(February 4, 2005) Fresh claims by the British High Commissioner to Kenya, Sir Edward Clay, that the government abets corruption within its ranks have elicited angry reaction in Nairobi.
Iraq demands justice in wake of oil-for-food report
(February 4, 2005) Anyone who stole from the UN’s oil-for-food program for Iraq must stand trial and the money be repaid to the Iraqi people, Iraq’s Human Rights Minister said.
‘N315bn looted funds in British banks’
(February 3, 2005) Britain said yesterday that over £1.5 billion (about N315.53 billion) of Nigeria’s looted funds are frozen in various British banks.
UN programme chief ‘solicited oil from Baghdad’
(February 3, 2005) Benon Sevan, head of the United Nations office that administered Iraq’s multi-billion dollar oil-for-food programme, "repeatedly solicited" oil allocations from Baghdad, a UN-appointed inquiry said yesterday.
UK Christians call for G7 debt cancellation deal
(February 2, 2005) “If finance ministers agree a deal on debt cancellation, this G7 meeting would be the first milestone on the road towards ending the obscene poverty.”
Environmentalists challenge UEGCL
(February 2, 2005) Critics say Uganda’s Owen Falls Extension is a catastrophe and blame it on the government, Acres International, the project consultants, and the World Bank.
Pressure mounts on G-7 to cancel ‘odious’ debts
(February 2, 2005) Development groups are calling on the Bush administration to support full, unconditional, and immediate debt relief for more than three dozen of the world’s poorest nations.
Blair and Brown cannot afford to fail
(February 2, 2005) Both Tony Blair and Gordon Brown have taken a big political risk in setting an ambitious programme on Africa – and will certainly struggle to disguise any failure to make progress in 2005.
Activists urge G7 to cancel debts
(February 2, 2005) Petitions delivered to the US Treasury Department Tuesday called on Group of Seven nations to take action this weekend to cancel debts of the poorest countries.
The impact of debt burden on women
(February 2, 2005) The early 1980’s financial crisis faced by many countries in the South had unpayable debt service as the immediate cause that was precipitated by the tight money policies in the rich countries that drastically hiked international interest rates. The debt debate ignores the fact that debts were contracted as a result of borrowing by undemocratic governments that were not mandated by the people.
The IMF’s ‘Guide on Resource Transparency’
(February 1, 2005) While PWYP welcomes the guide, its recommendations are non-binding and implementation is voluntary. How the IMF will prompt governments to adhere to the guide “Code of Good Practices on Fiscal Transparency” is also unclear.
Charging interest on bullets: calls mount for debt cancellation
(February 1, 2005) High-profile debt cases in South Asia, Argentina and Iraq are leading to increased calls worldwide for independent tribunals to determine which debts are not legally enforceable.
‘Africa bores me,’ says Live Aid rocker Bob Geldof
(February 1, 2005) “The pace of change is far too slow, and Africans excuse their own complicity in exactly the same way as our politicians,” he said.
How the west dug holes for the poor
(January 31, 2005) During the cold war, the developed nations lent willingly to Africa. No worries then about how corrupt dictators might misuse the money or line their own pockets.
Bush and Brown head for showdown on debt relief
(January 30, 2005) US likely to block Britain’s ‘Marshall Plan for Africa’ at G7 summit.
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