From: barnhart@gagme.chi.il.us (Mr Aaron Barnhart)
Subject: IPS: AFRICA: Peace dividend should become aid,
Originator: barnhart@gagme
Organization: Evanston, Illinois
Date: Thu, 1 Oct 1992 01:57:13 GMT

Copyright Inter Press Service 1992, all rights reserved.  Permission to re-
print within 7 days of original date only with permission from 'newsdesk'.

Title: AFRICA: Peace dividend should become aid, says finance minister


washington, sep 23 (ips) -- industrialised countries should cut
their military spending and ''use the peace dividend'' to boost
their aid to african and other developing nations to 0.7 percent
of their gross domestic products (gdps) by the end of the century,
says tanzania's finance minister.

addressing the annual meeting of the world bank and the
international monetary fund (imf) on behalf of sub-saharan african
nations wednesday, finance minister k.a. malima, also called on
western donors not to demand political reforms as a condition for
receiving aid to support adjustment programmes.

''we strongly believe that a judgment on the reforms of the
political systems in our countries does not lie within the
jurisdiction (of the imf and the world bank) and should not be
linked to donors' assistance in support of our adjustment
programmes,'' malima told his colleagues from 170 countries.

he was apparently referring to decisions by western nations and
the bank over the past 10 months to suspend approval of new loans
in kenya and malawi until the two countries begin credible
political reforms.

malima appeared gloomy about prospects for economic recovery
despite the adoption by many african countries of structural
adjustment programmes (saps) sponsored by the bank and the fund.

citing stagnation in world trade and economic growth, he said
''protectionism in the industrial countries, the debt problem,
difficult climatic conditions that we cannot control, and the
continued decline in commodity prices are some of the many
unfavourable factors that constitute causes for deep concern''.

the prices for many commodities produced by sub-saharan african
countries have fallen to their lowest levels in more than 100
years, according to the world bank, while a drought affecting most
of southern and part of eastern african is said to be the worst
this century.

taking these developments into account, the industrial
countries should offer more help to african countries with
difficult debt burdens by going much further than they already
have in providing debt forgiveness, malima said.

''we regret the fact that very little progress has been made in
alleviating the debt burden,'' he said, adding that donor nations
should quickly adopt as a ''minimum starting point'' the 'trinidad
terms' first proposed by then-british chancellor john major two
years ago. (more/ips)

africa: peace dividend should become aid, says finance minister(2-e)

africa: peace divident (2)

the trinidad terms call for donors to reduce by two-thirds the
money owed to them by those sub-saharan african countries
implementing structural adjustment programmes approved by the bank
and the fund.

in addition, said malima, industrial nations ''should remove
protectionist measures that hamper entry of africa's exports in
their markets''.

malima also echoed bank president lewis preston in calling for
a ''substantial'' increase in real terms in contributions to the
10th replenishment of the bank's soft-loan affiliate, the
international development association (ida).

ida, which provides no-interest credits to the world's poorest
nations, was funded at 15.5 billion dollars for its ninth
replenishment which began in mid-1990 and ends next year. to be
able to lend at the same real levels, ida-10 must be financed at
about 18 billion dollars by the western donors who support it.

but bank officials involved in negotiating with donors have
expressed some pessimism that even those levels, let alone
substantial levels, will be able to be achieved.

and they point out that with a number of new countries
including some of the states of the former soviet union becoming
eligible for ida credits, the amount going to sub-saharan africa
may actually be reduced in ida-10.

as it is, sub-saharan african nations received only about 43
percent of ida funds committed in 1991, malima said, urging that
africa's share should be increased to about 50 percent.
(end/ips/ip/jl/yjc/92)