(September 10, 2008) Read the first page here
Roundtable update: World Bank on odious debts
(August 7, 2008) The World Bank convened the roundtable in response to feedback from civil society groups (CSOs) to its September 2007 discussion paper, “Odious Debt: Some Considerations.”
Liberia comes clean-er
(August 7, 2008) Liberia has risen from the bottom ranks of the World Bank’s most corrupt country list to earn the distinction of graft’s most zero-tolerant post-conflict nation, reports Africa’s opinion journal, The Analyst. A recent report by the Bank’s Worldwide Governance Indicators Institute (WGI) indicates that at the current rate, Liberia has shown the largest improvement of any country in the world in controlling corruption.
At least in Bangladesh wrongdoers are encouraged to return the money
(August 6, 2008) The president of Bangladesh this month appointed a three-member Truth and Accountability Commission in an effort to claw back ill-gotten gains from corrupt businessmen and politicians who could receive clemency if they confess their wrongdoing and refund money obtained illegally. The country’s military-backed government, which launched a nationwide anti-graft campaign after taking power in January 2007, hopes the commission will help clear a massive backlog of corruption cases, Independent Online reports.
‘Odious debt’ recognized by British Parliament
(July 14, 2008) Debt Relief, 3rd Report 1997-1998, London: House of Commons The British House of Commons International Development Committee recognizes the concept of odious debt.
Riggs investigators find possible crimes
(July 4, 2008) Riggs Banks investigators have discovered evidence of possible criminal activities by some former employees who managed accounts of ex-Chilean dictator Augusto Pinochet. The investigation could pose problems for the pending sale of Riggs to PNC Financial Services Group Inc.
Book paints sad picture of corruption
(July 4, 2008) A new book on the extent of corruption in Kenya says it has permeated all sectors of the society, including the church. The Monster Called Corruption identifies some of the most affected areas as the public service, the councils, the private sector, non-governmental and religious organisations and trade unions.
Prevention of Corruption Act: How effective is it?
(July 4, 2008) Rooting out corruption is a pre-condition for a successful democracy.
Corruption’s threat to democracy
(July 4, 2008) United Nations: Last fall the General Assembly produced a new treaty that many would say was long overdue – the U.N. Convention Against Corruption.
Tough line on graft in Georgia
(June 30, 2008) The presumption that one is not guilty until the court decides so is violated in many cases. If methods of the new government are the same as the old one’s, then what was the meaning of the revolution?”
PUC’s final answer is no to electricty rate increase
(June 30, 2008) Belize’s Public Utilities Commission has turned down Belize Electricity Limited’s (BEL) application to increase electricity rates, reports 7 Newsbelize.
International financial institutions and financial accountability
(June 25, 2008) A report by Austrian-based economist Kunibert Raffer published last year and now available for access on the Odious Debts Online Web site, calls for the creation of a permanent international court of arbitration to work through disputes between IFIs and borrowing countries.
Stop paying nuke plant debt, SC justice urges gov’t
(June 18, 2008) Supreme Court Associate Justice Reynato Puno has urged the government to consider stopping payments for loans that the late strongman Ferdinand Marcos borrowed to build the mothballed Bataan Nuclear Power Plant.
PRESS RELEASE Canadian power company threatens blackouts in Belize if rates don’t go up
(June 9, 2008) Belize’s Canadian-owned power company has threatened blackouts if electricity rates don’t go up immediately.
Odious Debts: Loose Lending, Corruption, and the Third World’s Environmental Legacy
(May 28, 2008) We’ve all heard of the Third World’s debt crisis, of hopelessly poor nations unable to pay their debts, and of the human suffering and environmental consequences of their desperate predicament. Amid emotional calls from some to forgive the debt outright come the sober solutions from bankers and bureaucrats, with their seemingly unending stream of Brady and Baker Plans, and bewildering variants of them.
Patricia Adams
Dai Qing
Fan Xiao
Lawrence Solomon
Mu Lan
Probe International
Lisa Peryman
Patricia Adams and Lawrence Solomon
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