First-Person: When 'Vultures' Strike
Muyatwa Sitali, acting coordinator of the Debt & Trade Project at the Jesuit Center for Theological Reflection in Lusaka, Zambia, wrote a blog for God's Politics, Sojourner's Blog explaining the impact of "vulture funds" in Zambia. This spring, a UK court ordered Zambia to pay Donegal International $15 million. Vulture funds are the name given to commercial lenders who purchase the debts of impoverished countries on the cheap, then sue the country for the compounded interest of that debt, plus incurred expenses and other monies. Donegal initially sued for $55 million on a debt that was just over $3 million.
Says Muyatwa:
For Zambia, $15 million translates to over 60 million Zambian Kwacha, which would be enough to facilitate three private manufacturers of animal-drawn plows and other equipment appropriate to and affordable for small-scale farmers (to complement the tractors for which Zambia originally got the 1979 loan from Romania).
Be sure to check out our website and newsletter in September for Muyatwa's column about Zambia's challenges and triumphs. He explains the links between Zambia's ties to the apartheid struggle, its independence and debt, while also discussing the challenges faced by civil society and Parliament as they contend with China as the new lender.
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Great post. I will be sure to check the site out.
Posted by: Fred | 19 February 2008 at 12:11 PM