NBC-LEO Calls for
Cancellation of Africa’s Debt
Note: The Africa Fund has since merged to
form Africa Action. The links below to
The Africa Fund no longer work.
Resolution by NBC-LEO
The
Tel: (212) 785-0124
E-mail: africafund@igc.org
Web: www.theafricafund.org
For Immediate Release:
For more Information contact: Richard Knight
The National Black
Caucus of Local Elected Officials (NBC-LEO) adopted a resolution at its spring
conference calling for active debt cancellation and relief for African
countries. The resolution urges full
appropriation of President Clinton's request for funding of the Cologne
Initiative, an international effort of the G-7 industrialized countries to
bring debt relief to highly indebted poor countries. The NBC-LEO resolution comes as Congress
appears poised to appropriate only a small portion of the money requested for
debt relief. NBC-LEO "requests that poor country debt cancellation be
supported by the
The Clinton
Administration has proposed a multi-year package for debt relief for the fiscal
years 2000-2004 including $320 million for bilateral debt relief and $600
million for multilateral Cologne Initiative debt relief. To date, Congress has done little to support
debt cancellation or relief -- last year Congress only appropriated $110
million for bilateral debt cancellation and none for multilateral debt
relief. The Senate Foreign Operations
bill, now before Congress, has only $75 million for all debt relief for FY 2001
compared to the request of $435 million for multilateral debt relief ($210
million for FY 2000 and $225 million for FY 2001). The House Foreign Appropriations Committee,
scheduled to take up the matter on June 13, is expected to adopt no more than
one-third of the Administration request.
"By adopting
this resolution stressing the importance of appropriating full funding for debt
relief and cancellation the National Black Caucus of Local Elected Officials is
providing important leadership and guidance on U.S.-Africa policy," said
Jennifer Davis of The Africa Fund.
NBC-LEO, with
members in 34 states, is a caucus of the National League of Cities working to
influence national policy positions to promote the special interests and needs
of the African American community. The
Africa Fund, founded in 1966 by the American Committee on
The following is
the full text of the resolution:
National Black Caucus of Local Elected Officials
Resolution Supporting Debt Forgiveness and Relief For African Countries
WHEREAS the National Black Caucus of
Local Elected Officials (NBC-LEO) is committed to economic and social justice
for
WHEREAS
WHEREAS the debt burden translates
into $400 for every African man, woman and child on a continent where the
average annual wage for most countries is less than $400 per person; and
WHEREAS African countries cannot
move forward with needed modernization and improvement of the lives of African
people with this continuing debt burden; and
WHEREAS it is in the interest of all
cities and their citizens that poverty reduction in
WHEREAS after hundreds of years of
exploitation of Africa's natural and human resources, modern African nations
lack the ability to repay international debt incurred for survival in the
aftermath of this exploitation; and
WHEREAS thirty-five of the world's
forty most debt burdened countries are in sub-Saharan
WHEREAS in response to the
international campaign for poor country debt cancellation, the leaders of the
G-7 adopted the Cologne Initiative in June, 1999; and
WHEREAS the Cologne Initiative
includes a provision for deeper relief of more highly indebted poor countries
and President Clinton has requested supplemental funding from Congress to meet
the
THEREFORE
BE IT RESOLVED BY THE NATIONAL BLACK CAUCUS OF LOCAL ELECTED OFFICIALS, MEETING
IN WASHING, D.C., AS FOLLOWS:
Section
One. The
National Black Caucus of Local Elected Officials supports full funding for the
Cologne Initiative to address debt reduction and debt elimination in
sub-Saharan
Section
Two. NBC-LEO
urges the U.S. Senate Appropriations Committee to include $210 million for the
fiscal year 2000 supplemental bill for Heavily Indebted Poor Countries (HIPC)
Trust Fund.
Section
Three. NBC-LEO
urges full approval of the $600 million for the HIPC Trust Fund over the next
three years consistent with the Cologne Initiative.
Section
Four. NBC-LEO
requests that poor country debt cancellation be supported by the
ADOPTED BY THE
NATIONAL BLACK CAUCUS OF LOCAL ELECTED OFFICIALS this twelfth day of March,
2000, in
President,
NBC-LEO
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Posted
on RichardKnight.com