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GUEST: Gerald LeMelle, Africa Action Executive Director

The House Committee on Financial Services held a hearing last Thursday on new legislation that would expand debt cancellation for African nations. Activists testified before Congress on behalf of the proposed “Jubilee Act” saying that it would enable impoverished nations opportunities for development. Both the House and Senate versions of the legislation have gained bi-partisan support and numerous co-sponsors. As debt accounts for an estimated 14 billion dollars annually out of African economies, the Jubilee Act would make up to twenty-five African nations eligible for cancellation of money owed to the US, the International Monetary Fund, the World Bank and other creditors. The expansion would go well beyond the current number of countries eligible under the Heavily Indebted Poor Countries and Multilateral Debt Relief Initiatives. The Jubilee Act also calls for the end of IMF and World Bank economic policy conditions while preventing future hardships for African economies through “vulture funds.” Arguing that much of Africa’s debt is illegitimate, cancellation is seen as a moral imperative in the fight against impoverishment.

For more information, visit www.africaaction.org