Black State Lawmakers Call for Cancellation of Africa’s Debt
Black state lawmakers from around the country, met in Mississippi December 1, 2006, passing a resolution calling on the U.S. Congress and the Bush Administration to cancel Africa’s external debt, estimated at more than $200 billion. (Read resolution see pp. 28-29, PDF, 216 KB.)
“Debt cancellation is a crucial component of Africa’s development,” according to Imani Countess, co-chair of the Jubilee USA Network, who addressed the National Caucus of Black State Legislators’ International Committee on behalf of the Resolution. “Cancellation allows countries to invest in health care, education and infrastructure development,” she remarked. Countess is also national coordinator of the AFSC’s national Life Over Debt Campaign.
The resolution calls on the new Congress to support the Jubilee Act, a bill that Congresswoman Maxine Waters (D-CA) and Congressman Spencer Bachus (R-AL) will likely re-introduce in early 2007. Lawmakers also call on the Administration to “commence immediate efforts to achieve unconditional cancellation” from the World Bank, the International Monetary Fund, and the African Development Bank as well as any debt “owed to the U.S. government.”
The resolution urges all Caucus members to introduce similar legislation in their respective jurisdictions.
See NBCSL Debt Resolution Text (pp. 28-29, PDF, 216 KB.)
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