Through our Solidarity Africa Network project, we conduct research, policy analysis, media work, and advocacy on economic policy. This work has focused on debt, the international financial institutions, access to basic rights (e.g., water, food, health services and medication), and corporate infiltration of the food economy through programs such as the “Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa.”
Challenge to the G8 Governments
Download PDF of sign-on statement
Reject Conditional Aid, Say Lobbies
The Nation (Nairobi) NEWS 5 September 2008 Posted to the web 6 September 2008 By Njeri Rugene Accra, Ghana
Four Kenyan NGOs and a local bishop are among more than 100 civil society organisations that are urging participants of the aid effectiveness conference here to reject foreign aid with imposed conditions.
The groups are also demanding cancellation of debts saying it would be a major requisite to "aid effectiveness."
The civil society groups which concluded a two day parallel meeting ahead of the high level forum on aid effectiveness and management want community organisations, NGOs, and trade unions to be involved in negotiations on foreign aid as well as in formulating the national development strategy.
Unequal power
EcoNews Africa, the Kenya Human Rights Commission, Kenya Debt Relief Network, Daughters of Mumbi Global Resource Centre and Bishop Robert Mutemi Mutua were among groups and individuals lobbying against donor conditions saying any aid with such issues should be rejected.
"Aid giving is not only exercised in the context of unequal power relations, it is also being used as an instrument of power...and conditionalities are the most blatant expression of this fact," the organisations said in a statement.
Read the full statement.
Challenges to the Notion of Aid Effectiveness
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Why a global sign-on letter to the IMF Executive Directors right now?
Last April the IMF Executive Board approved a proposal to sell some of the gold stock it holds to create a trust fund, the proceeds of which will be used to pay for the IMF's administrative expenses. The IMF is taking this step because it is facing a budget crunch: middle-income countries have been paying off their debts to the IMF and deciding not to borrow anew. In an unusual turn of events, selling this gold requires authorization by United States Congress, providing a unique point of leverage for civil society to force changes in IMF policy.
U.S. civil society decided to seize this opportunity to pressure our Congress to condition approval of gold sales on changes in the way the IMF operates. Last April, over 100 U.S. civil society groups kicked off our lobbying efforts by sending a letter to Congress to do exactly that, urging that gold sales be approved only if Congress first obtains policy changes so that the IMF:
Because the IMF gold sale proposal would make the agency self- financing, this important opportunity to leverage Congressional influence over the Fund is not likely to be repeated any time soon.
At this stage, some key Members of Congress have expressed interest in conditioning IMF gold sales on allocating some of the money to debt cancellation initiatives. But despite being concerned about the economic policy conditions the IMF imposes on developing countries and the lack of transparency at the institution, these Members are hesitant to push for bold changes unless they see broad global support for them.
Read the Global Letter to IMF Executive Board