Brown lied about debt relief
fon | 13.06.2005 15:40 | G8 2005
G8 did NOT agree debt relief for any country, there is NO new debt relief program, any debt relief is 100% conditional on aggressive pro-market policy. Gordon Brown is lying when he says he wants to help the poor: he wants to subject starving people to a harsh and brutal economic regime.
The claims about a huge debt relief program are a lie. Gordon Brown is lying, and people like Bob Geldof and Bono are deliberately deceiving the public, by making false claims about ‘successes’. They are public-relations men for devious politicians such as Brown and Blair.
There is NO new debt relief program, all that is agreed is continuation of an existing program, the Heavily Indebted Poor Countries Initiative. Debt relief is NOT being extended to ‘poor countries’, but ONLY to countries which meet the IMF and World Bank targets. That policy is unchanged since last year, or 10 years ago.
The targets per country are set out in the Poverty Reduction Strategy Papers (PRSP’s). They are online at the IMF website, but the details are ignored by the media.
http://www.imf.org/external/np/prsp/prsp.asp
A PRSP is a neoliberal economic program. The emphasis is: privatise any remaining state sectors, spend your limited resources on facilities for business, and open the country to foreign investment. These are some of the targets for Albania, without meeting these conditions the country will not get a cent in debt relief. Similar conditions apply to all the countries which are claimed to get 'generous new aid'.
5. Market Institutionalization and Formalization
....the establishment of an agency for the protection of economic competition
... a commission of competition, as the decision-making body;
... improve the work of competition advocacy;
... Independent Tax Appeals Commission to include two representatives of the business community
6. Promoting Enterprise
... Preparation of the study “On removal of administrative barriers to business
... Facilitation of procedures for business entry,
... finding mechanisms and developing projects in line with fine-tuning the government-business community dialogue
... removal of the requirement for licensing in the non-agricultural sector;
...improved access to information for businesses
7. Small and medium-scale entreprise Development
... creating a positive climate for the development of business
... strengthening of the Department of Policies and Business Development in the Ministry of Economy.
... establishment and initial operations of the SME Development Agency
... credit guarantees for SMEs
... improve the credit system for SMEs,
... USAID “Program for assistance and credits for the small business”
... Adoption of the European Charter for SMEs
... improve the links of the banking system with business.
8. Foreign Direct Investment
... Establishment of a legal and regulatory framework for promotion of foreign investments;
... launching of the Foreign Direct Investment Promotion Agency;
... Reduction of foreign investment risk;
... Improvement of the image of Albania as a country with potential for investments;
... Launching of the national entity of free zones;
... Publication of the “Guide to Foreign Investments in Albania”
There is NO new debt relief program, all that is agreed is continuation of an existing program, the Heavily Indebted Poor Countries Initiative. Debt relief is NOT being extended to ‘poor countries’, but ONLY to countries which meet the IMF and World Bank targets. That policy is unchanged since last year, or 10 years ago.
The targets per country are set out in the Poverty Reduction Strategy Papers (PRSP’s). They are online at the IMF website, but the details are ignored by the media.
http://www.imf.org/external/np/prsp/prsp.asp A PRSP is a neoliberal economic program. The emphasis is: privatise any remaining state sectors, spend your limited resources on facilities for business, and open the country to foreign investment. These are some of the targets for Albania, without meeting these conditions the country will not get a cent in debt relief. Similar conditions apply to all the countries which are claimed to get 'generous new aid'.
5. Market Institutionalization and Formalization
....the establishment of an agency for the protection of economic competition
... a commission of competition, as the decision-making body;
... improve the work of competition advocacy;
... Independent Tax Appeals Commission to include two representatives of the business community
6. Promoting Enterprise
... Preparation of the study “On removal of administrative barriers to business
... Facilitation of procedures for business entry,
... finding mechanisms and developing projects in line with fine-tuning the government-business community dialogue
... removal of the requirement for licensing in the non-agricultural sector;
...improved access to information for businesses
7. Small and medium-scale entreprise Development
... creating a positive climate for the development of business
... strengthening of the Department of Policies and Business Development in the Ministry of Economy.
... establishment and initial operations of the SME Development Agency
... credit guarantees for SMEs
... improve the credit system for SMEs,
... USAID “Program for assistance and credits for the small business”
... Adoption of the European Charter for SMEs
... improve the links of the banking system with business.
8. Foreign Direct Investment
... Establishment of a legal and regulatory framework for promotion of foreign investments;
... launching of the Foreign Direct Investment Promotion Agency;
... Reduction of foreign investment risk;
... Improvement of the image of Albania as a country with potential for investments;
... Launching of the national entity of free zones;
... Publication of the “Guide to Foreign Investments in Albania”
fon