(May 24, 2005) An odious debts challenge is one way African governments can hold both Western creditors and corrupt African officials to account.
Other News Sources
Down and out! Who broke Africa?
(March 24, 2005) The African development conundrum: Western donors and aid agencies compound Africa’s problems because their approach is ‘leader-centred’.
In cultivating international clients, Riggs went down a perilous path
(March 21, 2005) The downfall of the Washington, DC-based Riggs bank was revealed earlier this month in one of several "admiring notes" the bank’s chairman, his wife and another Riggs official sent the former Chilean dictator Gen. Augusto Pinochet between 1996 and 2000.
A world built on corrupt foundations
(March 19, 2005) Transparency International’s chief executive David Nussbaum argues that unless increased infrastructure lending to developing countries is accompanied by stringent anti-corruption measures, funding will be undermined or nullified by corruption in infrastructure projects.
Africa debates odious debt
(March 19, 2005) A non-binding resolution passed by Nigeria’s House of Representatives last week to halt payments on the country’s $35 billion external debt has provoked some strong responses.
No longer unforgivable; Nigeria’s debt
(March 19, 2005) Ridiculous though it sounds, Nigeria merits some debt relief.
Africa debates odious debt
(March 19, 2005) A non-binding resolution passed by Nigeria’s House of Representatives last week to halt payments on the country’s $35 billion external debt has provoked some strong responses.
The verdict: to hell with our creditors?
(March 17, 2005) Lagos: When President Olusegun Obasanjo last week received the House of Representatives leadership 24 hours after passing a resolution asking him to stop forthwith further debt service payments, the action was so uncharacteristic that I suspected there might be more to it.
Pinochet report welcomed in Chile
(March 17, 2005) The scale of the alleged fraud is greater than previously disclosed.
External debt is more political than economic
(March 16, 2005) All Nigerians must get behind the president’s campaign for debt cancellation.
Transparency International says construction most vulnerable to corruption
(March 16, 2005) A new report says construction, more than any other segment of a nation’s economy, is prone to corruption. Global graft watchdog Transparency International in its Global Corruption Report says that corruption is often so bad it "plunders the economy . . . and ravages the environment.
All affected families entitled to rehabilitation
(March 16, 2005) The Supreme Court Tuesday came to the rescue of thousands of people displaced by the Sardar Sarovar dam, saying even temporarily affected families were eligible for rehabilitation.
Goverment must implement Procurement Act to check corruption: Ghana
(March 16, 2005) The Ghana Integrity Initiative (GII) has called on the country’s government to implement legislation that will allow it to subject ministers and public officials to greater degrees of scrutiny, particularly in regard to construction contracts.
Villagers protest Nam Theun 2 dam project
(March 15, 2005) An independent energy analyst claims electricity from Nam Theun 2 would be 14% more expensive than that produced from alternative, renewable energy sources.
Protesters urge World Bank to stop Nam Theun 2 project
(March 15, 2005) By supporting Nam Theun 2, the World Bank might repeat the same mistake it made at Pak Mool, which generated neither benefits to the local people nor sufficient electricity to Thailand’s power system, say protesters.


