Pambazuka News 175: The International Monetary Fund and World Bank in Africa: A 'disastrous' record

In its latest report, the International Crisis Group has warned that if SA and Zimbabwe do not take concrete steps to tackle land reform issues, racial tensions and poverty could rise in the region. The report said that while events in Zimbabwe were unlikely to be replicated in SA soon, it was clear that countries in the region were burdened with chronic land problems that were frustrating attempts to promote economic development and eradicate poverty.

According to outgoing French Ambassador to Tanzania, Jean Francois Lionnet, France has cancelled Tanzania's debt of Euro 116 million ($139m) as part of debt relief to the country. In an exclusive interview as his four-year tour of duty comes to an end, Ambassador Lionnet said the main part of the debt, Euro 89 million would simply be written off and the balance converted into additional development programmes, specifically targeting primary education.

The first meeting of the power sharing transitional government convened on September 20, 2004 with participants expressing serious concerns about the limited capacity of the government to deliver basic services to Liberians. While Liberia has made remarkable progress towards peace, there is still a lack of adequate funding for the reintegration and rehabilitation of ex-combatants, as well as for the return of refugees and the resettlement of internally displaced persons (IDPs).

A decade after the advent of democracy in South Africa, and the citizens continue to spend up to 17 dollars a day on prisoners, every day of the year, while babies and toddlers who attend formally-registered preschools get a direct subsidy from the Department of Social Development which averages out at just under 70 cents for every one of the country’s 195 school days.

King Mswati the Third has announced that construction on the proposed Millennium Airport was to go ahead in his country, against recommendations by the International Monetary Fund that everything should be done to cut non-essential spending in the impoverished nation. Swazi officials insist there is a need for a new international airport capable of accommodating aircraft that are large – and likely to get even bigger over time. However, no business plan has ever been publicly presented to sho...read more

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