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Life Onboard |
LAST UPDATE
July 12, 2005
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| November 19, 2004 |
South Africa’s debt: a crisis in need of urgent attention – Koshin Fukushima |
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Holding lectures and discussion circles about the ever increasing debt problems that South Africa faces in its post Apartheid era, Koshin Fukushima came onboard to deepen our participant’s knowledge about socio-economic issues affecting their next port of call. This multi-talented Japanese national resides in Cape Town and calls himself a freelancer, operating as a tour guide in Cape Town, an IT technician for local NGOs and a Japanese/English translator. He managed to find some time on the ship to answer a few questions.
What initially brought you from Japan to South Africa?
Well, in Japan during the 1980s I was heavily involved with the anti Apartheid movement and I fully supported Mandela. The African National Congress (ANC) finally came to power in 1994, through extensive support both domestically and internationally. I decided to go to Cape Town to see the changes South Africa was to undergo. I first worked for an NGO called the Alternative Information Development Centre (AIDC), which works primarily with international development projects and focuses on economic issues and the effects of globalization.
What have been the effects of globalization in South Africa?
Wow, that’s a big question! I think that many people now see South Africa as a free, democratic state, whose major problems are over now that the Apartheid regime is gone. However there are many problems which still plague this country and many of these issues are legacies of that very regime. Unlike most other African states, South Africa was not exploited by a foreign country, for cheap labour and resources, but instead the South African government did these things to its own people. The effects, therefore, are more or less the same throughout the whole of Africa – poverty, unemployment and displaced peoples. But the most appalling situation is that which concerns South Africa’s debt.
Who does South Africa owe its debt to?
Well, during the 1980s, the UN imposed a number of economic sanctions on the international community in order to abolish the Apartheid system. This literally means that they made it illegal for South Africa to borrow money from an international source and thus illegitimate for anyone to lend. However the Apartheid government went against this ruling and borrowed money from private banks in Switzerland, Germany and Luxembourg. Even though the Apartheid regime was overthrown, their debt remained and does so to this day. Therefore the present day government and people of South Africa are paying off a debt that was once used to finance a system which unjustly suppressed them. However it is not the actual sum, which is breaking the economic backbone of South Africa, it is the high interest rates, which render this debt impossible to pay off. In 1989 it was 80 billion rand, in 1994 it was 186 billion rand and in the year 2000 it had grown to a mighty sum of 400 billion rand. This situation is not unique to South Africa. It is the same in the Philippines, Argentina, Chile and many other countries whose dictators used international funds to suppress their opposition and their people.
But in giving this loan, these banks were breaking international laws. Does this mean that it still has to be paid off?
This is a very important question. The answer is no. Of course not all the money that South Africa owes is from the Apartheid government, but that which was given and received during the UN economic sanction period does not legally have to be paid back at all. It is odious. So why pay it back? We have now reached the crux of South Africa’s debt crisis. Nelson Mandela’s successor, Thabo Mbeki, introduced economic reform in South Africa. He implemented a new liberal economic policy known as GEAR, which stands for Growth, Employment And Redistribution. This basically means that he wants South Africa to follow the globalization path set up by IMF and World Bank in 1996. Their structural adjustment programme means privatization, high interest rates, export-led trade, redundancies and transnational business investment. If the IMF, the World Bank and other global “superpowers” are to allow South Africa to join the wave of globalization the South African government has to prove that it is trustworthy. This means that if you lend money, you pay it back. Cancelling this debt would ostracize South Africa from the global economy.
So what can be done to cancel this debt?
Basically 48% of the population are living under the poverty line in South Africa. This years’ biggest item of expenditure on the South African budget is education, followed by internal protection. Third on the list is debt repayment at 13% of the annual budget. This is before healthcare, housing, water and agriculture. Instead of trying to invest in the global market, the government should be giving the money back to the local people who deserve it. These are the facts that we need to communicate to the people of South Africa and of the international community in order to mobilize them. We have a great anti-globalization movement meeting once a year at the World Social Forum (WSF) and there is a good international network fighting for debt cancellation all over the world called Jubilee South. As long as these groups continue to fight against the exploitation of developing countries and create a solid development strategy for the future, there is a good chance that governments will have no choice but to cancel this debt.
How optimistic are you?
I can not say when the debt will be cancelled but I have to keep believing that it will. I am optimistic but it does take and will take a lot of hard work on an international level. There is a branch of Jubilee South called Jubilee SA (South Africa) which was established in 1998 to focus on the Apartheid debt and they are very active in raising awareness within the local communities of South Africa. Visiting churches, community centers and mobilizing the masses is part of their invaluable work in making a stand against the influential power of the World Bank and IMF. Personally, I am here in South Africa to monitor the situation and to help wherever I can. I helped this government come to power, through my involvement in Japan and I feel responsible for the consequences. I encouraged many people to join me in my campaign for the ANC and so I have to take full responsibility for the disappointing outcome of the present day. However, we have proven that people power can, and will bring about change, we must prove it again. |
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