ALMA Reps Email Circular: 18 April 2008

From Sheenagh Burrell, ALMA Communications Officer
almacomms@london.anglican.org T: 020 8567 7400

Dear ALMA Reps and Friends,

A short Circular to remind you of three things in the next few days!

Bishop Michael's installation
ALMA Reps meeting on Thursday 24 April
Jubilee Debt Campaign prayer and fast day for Angola on Friday 25 April

1) Sunday 20 April 3pm at St Paul’s Cathedral

Bishop Michael’s Installation as Residentiary Canon of St Paul’s Cathedral.
All ALMA Reps and Friends welcome to this service.

2) Thursday 24 April 6pm ALMA Reps Meeting

(refreshments from 5.45) at London Diocesan House, 36 Causton Street, London SW1P 4AU (tube Pimlico)

Meeting Programme:

Prayer and Welcome - especially to new ALMA Reps joining us for the first time.
News Updates including 2008 Lent Appeal
Reflections on a First Visit: Chris Owens and Clare Rider from St Peter and St Paul Teddington will share reflections on their visit to Pemba.
As a Link Grows: Francesca Keating from St Mary’s Hampton will show us how the link between St Mary’s Hampton and Mandimba has grown in the last two years.
The ALMA 10th Anniversary Service: Archdeacon Rachel Treweek will guide us through the plans for the service and our role in it. A practical task too – for the meeting and to take to our parishes!
Brief chaplaincy /networking time

**If anyone could help with refreshments (manning teas/coffees and clearing up – there is a dishwasher!) on 24th please let me know asap. It’s a great way of getting to know other ALMA Reps.

3) Friday 25 April - Jubilee Debt Campaign Prayer and Fast Day for Angola

In the run up to World Debt Day on 18 May 2008, a day is devoted to each of the 36 countries still in need of debt relief.

If you are holding a vigil for Angola on the 25th, or praying within a daily service the fact sheet below, prepared by Kensington World Development Adviser, Fran Chandler, may be of use. Do register your event with JDC.

St Mary Magdalene, Littleton is open 12-1 for prayer and chain making. Are any other parishes marking this?

I hope to see as many of you as possible at the Reps meeting – if you cannot make it would you try to send another representative from your parish?

With many thanks, Sheenagh.

Angola Debt Fact sheet

Total external debt: $11.5 billion (World Bank, 2005)
Total external debt payments: Gives $2.2 billion each year to the rich world in debt payments (World Bank, 2005)
Population: 15.9 million (World Bank, 2005)
Percentage of adults who can read and write: 32.6 % (UN HDR, 2005)
Average life expectancy: 41.7 years (UN HDR, 2005)
HIV prevalence: 3.7% (UN HDR, 2005)
Total health spending: 1.5% of GDP (UN HDR, 2005)
Total spending on debt service payments: 6.8% of GDP (UN HDR, 2005)
Annual GDP: $32.8 billion (UN HDR, 2005)

History of Angola

Angola was a former Portuguese colony, and the Carnation Revolution, a coup d’état in Portugal on 25 April 1974, paved the way for Angolan independence which it won on 11 November 1975. Angola is a nation rich in natural resources, it is Africa’s second largest oil producer and also has a wealth of diamonds, iron ore and coffee. These natural resources should mean that Angola is economically rich, yet this is not the case due to its troubled history and huge accumulation of foreign debts that have resulted from this.

Much of Angola’s past has been blighted by long periods of war. The War for Independence was fought between 1961-1975, followed immediately by civil war. which lasted from 1975 to 2002. The civil war was fought between UNITA (The National Union for the total Independence of Angola) and the MPLA (Popular Movement for the Liberation of Angola) the two opposing parties in Angola. UNITA received much of its military aid from China, as well as USA and South Africa later on, while the MPLA received much of their support from the former Soviet Union.

Where has the debt come from?

Angola’s debt comes principally from money owned to the former Soviet Union for arms purchases during the Cold War. Angola took out many loans during the civil war, primarily to finance the war and to purchase arms and weapons. It also received expensive oil-guaranteed loans to help it fight the civil war. Most of the revenue that was generated by these loans was used by the government to fight the UNITA rebels, and once the war had ended, to help it rebuild its economy and infrastructure. Most of the oil guaranteed arrangements were made with Brazil, Portugal and Spain. By 2004 the combined impact of 30 years of war and post-conflict reconstruction has resulted in a massive build up of debt.

Debt cancellation status

Angola is officially classed as a lower middle-income country by the World Bank. It is therefore not eligible for the Heavily Indebted Poor Countries initiative or the Multilateral Debt Relief Initiative . Nor is it eligible for additional debt relief from the UK or other bilateral donors.

The New Economics Foundation calculates that Angola requires 59% debt cancellation in order for the government to meet the basic needs of its citizens, such as health, education and infrastructure, without taxing those living below an ethical poverty line of $3 a day.

Further information:

Jubilee Usa factsheet on Angola and its debt
Worldbank country brief for Angola

General information:

BBC country profile for Angola
New Internationalist country profile for Angola