Debt
[Source: Antonio Gumede, High Commissioner of Mozambique, 10 February 2010]
In a speech to a Parliamentary Reception to support the Vulture Funds Bill, the High Commissioner spoke of the impact of debt cancellation:
It is a great honour to address this important event organised by Andrew Gwynne MP and Jubilee Debt Campaign, an organisation that spearheaded one of the most outstanding and successful international movements to free many poor developing countries from the unsustainable burden of international debt.
Mozambique is one of the beneficiaries of the remarkable work that Jubilee Debt Campaign undertook for the cancellation of the debts of poor countries, which were being serviced or repaid at the expense of social investment and better livelihoods for the poor.
I am glad that my compatriot Reverend Bernardino Mandlate who was part of the Mozambican chapter of the drop the debt campaign, through the Christian Council of Mozambique, is here with us in this event.
The movement led to successful cancellation of Mozambique's debt under the Highly Indebted Poor Countries initiative. A substantial part of the country’s debt stock estimated at more than $5 billion dollars was written off. The external debt consumed more than $150 million dollars a year in debt service, which constituted a heavy burden for a country emerging from a devastating conflict and in desperate need to rebuild its economic and social infrastructure.
I am sure you are aware that the Government of the United Kingdom took a leading role in this endeavour leading to the cancellation of Mozambique’s official debt to this country estimated at £80 million Pounds.As a result of debt cancellation process, the money that was previously spent to service the debt could now be directed to priority areas of social development such as schools, health systems, expansion of access to water and infrastructure reconstruction.
It was partly thanks to the resources flowing from debt relief and the government’s deliberate policy to focus on poverty sensitive sectors for investment that Mozambique was able to reduce the levels of absolute poverty from 69% to 54% over the past decade. The number of school children in the education increased from 2.3 million in 2000 to over 5 million in 2009. Infant mortality has fallen from 160 to 107 per 1000 children, a decline of 33%. This means that many children who alive today could not have made it past the age of 1 some 20 years. Similar progress was made in other social sectors, as indicators of access to water and health indicators attest.
We are committed to work tirelessly to ensure that the remarkable work that Jubilee Debt Campaign and other progressive forces around the world undertook in support of our cause is not undermined.
I note with a great sense of encouragement that Jubilee Debt Campaign have not rested on their past laurels and continue to campaign for debt relief for other poor developing countries, thus making an important contribution for these countries to sustain social investment in order to achieve the Millennium Development Goals.
The private member’s bill introduced by Hon Andrew Gwynne on vulture funds is an important step, as it will eventually help to protect the poorest and most vulnerable nations from the unscrupulous and immoral acts of individuals who seek to undermine the gains we have made through debt relief for private profit.
I am sure that with the commitment we have witnessed here and with the support of progressive you can succeed in driving vulture funds out of business.
I wish you success in your noble endeavours.
