Previously we examined the role of the Export Credit Guarantee Department (ECGD) and its role as the major UK government debt generator. Cornelia Trogmann here turns the spotlight on another lender funded by the UK government. The European Investment Bank (EIB) The European Investment Bank was established in 1958 as the long-term lending institution of […]
Economical with food for thought
This week’s Economist says something puzzling: The middling poor, those on $2 a day, are pulling children from school and cutting back on vegetables so they can still afford rice. Those on $1 a day are cutting back on meat, vegetables and one or two meals, so they can afford one bowl. The desperate—those on […]
January Campaign Update on Indonesia
Jubilee Scotland is currently trying to convince the UK government to cancel the >£500 million it’s owed by Indonesia. This is a small goal within a much broader international objective, which is to promote the doctrine of ‘odious debt’. ‘Odious debt’ is a concept which enjoys some international credibility, but not nearly enough! Put simply, […]
Nigerian Debt Scam: UK not implicated
It’s general knowledge that the UK’s vast increase in development aid (ODA) from 05-07 consists largely of Nigeria’s debt buy-back. Net UK ODA increased by £2.5 billion 04-06, of which Nigeria’s debt cancellation counted for £1.7 billion. (Net ODA in 04 was £4.3 billion, in 06 it was £6.8 billion, as set out in DFID’s […]
G8 in Rostock: The State of Debt
The “Another World is Possible” rally in Rostock, 2nd June. At about 2.30pm, several thousand people dressed in black emerged from the ranks of the eighty-thousand peaceful demonstrators and marched at the police. Clashes started shortly afterwards. The police’s initial charges were limited, and did not disperse the group in black – though they did […]
World Bank Debt Cancellation – a TOTAL scam?
On the face of it, the G8 debt deal is a scam. The money that qualifying countries save on debt repayments is almost entirely balanced by a corresponding cut in the aid that they receive from the World Bank. The G8’s debt deal seems to work like this: the financial flows out of the country […]
The Debt Tribunal in 2006
The day before the G8 Summit in Scotland, 2005, Jubilee Scotland held a public debate on what the prospects were for a real resolution to the global debt crisis. I was worried that the G8 mobilisations would bypass ordinary people in Edinburgh; that people would come along to the Make Poverty History march but never […]