Committee for the Abolition of Illegitimate Debt

 Auditing the debt

 Case studies of 4 countries :
Ecuador, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Mali, the Philippines

 Some documents are available in English in the report (followed by EN), click here

Date : Friday October 19 and Saturday October 20 from 9.30am to 5.30pm
Venue : Congress room of the Belgian Senate, 21 rue de Louvain in Brussels

 Provisional programme Friday 19 October :

Presentation of the Belgian Senate’s resolution on auditing the debt, by Senator Olga Zrihen

Ecuador sets an example in the field of debt auditing

 Panel with Ricardo Patino, Ecuador minister for debt auditing;

 Hugo Arias Palacios, spokesman for the External Debt Audit commission in Ecuador;

 Maria Isabel Altamirano, CADTM Ecuador;

 Eric Toussaint, CADTM Belgium, member of the audit commission, particularly with respect to debts to the World Bank World Bank
WB The World Bank was founded as part of the new international monetary system set up at Bretton Woods in 1944. Its capital is provided by member states’ contributions and loans on the international money markets. It financed public and private projects in Third World and East European countries.

It consists of several closely associated institutions, among which :

1. The International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD, 189 members in 2017), which provides loans in productive sectors such as farming or energy ;

2. The International Development Association (IDA, 159 members in 1997), which provides less advanced countries with long-term loans (35-40 years) at very low interest (1%) ;

3. The International Finance Corporation (IFC), which provides both loan and equity finance for business ventures in developing countries.

As Third World Debt gets worse, the World Bank (along with the IMF) tends to adopt a macro-economic perspective. For instance, it enforces adjustment policies that are intended to balance heavily indebted countries’ payments. The World Bank advises those countries that have to undergo the IMF’s therapy on such matters as how to reduce budget deficits, round up savings, enduce foreign investors to settle within their borders, or free prices and exchange rates.



For full debt auditing in the Democratic Républic of the Congo, by Victor Nzuzi (NAD) and Luc Mukendi (CADTM Lubumbashi)

 Provisional programme Saturday 20 October :

 Auditing the debt in DRCongo, continued

 Beginnings of debt auditing in Mali, by Temo Tamboura (CAD Mali)

 The case of the Philippines, by Rebecca Malay, Freedom from Debt / Jubilee South Coalition (Philippines)

Conclusion

Languages: French/English/Spanish

The number of participants is limited

Compulsory registration prior to September 30 with :
christine at cadtm.org or myriam at cadtm.org

Participation cost for the two days: North: 16.00 Euros (or 8.00 Euros per day and per person). Students/ unemployed: 50% reduction. South: free participation.

This includes the simultaneous translation, a sandwich at lunch and coffee/tea. This does not include accommodation. Free accommodation with local people can be considered, depending on availability.
Contact: christine at cadtm.org and virginie at cadtm.org