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2
giugno 2006
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CISA
[Issue No. 686, Friday, June 2, 2006]
CATHOLIC
ECONOMIC JUSTICE – Nairobi
PRESS RELEASE
Launching
of the material published by the National Postcard Campaign for
Kenyan’s Debt Cancellation and Repudiation
The Catholic
Economic Justice (CEJ) in collaboration with Faith Based
Institutions, KENDREN (Kenyan Debt Relief Network) and other
Civil Society Organizations are launching on the 7th June 2006 at
2.00 p.m. at Holy Family Basilica Hall in Nairobi, the numerous
material published at the occasion of the National Postcard
Campaign towards
Kenyan’s Debt Cancellation and
Repudiation. The campaign aims at improving the awareness and
knowledge of the Public Debt burden and its catastrophic impact
on the life of Kenyans, and it demands for the Reduction of the
Domestic and External Debt and the Return of the public Funds
misappropriated. The Campaign advocates and lobbies for concrete
actions from the government to resolve the injustices of the debt
burden and ultimately cure this burden.
The publications
launched are:
Video - “The Debt of the dictators”
done by Norwegian Church Aid (NCA). The video depicts the story
of how one-fifth of all developing countries’ debts are the
result of loans given to support dictators and their regimes that
poor people have to repay today yet the burden of repayment is
forced upon the hapless citizens who never benefited from the
loans.
Magazine - New People on the International Debt- The
magazine narrates the negative impact debt has on people and
development; viz.: youth; health; gender. It also charts the
advocacy of the Churches towards public debt relief.
Pastoral
Letter of the Catholic Bishops of Kenya : “The Burden of
International Debt”, a Christian view on the Debt situation
in Kenya and the role of the different stakeholders in solving
the Debt problem.
Booklet - “Debt is Poverty. Debt is
Slavery. Refusing to Pay is Justice” – About the
content: How African countries borrow money from rich Western
“donors” and whether such loans are really helpful.
The book shows how and why the large illegitimate external debts
were created. External Debt causes more harm than good as it
increases poverty.
Post-cards - for the National Debt
Campaign, which are being signed by the Kenyan public to implore
the government to refuse to pay these illegitimate or odious
external debts. The postcards further appeal the government to:
(1) establish public monitoring mechanisms to control the use of
funds realised through such successful debt cancellation or
repudiation; (2) establish appropriate legislative frameworks and
participatory structures to guarantee that the Kenyan people
approve loans before the government endorses funding agreements
(3) stop using public taxes to service debts, which do little to
improve the quality of life for the majority of Kenyans.
Radio
Programs : A series of six programs, each lasting 10 Minutes, on
Poverty, Debt and Development. .
Trainers Manual - on Kenya’s
Public Debt (in English and Swahili) - The Manual explains the
causes of the debt crisis in the developing world; clarifies why
some of these debts are considered “odious and
illegitimate”; introduces Africa’s debt as a
political problem, which hinders development.
The invited
guests will be representatives of the Catholic Episcopal
Conference; the Anglican Church of Kenya, the Supreme Council of
Kenyan Muslims and the Kenyan Hindu Council.
Contacts: KEC.CS
Tel. 4441112 / 4443133 or Mob. 0721377137 / 0721497421
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10
aprile 2006
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THE
DAILY NATION
Disown illegal debts, demand faiths
lobbies
BUSINESS
Story by MUCHIRI GITONGA
Publication
Date: 4/10/2006
Religious groups want the State to disown
illegally incurred external debts.
They have started a
campaign to ask Finance minister Amos Kimunya to open for public
scrutiny the public debt register before this year's national
budget.
The country's debt amounts to Sh750 billion and the
Government proposes to spend Sh112 billion (22 per cent of the
entire budget) servicing it.
Officials behind the campaign
blame the debts for increasing poverty in the country.
"As
a nation we are acknowledging these loans but we are demanding to
know the circumstances under which they were acquired and how the
money was spent because some of it ended up in some individuals'
pockets," said Fr Joseph Muriuki, the Justice and Peace
Commission, Embu Catholic diocese coordinator.
He was speaking
during a national debt campaign workshop at the Nyeri Catholic
secretariat on Friday.
The priest said the groups would
mobilise Kenyans to sign a petition to President Kibaki and MPs
to have the public debt register opened for public scrutiny, as a
first step towards disowning the debts.
"This will enable
Kenyans to know how the money borrowed from external creditors
was spent or whether it was mismanaged," said the priest.
The Nyeri diocese Justice and peace coordinator, Mr Simon
Wanjohi, said the Supreme Council of Kenya Muslims (Supkem), the
Hindu Council and the protestant churches were also involved in
the campaign.
A motion in Parliament to have the public debt
register made public and its content published was shot down by
80 MPs last year.
The groups also want the Government to
cooperate with other heavily indebted countries in refusing to
pay the illegitimate bills.
The Catholic Economic Justice for
National Debt Campaign, recently formed by Catholic bishops, has
been taking the debt repudiation campaign to the
grassroots.
Other members of the bishops' club, Amecea, that
groups seven Eastern Africa countries have launched similar
campaigns saying, external lenders have previously ignored pleas
to adjust or cancel the debts.
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