(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.
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.
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.
Riggs Bank fined for not reporting suspect accounts
(January 27, 2005) Riggs Bank pleaded guilty to failing to report suspicious financial transactions, including more than $10 million deposited by former Chilean dictator Augusto Pinochet. The judge said a $16 million fine agreed to by prosecutors may not be enough.
Dealing the debt
(January 27, 2005) As the ‘Make Poverty History’ lobby takes up a new call for redistribution between the first and third worlds Jon Harle wonders what part debt actually plays in poverty.
Oil/food probe to ask more of Annan
(January 26, 2005) Investigators probing charges of impropriety in the UN oil-for-food program have questioned Secretary-General Kofi Annan about his involvement and will do so again, a UN spokesman has said.
‘Outposts of tyranny’ list is selective
(January 25, 2005)The list is as interesting for the countries it leaves out as for the countries it includes.
Corner House double victory
(Jan. 25, 2005) On UK government department’s anti-bribery rules and public interest litigation.
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