I have already addressed the case of the "RIP-OFF OF THE MILLENIUM" on the fraudulent debt relief given to Nigeria by the imperialistic Paris Club. Here is the reminder for those who did not read it when it was published last July and I have also provided a link to a very comprehensive documemt on the same case that anyone who is serious about finding out the truth should read. The full text of the article written by Simon Kolawole is in the archives.Then you can read the news report from Reuters below.
I have to post this very important and significant article by Simon Kolawole published on the back page of the THIS DAY newspaper of Nigeria on July 11, 2005.
It faulted the much publicized debt relief given to Nigeria by the Paris Club after so much pleading by the President of Nigeria at the last G-8 Summit in Gleneagles, Scotland.
It is very important for the international community to be well informed on how the World Bank, the Paris Club and the London Club have been cheating and exploiting several third world countries through loans and debt servicing. It is important for you to read this article and comment on the issues at stake as raised by Mr. Simon Kolawole.
PLEASE, SEE THESE LINKS FIRST:
Nigeria's Paris Club Debt Problem
During the past twenty years, Nigeria has met ... discount; and to its non- Paris Club bilateral creditors in return for varying degrees of debt relief. ...
www.brookings.edu/comm/policybriefs/pb144.htm - 64k - 2005-08-14 - Cached
[PDF] Policy Brief #144
Since its creation, the Paris Club has condi- tioned its debt relief on a formal
economic program that meets IMF standards. Nigeria could not meet this ...
www.brookings.edu/comm/policybriefs/pb144.pdf - 2005-09-06 - Text Version
[ More results from www.brookings.edu/comm/policybriefs ]
Resolving Nigeria's Paris Club Debt Problem: A Case of Non ...
for Nigeria are harder to assess because debt relief buys nothing ... do not depend onwhether Nigeria has zero, $3 billion, or $31 billion of Paris Club debt. ...
www.brookings.edu/views/papers/20050801rieffel.htm - 64k - 2005-08-01 - Cached
[PDF] Resolving Nigeria’s Paris Club Debt Problem: A Case of Non ...
... Nigeria met this requirement for the Paris Club debt relief operations it concludedin 1986, 1989, and 1991. But there was a problem in 1992. ...
www.brookings.edu/views/papers/20050801rieffel.pdf - 2005-08-18 -
Text Version [ More results from www.brookings.edu/views/papers ]
The Paris Club Owes Nigeria A Fair Deal
Why did Nigeria's Paris Club debt balloon by $23 billion over the past 20 years
when debt owed to other creditors fell by more than half? ...
www.brookings.edu/views/op-ed/20050627rieffel.htm - 64k - 2005-06-27 - Cached
NOW THE LATEST NEWS:
Paris Club clinches debt deal with Nigeria
Thu Oct 20, 2005 12:40 PM GMT
By Swaha Pattanaik
PARIS (Reuters) - The Paris Club of sovereign creditors on Thursday signed a comprehensive debt relief deal with Nigeria, Africa's most populous nation.
The accord, which came less than four months after the Club reached a deal in principle, allows Nigeria to write off an estimated $18 billion, or roughly 60 percent, of the debt it owed the rich creditor nations.
"The representatives of the Paris Club creditor countries welcomed the ambitious economic programme implemented by the Nigerian authorities since 2003 and their desire to secure an exit treatment from the Club," the Paris Club said.
"This exceptional treatment of Nigeria's debt offers a fair, sustainable, and definitive solution to Nigeria and Paris Club creditors.
"With the large debt relief included in this agreement, Paris Club creditors extend their strong support to Nigeria's economic development policy and its fight against poverty," it added.
The Club said debt reduction would be under Naples terms, which are applied to the poorest countries' debts and are equivalent to a 67 percent discount on the face value of debt.
The deal was also linked to the implementation of a new International Monetary Fund policy instrument.
The official Paris Club statement confirmed what a source close to the Club had told Reuters earlier on Thursday.
PHASED DEAL
The debt deal for Nigeria, which is the world's eighth-biggest oil exporter but has among the lowest income per capita in the world, will be implemented in two phases.
In the first phase, Nigeria will pay arrears due on all categories of debts while Paris Club creditors will grant a 33 percent cancellation of eligible debts, the Club said.
The second phase will follow an International Monetary Fund review of a new policy tool which is designed to give the global lender's stamp of approval to poor countries without requiring them to borrow from the Fund.
The IMF had paved the way for the Paris Club accord after it endorsed Nigeria's economic management on Monday with this tool, the Policy Support Instrument (PSI), and its first review of this instrument is planned in March 2006.
Markets, donors and creditors -- including the Paris Club group -- look to the IMF to signal whether a country is following sound economic policies and deserves their support.
"In the second phase, after the approval of the first review of the PSI by the Executive Board of the IMF, planned for March 2006, the Nigerian government will pay amounts due under post-cut off date debt," the Club said.
"The Paris Club creditors will grant a further tranche of cancellation of 34 percent on eligible debts, and Nigeria will buy back the remaining eligible debts," it added.
Nigeria was passed over for debt relief in the 1980s and 1990s as it did not have an agreement with the International Monetary Fund and was ruled by military dictators until 1999.
But President Olusegun Obasanjo, elected in 1999, has introduced a home-grown reform agenda with IMF monitoring and made debt relief his top priority in relations with the West, arguing money for debt repayments would be better spent on education, health and infrastructure.
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