What conditions are attached to debt relief?
Consumer Concerns
Eileen Cox
Stabroek News
December 28, 2003
President Jagdeo says that the debt relief is the best Christmas present the country could have received.
It was Mr Davison Budhoo, a Director of the Washington-based Bretton Woods Reform Organisation (BWRO), who recommended to Dr Cheddi Jagan in 1994 that his government should seek to be classified as one of the Least Developed Countries and then access HIPC debt relief.
BWRO was established in 1991 with the objective of campaigning against the harsh conditionalities of the IMF and the World Bank. Mr Budhoo, an economist, had worked with the IMF but, on becoming disillusioned, he resigned and published a book, Enough is Enough.
In Guyana the Bretton Woods Reform Organisation (Guyana) Ltd. was established in 1994 under the Companies Act, Chapter 89:01 with Mr Joseph Pollydore as Chair-person. Other Directors were Mr Randolph Melville and Mr Fred Fredericks. I was the Vice Chairperson.
Four objects of BWRO (Guyana) were:
(1) to develop a mechanism or set of mechanisms which will build awareness among the general public including Church, trade union, grassroots' organizations and community leaders throughout Guyana of the fundamental issues posed by structural adjustment programmes of the IMF/World Bank, the foreign debt of the country, environmental and other issues arising from foreign exploitation of Guyana's beautiful natural resource base and other matters of social and economic concern arising from policies and operations of multilateral financial institutions and transnational corporations in the country;
Dr Jagan was convinced there was a benefit to be derived from Guyana being declared a Least Developed Country.
(2) to design and cause to be implemented a people-based and people-inspired Alternative Structural Adjustment Programme (ASAP) rooted in social justice and geared to protect the poor and economically disadvantaged sectors of Guyanese society;
(3) to bring to the man-in-the street, in all parts of the country, the traumatically negative impact of the IMF/World Bank debt-related operations on Guyanese society and the continuing negative results of IMF/World Bank structural Adjustment Programmes,ss if the latter continue to be implemented unchecked during the rest of this century and beyond;
(4) to galvanise action by the poor themselves towards the creation of viable survival mechanisms in face of the ongoing assault against their economic and social well -being engendered by IMF /World Bank-related programmes and policies.
Mr Budhoo succeeded in convincing Dr Jagan that there was a benefit to be derived by declaring the country a Least Development Country (LDC). This was the hurdle. On Saturday, April 22, 1995, Dr Jagan summoned a meeting of all his ministers, permanent secretaries and advisers at State House to have Mr Budhoo explain the benefits of going the HIPC way.
Now in the year 2003 Guyana is granted debt relief and President Bharrat Jagdeo proclaims that it is the best Christmas present that Guyana could have received.
However, as consumers, we wish to know what conditions were imposed. We recognise that we have paid and are paying for the debt relief.
It could have been worse, for we learn that two conditions were resisted by President Jagdeo: the retrenching of 1000 public servants and removing the security of employment enjoyed by them. If social works are to be implemented will they apply to all areas, without discrimination, or only to pockets? Is it a condition that tenders should be invited from CARICOM countries for major construction works such as road-building? Let the consumers know. We are all involved.