartheid-caused Debt.” Jubilee-Zambia is prepared to demand for reparations for the debt burden incurred by the Zambian government as it borrowed heavily to resist the Pretoria regime’s Apartheid efforts in the region.
However, for this line of campaign to be enhanced, citizens, especially women and young people, need to be provided with information related to the origin of this larger portion of Zambia’s external Debt. As the survey revealed, men and people in the “above 41” age group seem to more fully comprehend such issues than do women and younger people.
In the months ahead, Jubilee-Zambia will take these conclusions and recommendations of the Public Opinion Poll into account in our planning, implementation, monitoring and evaluation.
We invite you to join us in a vigourous campaign for: