Legislators debate debt, trade initiatives
| Author | Sabina Bhatia |
| Position | IMF External Relations Department |
| Pages | 333-348 |
Page 333
What can legislators do to help high-profile initiatives to cancel debt, boost aid, and facilitate trade openness reach fruition? The sixth annual Parliamentary Network on the World Bank, meeting in Helsinki, provided a forum for legislators, civil society organizations, and others to debate the pros and cons of these initiatives and allowed them to explore the resources and the training members of parliament need to better exercise their responsibilities as public watchdogs over executive actions.
Page 348
In a year marked by high-profile initiatives to cancel debt, increase trade openness, and ensure more effective aid, what can parliamentarians do to help bridge the critical distance between promises and progress? At the sixth annual conference of the Parliamentary Network on the World Bank (PNoWB), on October 21-23 in Helsinki, some 200 members of parliament from about 90 countries joined representatives of civil society organizations, think tanks, and multilateral agencies to discuss these issues.
The recent Group of Eight (G8) initiative to cancel debts owed by many of the heavily indebted poor countries (HIPCs) was welcomed by all, but the discussion revealed some uneasiness. Charles Mutasa of the African Forum and Network on Debt and Development, argued that the original HIPC initiative and now the G8 proposal do not include several countries with heavy debt burdens.
The World Bank's Vikram Nehru cautioned that depending on how many countries are finally included, the cost to the International Development Association (IDA) could jeopardize future lending. Alison Johnson of Debt Relief International echoed these reservations, saying that debt relief should not compromise the IMF's future lending to low-income countries or to countries facing exogenous shocks. Johnson and others hoped that no additional conditionality would be attached to debt cancellation.
Parliamentarians can also do a lot to ensure that their countries reap the benefits of debt cancellation.
Johnson called on delegates from borrowing countries to carefully scrutinize government actions and ensure that relief actually helps countries reach the Millennium Development Goals.
Legislators should also monitor borrowing by the executive branch and avoid piling up unsustainable debts again.Mutasa suggested...
To continue reading
Request your trial