Sir, - Your Editorial on "The Politics of Debt" (March 8th) highlighted the opposition of NGOs and opposition parties in Ireland to the Government's proposal to contribute to the IMF's enhanced structural adjustment facility. To many Irish Times readers this may seem a remote, technical issue.
However, while the IMF may not have much direct effect on us here in Ireland, it casts a long shadow over the lives of the people with whom we work in heavily indebted countries such as Zambia, Tanzania, Honduras and Nicaragua. Under ESAF programmes the IMF lends money to low-income countries to ensure they keep repaying their debts. In return, borrowing countries must introduce harsh economic programmes. While we all accept the need for reform in order to achieve economic viability we are seriously concerned about the social effects of these programmes.
These include cuts in public spending, resulting in falling school enrolment; reduced access to basic health care; and reduced support for agriculture, leading to increases in the price of basic foodstuffs.
Moreover, ESAF programmes are not designed to meet the needs of individual countries. They are mostly drawn up in the IMF's Washington offices and presented to finance ministers. Governing parties and parliamentarians as well as wider social groups are largely bypassed. Even though the international community stresses good governance and democratisation, ESAF programmes undermine national democracies, which in some cases may be very fragile. They hinder the development of openness and accountability which are essential in all democracies to try to prevent corruption.
So why do governments borrow from the IMF? Because they have to. A recent independent review of ESAF found that governments are reluctant to enter ESAF because they fear it will lead to their political downfall. Many are forced to do so, however, because an ESAF programme is a requirement in order to qualify for debt relief, for aid and for investment.
Given that the core objective of Irish aid is meeting people's basic needs in the poorest countries, it simply defies logic for Ireland to contribute to ESAF, which pays absolutely no attention to poverty eradication. Mr McCreevy can help solve the debt problem by using his voice in the EU, IMF and World Bank to call for debt cancellation of developing countries' unpayable debts. Over 400,000 people around Ireland have already signed the Jubilee 2000 petition calling for this.
The Government recently introduced a Bill to enable Ireland to make its first ever contribution to ESAF. Many members of Fianna Fail, in addition to Opposition parties, have expressed serious concern at the proposal. In the light of this substantial opposition, we urge the Minister for Finance to postpone a decision on ESAF until he is satisfied that substantial reforms are in place to ensure that poverty reduction is a central priority and that ESAF programmes are designed and implemented within a democratic process. - Yours, etc.,
David Begg,
Concern Worldwide,
Michael Begg,
Christian Aid,
Justin Kilcullen,
Trocaire,
Pat Raleigh,
Justice and Development Irish Missionary Union,
Jean Somers,
Debt and Development Coalition,
All Hallows,
Grace Park Road,
Dublin 9.