>
>Africa-at-Large
> Botswana Wants New Approach Toward Africa's Debt
> Panafrican News Agency August 30, 1999
>
>NAIROBI, Kenya (PANA) - The president of Botswana, Festus Mogae, has called
>for a new approach toward debt alleviation in Africa, saying previous
>attempts to solve the problem were "too little too late."
> "The time frame is too short," he said. "For instance, countries with an
>unemployment rate of 40 percent are told to reduce the civil service, and
>do it in three months. We must perform for three years before assistance is
>granted. That is like telling a drowning man that he must survive for three
>days before he can be saved."
> Africa owes about 350 billion US dollars in external debts.
Sounds like the IMF needs to set up a fund to divert capital centrifugally out to Africa at the same rate that it is flowing in centripetally.
Sounds like the need for a Tobin tax again!
Chris Burford