Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
08BANJUL19
2008-01-09 13:21:00
UNCLASSIFIED
Embassy Banjul
Cable title:
JAMMEH DERIDES HIPC AND DEBT RELIEF AS "CHICKEN CHANGE"
how-toVZCZCXRO7812 RR RUEHMA RUEHPA DE RUEHJL #0019 0091321 ZNR UUUUU ZZH R 091321Z JAN 08 FM AMEMBASSY BANJUL TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 7982 INFO RUEHLMC/MILLENNIUM CHALLENGE CORP RUEHZK/ECOWAS COLLECTIVE RUEATRS/DEPT OF TREASURY WASHDC RUCPDOC/DEPT OF COMMERCE WASHDC
UNCLAS BANJUL 000019
SIPDIS
SIPDIS
STATE PLEASE PASS TO EXIMBANK, OPIC, USTDA
E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: ECON EAID EFIN ETRD PGOV KMCA IMF GA
SUBJECT: JAMMEH DERIDES HIPC AND DEBT RELIEF AS "CHICKEN CHANGE"
REFTEL: BANJUL 18
UNCLAS BANJUL 000019
SIPDIS
SIPDIS
STATE PLEASE PASS TO EXIMBANK, OPIC, USTDA
E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: ECON EAID EFIN ETRD PGOV KMCA IMF GA
SUBJECT: JAMMEH DERIDES HIPC AND DEBT RELIEF AS "CHICKEN CHANGE"
REFTEL: BANJUL 18
1. In response to a journalist's questions concerning The Gambia's
new debt relief package (reftel),President Jammeh has derided the
package and the Bretton Woods institutions. He described the
Heavily Indebted Poor Countries (HIPC) Initiative as a disguised
apology owed to Africa for years of exploitation by the IMF and
World Bank. He characterized the loans previously offered to
African nations as extensions of "the exploitation of Africa by the
West. Where they stopped exploiting us as a result of our so-called
independence, they continue to exploiting us through the Bretton
Woods institutions."
2. Jammeh railed against the high interest rates on relatively
small loans, without taking into account the historical changes in
inflation and currency valuations. He said, "They [the
institutions] are talking about democracy and human rights and none
of them is ready to come to Africa and explain to Africans why they
are paying billions of dollars to debt that amounted to only ten
million or fifteen million or thirty million at most." He portrayed
debt relief as a masked acknowledgement that debt policies were
exploitative, and decried the conditions necessary to meet debt
relief qualifications: "So they devised HIPC and said these are the
things you should do so that we can let you off the hook."
3. The President went on to criticize the 43-year period of debt
relief involved in the HIPC arrangement. He likened such measures
to "chicken change." Jammeh announced that he planned for The
Gambia to be a wealthy country in the next ten years, eliminating
the need for debt relief and future borrowing.
--------------
COMMENT
--------------
4. Rather than take the opportunity to highlight The Gambia's
economic growth and his government's arguably improved fiscal
policies, the President decided to continue his tiresome trend of
anti-western, Pan-African nationalist, anti-colonialist rhetoric.
Such comments from Jammeh do not come as a surprise, but serve only
to distract from the GOTG's real economic achievements in recent
years. END COMMENT
BACHMAN
SIPDIS
SIPDIS
STATE PLEASE PASS TO EXIMBANK, OPIC, USTDA
E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: ECON EAID EFIN ETRD PGOV KMCA IMF GA
SUBJECT: JAMMEH DERIDES HIPC AND DEBT RELIEF AS "CHICKEN CHANGE"
REFTEL: BANJUL 18
1. In response to a journalist's questions concerning The Gambia's
new debt relief package (reftel),President Jammeh has derided the
package and the Bretton Woods institutions. He described the
Heavily Indebted Poor Countries (HIPC) Initiative as a disguised
apology owed to Africa for years of exploitation by the IMF and
World Bank. He characterized the loans previously offered to
African nations as extensions of "the exploitation of Africa by the
West. Where they stopped exploiting us as a result of our so-called
independence, they continue to exploiting us through the Bretton
Woods institutions."
2. Jammeh railed against the high interest rates on relatively
small loans, without taking into account the historical changes in
inflation and currency valuations. He said, "They [the
institutions] are talking about democracy and human rights and none
of them is ready to come to Africa and explain to Africans why they
are paying billions of dollars to debt that amounted to only ten
million or fifteen million or thirty million at most." He portrayed
debt relief as a masked acknowledgement that debt policies were
exploitative, and decried the conditions necessary to meet debt
relief qualifications: "So they devised HIPC and said these are the
things you should do so that we can let you off the hook."
3. The President went on to criticize the 43-year period of debt
relief involved in the HIPC arrangement. He likened such measures
to "chicken change." Jammeh announced that he planned for The
Gambia to be a wealthy country in the next ten years, eliminating
the need for debt relief and future borrowing.
--------------
COMMENT
--------------
4. Rather than take the opportunity to highlight The Gambia's
economic growth and his government's arguably improved fiscal
policies, the President decided to continue his tiresome trend of
anti-western, Pan-African nationalist, anti-colonialist rhetoric.
Such comments from Jammeh do not come as a surprise, but serve only
to distract from the GOTG's real economic achievements in recent
years. END COMMENT
BACHMAN