JEAN SOMERS,
Sir, - Bono's trip to Africa with the US Treasury Secretary, Paul O'Neill, has refocused media attention on Africa's debt problem.
Another, less publicised, event which put the debt issue back on the international agenda was the recent publication of a report admitting that the Heavily Indebted Poor Countries Initiative (HIPC) is failing miserably. This is the initiative which Bono has been criticising so effectively. Debt campaigners like ourselves have long warned that HIPC will not solve the debt crisis. Now the IMF and World Bank admit that half the countries which have made it through the HIPC obstacle race to the finishing line still have unsustainable debt burdens.
Your Editorial of May 21st on Bono's African trip makes the point that overly onerous conditions for debt reduction should not be placed on African countries. This is vitally important. Only five countries have made it through the HIPC process in six years because of the range and complexity of conditions which counties must first fulfil. In addition, countries that have made some progress have had their partial debt reduction suspended by the IMF. This is because they failed to meet certain conditions, e.g. not privatising public utilities like water and electricity quickly enough.
Clearly it is unacceptable that African countries should be required to restructure their economies to suit creditors such as the IMF, World Bank and G8 before they receive desperately needed debt cancellation.
Ireland can take a much more positive role in pressing for debt cancellation without the current onerous conditions. We are aware that a new Irish debt policy has been drawn up and we urge the Government to publish this without further delay. - Yours, etc.,
JEAN SOMERS, Co-ordinator, Debt and Development Coalition Ireland, All Hallows, Grace Park Road, Dublin 9.
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Sir, - Bono is to be congratulated on using his global profile to draw attention to the horrendous problems afflicting millions of impoverished people in Africa.
His visit to the dark continent with US Treasury Secretary Paul O'Neill is probably the most significant development in the aid area for generations. The pair may achieve more for the poorest of the poor in a few days than the international community has in countless years.
I hope though, that when it comes to formulating aid policy, Secretary O'Neill will recognise that corruption is a huge problem in Africa. Unless conditions are applied to any aid or debt relief package offered to the various African regimes I have no doubt they are doomed to fail as so many aid packages have done in the past.
Corruption is the most urgent of all the problems facing Africa today. If it is not tackled, the continent's myriad other problems will never be solved. Examples abound of corrupt and tyrannical African leaders looting billions from their national coffers while their citizens suffer in crushing poverty.- Yours, etc.,
JOHN O'SHEA, GOAL, Dun Laoghaire, Co Dublin.