Odious Debts News

The Ethiopian government is preparing its case to attempt to convince the World Bank to fund a mega- hydropower project in the Horn of Africa country.  read more »

Following on from Ecuador's path-breaking precedent, Bolivia will set up a commission to audit external debt to assess the legitimacy of past loans. Bolivia's current heavy debt load dates back to periods of dictatorship when loans were borrowed without public consent.  read more »

Anti-poverty campaigners warn emergency funds loaned to Haiti, at the height of crisis, will become a heavy debt burden for the quake devastated country. Already caught in a cycle of repayment for loans racked up by dictators from the western governments that kept the country's looters in power, Haiti can't afford its future in the present form of help.  read more »

 Beyond the recent earthquake, there is another crisis at the heart of Haiti. Author Gerald Caplan calls the island state the perfect Caribbean example of a historic collusion between despots and Western donors, overseen by the World Bank and International Monetary Fund, to "enrich themselves at the expense of the people".  read more »

Kenyan taxpayers should not have to repay the odious debts incurred by post-independence governments that borrowed money in their name but used the funds to terrorize citizens or were involved with corruption-tainted deals such as Anglo Leasing, writes prominent author Okiya Omtatah Okoiti in a recent op-ed. Using limited funds collected through taxation to repay odious debts incurred by the colonial, Kenyatta, Moi and Kibaki administrations, he writes, must come to an end.  read more »

Research organization Ibon Foundation is urging candidates in the upcoming presidential election to make public their stand on the repeal of automatic debt servicing; cancellation of odious debt; increased allocation and spending for health, education, and housing; and reversing trade liberalization, improving collection efficiency, and addressing bureaucratic corruption and wastage to raise badly needed revenues instead of imposing new taxes such as the tax on text messaging.  read more »

The Cordillera Peoples Alliance (CPA) reiterated its position for the decommissioning of the San Roque Dam during the 8th public hearing conducted by the Senate Committee on Climate Change.  read more »

The Aktion Finanzplatz Schweiz, an independent network that monitors the Swiss financial system, has today released a book detailing both doctrine of odious debts and ways countries and organizations can challenge illegitimate debts. The book, “How to Challenge Illegitimate Debt. Theory and Legal Case Studies,” will be available November 11 at 1 pm Geneva time for a free download.  read more »

If Pakistan’s government fixed the nation’s broken tax system, it would not be forced to accept foreign aid from Western countries, says the country’s Federal Minister for Finance and Revenues, Shaukat Tareen. His remarks come in the wake of street protests by citizens and heated debates by lawmakers in the country against a $7.5-billion aid package, known as the Kerry-Lugar bill.  read more »

A recent article in the Filipino broadsheet Business Mirror by Walden Bello—a Member of the House of Representatives—suggests that one way to spur the country’s economy would be to renegotiate some of its debts with creditors.  Mr. Bello says the mood for refusing to pay back odious debts or for declaring moratoria on debt repayments has never been higher. Because of this sentiment, the government should look for ways to either suspend debts payments, or seek ways to eliminate this debt, as some of it was taken under suspicious circumstances.  read more »