Debt: Who Owes Who?
Debt is one of the most important issues to be discussed regarding the economic situation of the so-called developing world (DW), specifically when focusing on Africa. Yet it is also one of the most complex and difficult topics to handle since it has been charged by the many economical interests involved. It is difficult to bring the topic of debt to the top of the agenda of the leading nations even though that is the place where it should be. International and corporate organisations seem to have little or no interest in changing the dead-end situation that highly indebted countries are facing. Debt is a case that affects many aspects of the daily life of the people who are concerned and is deeply entwined with the perseverance of power and control. In this article we will highlight some crucial aspects related to debt and propose a solution to the problems involved.

Our collective understanding of debt:
We all know what it feels like to owe money at a personal level. When we become unable to repay, the interest effect can be disastrous. Debt nowadays seems to be an insurmountable dilemma especially in DW. In the previous three decades the DW has borrowed large amounts of money, often at highly excessive interest rates. The hope was that these loans would put the countries on a rapidly developing program via higher investment and faster economic growth. However, debts reached record highs in the 1980’s and it became clear that for many of these countries repayment would not just constrain economic output but become virtually impossible. Despite the huge existing debts rich western nations still continue lending to less developed nations. During the 1980’s the South African apartheid regime borrowed money from private banks and a large fraction of its outlay was focused on financing the police forces in repressing the black majority. Until this day the South African people bear the debt of their repressors. It is almost impossible to repudiate or deny such debt.

Dictators have salted away huge sums of money to personal accounts in foreign banks hosted by developed countries (DC). The former ruler of Congo (Kinshasa) Mobutu Seseko reportedly salted $ 4 billion to a personal bank account in Switzerland. After the overthrow of any such dictatorial regime it is very difficult to reclaim the capital. Swiss Banks are freezing these funds and meanwhile produce interests that help the economic growth of their own nation. Instead of transferring the money back to the original borrowing country the same banks lend back the money to the already victimized nations at high interest rates. Countries mired in debts usually do not have the repayment capacity. In this situation the expected debt service costs will discourage further domestic and foreign investment and thus hurt the economic growth. Potential investors will fear that the more a country produces the more it will be “taxed” to service the debt. Thus large debt lowers growth partly because it reduces investment. One should also emphasize that it is senseless for international bodies to talk about poverty alleviation whilst ignoring the issue of debt. Many countries today continue to repay debts because if they fail to do so their assets abroad could be seized and their reputations ruined. This would make it more difficult to borrow again or to attract foreign investment.

Unfortunately the debt issue is confounded with hypocrisy and immorality. When nations borrow from private banks and western organisations the purpose of the funds is not being questioned. Remarkably, these bodies do not have any reason or intention to question the nations’ debt repayment capacity. They even advice the governments of highly indebted nations to spend less on healthcare and education in order to repay debts. But how do we expect these countries to repay their debts when it is clear that healthcare and education are important drivers of economic growth?

Traces of colonisation and slavery:
We can contend that developed nations do owe less developed nations in one way or the other because of the long-lasting slave trade which did untold damages to many countries in Africa. Both the history of slavery and the colonial domination helped North America and Europe build their empires. Road-, railway- and shipping infrastructures were located at strategic positions to plunder natural resources. Part of the money that was generated through the slave trade and contributed to the growth of western economies is nowadays used to grant loans to the DW. In light of this historical background it seems reasonable that the DC should reimburse for the enslavement and removal of the people and natural resources of the DW.

Prospect for living and gender relations:
The huge debt burden that many countries in the DW are facing affects people both on a psychological and social level. Today’s and tomorrow’s generations are literally robbed of their prospect for living. Although the youth has never profited from the loans that were taken before they were born they are still forced to repay the debts of the previous generations. This situation of hopelessness may have a profound impact on their behaviour. For example, it may create a lack of enthusiasm and perseverance. It could also impact upon their level of self-esteem and perhaps most importantly, it may result in a diminished joy for living. On the social level we can see that as a result of the poverty cycle, which is maintained by the debt burden, men are increasingly facing unemployment. Consequently, women have to take on greater responsibility in providing for their families and are tasked with increased decision-making within the household. This change of role-pattern deeply affects men since they used to control all resources before indebtedness. In some cases the loss of self-respect among young males leads to alcohol abuse and violent behaviour. This in return may affect women who then become more vulnerable to suffer from rape, forced marriage and prostitution.

A deeper lesson to be learned:
Debt is a process that has been created out of the idea that things can be both owned and owed by someone. If we would listen to the wisdom of the original inhabitants of Australia, the Aboriginals, we would know that only if we try to possess things there will be a shortage. On the other hand, if we would be willing to accept that everything on Earth belongs to everybody we would realise that we are really living in a world of abundance. The Earth’s natural recourses are meant to be shared amongst each other, not to be owned in any way by only a small part of the world’s population. Debt repayment by already underdeveloped and poor countries is a violation of the natural law since it creates an increasing gap between the poor and rich nations. Every form of imbalance on Earth and in life demands to be rectified and if we don’t do it ourselves then nature will have to intervene. In the DC there are not thousands or millions of people starving because the DW cannot repay its debts. Debt is a way of gaining control and power by those who lend the money over those who borrow it and it is a question of power within the indebted countries. It is a process that demands great integrity because it deals with the independence and freedom of all people involved. It not only concerns those who borrow the money, it involves the people who lend the money too. The aim of the loan should be to make the other person more independent, not the other way around. However, the highest way of helping a fellow human being would be to give freely, expecting nothing in return. The developed countries therefore would have to cancel all the debts and then not worry about giving. But it is also important within the countries of those who would receive that there is this same consciousness that those in position of power can give freely without wanting to disempower, control or manipulate, to give to the people so the people who need it will get it.

How can we owe someone something when everything that is in this world belongs to everybody because by nature there are no rules of belonging? Life is meant to offer us everything we need in the right amount at the right time. Only when we try to force this natural law and want to own things we create a shortage in this ‘gift of life.’ Emilie Christine Debats & Christian P. Tabifor