Gerald LeMelle - Cancel African Debt

On Day One, Africa Action is asking the President to implement comprehensive debt cancellation to the African continent. Right now, the African people are paying back some $300 billion in debt, often accrued by dictators that we funded to pursue our interests, not those of the African people. Debt cancellation will not eliminate poverty, but it will be a powerful step by the U.S. government, and it will give poor people across the continent a fighting chance and a future.

Category:

Nonprofits & Activism

Tags:

• Africa
• africaaction
• ondayone
• president
• debt
• poverty
• federal
• government
• grassroots
• outreach
• nonprofit

[tigerone1970]

Then, Africa needs land redistribution, not land tenure reform that favors FDI. In fact, Africa needs to say goodbye to the notion that foreigners will develop it's economy, let alone do so for the benefit of African people. This is a colonial hangover, that is not only evident among the older generation, but even young people, because they read the same garbage on what makes and economy run.

The whole neoliberal philosophy is a philosophical underpinning of neocolonialism.

[tigerone1970]

The economies must be diversified away from extractive industries, to a) agriculture, b) manufacturing, c) infrastructure.

In the year 2004, Zambia exported $4,000 million in copper and cobalt, $2400 million of which were pure profits, and for which the government received $6 million in taxes. In the same year, the gov. received $600 million in 'donor aid' (gee, I wonder where this 'donor aid' comes from - could it be taxes paid by these mining companies at home - taxes not paid in Zambia?).

[tigerone1970]

I have a three step plan that would completely modernize Africa:

1) Cancel all public debt, but only on the conditions that...

2) Governments decentralize, to reduce the number of ministries to 10-12 (from the usual 30), and spend 50% of national revenues on local government, which must provide: education, healthcare, policing, public utilities and administration, and most importantly,

3) Tax the extractive industries to the max, so the money can be used to diversify the economy.

[sk8taj]

thass my dad