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“the attitude I see is not of a people in crisis but people doing business as usual. …to succeed you must change and start doing business as unusual.” Mr. Dev Chamaroo, the Director Policy and Planning Board of Investment of Mauritius, addressing a conference in Zambia.
There has been a mixed reaction to the G20 meetings earlier this month, with a widespread response that too much of it was ‘business as usual’, and not enough of an attempt to take this opportunity to re-think the way that we work.
“There is no sign that political leaders have made a radical break with the discredited model of economic development that has led us to this crisis. There are no significant measures to combat inequality, or to reorient the economy to a more sustainable path. The changes in global economic governance are very limited” says a statement from Eurodad (European Network on Debt and Development).
The announced financial pledges total over US$1.1 trillion, but the Eurodad analysis of this shows that a great deal of it is a reiteration of previous pledges. A Tear Fund UK media release points out that “much of it is not new money and that far more will be targeted at the world’s richest countries and not the poorest”.
A commentator in the Guardian notes that the world is becoming more multi-polar, with less ready acceptance by the rest of the world that the developed countries have got it right. Developing nations are rejecting IMF and World Bank loans because the conditions imposed by these institutions are the reverse of the prescription that the developed countries are giving themselves in the current crisis.
He says "For most developing countries, the current economic crisis is a more acute form of what they have experienced for most of the last three decades... Since 1980, there has been a sharp slowdown in economic growth in the vast majority of low- and middle-income countries." That period matches the time when the developed nations were experiencing a boom, but that boom was at the expense of the poorer nations.
Ray Offenheiser, Director of Oxfam USA says “The realities of global poverty are very stark. About a billion people around the world — one in six — are now considered chronically hungry, with 24,000 people dying daily of hunger-related causes. Almost three billion people live on less than $2 a day, more than a billion of which try to survive on less than $1 a day.
“The global economic downturn is further increasing poverty. Aid, investment and remittances to poor countries are all falling, leaving many vulnerable people without jobs or enough money to feed their families. … The World Bank estimates the economic crisis could trap an additional 53 million people in poverty.
“While aid alone is not enough for the poorest countries to escape the poverty trap – quality, long-term aid does make a huge difference. Poor country governments have used aid to scale up spending on education and health to help fight poverty. And done right, aid can stimulate the global economy, promote global stability, and create goodwill around the world.”
Andy Clasper, Director of Micah Challenge UK says “global finance and global economics cannot be a values-free zone”. He quotes the Archbishop of York, John Sentamu, saying that the highest aspiration the human race cannot be the creation of wealth. We have to question what this wealth is being created for, and how it ought rather to be used. God’s people, the Church, need to be those who desire most a world “where justice is done, where mercy is our first concern, and where we walk humbly with our God”.
The Eurodad press release concludes “The summit has achieved some results. But it has not touched on several vital areas, and its promises on others remain vague. Eurodad members and allies can make a difference by commenting critically on today’s announcements, pushing for more details to be added to improve implementation and spreading the message that many further measures need to be taken.”
We in New Zealand need to keep up the pressure on the Government that the financial crisis should not be a reason to cut back on aid commitments. Yes, we need to be sure that our aid dollars are being used in the most effective way. That means ensuring that they are targeted to the poorest communities. Development needs to be framed around building inclusive and sustainable societies, both for New Zealand and for our neighbours.
Andy Clasper concludes “Let us keep praying, let us keep speaking out, and let us keep demonstrating a different way of life. Our good news has never been so relevant. If the world really is seeking a set of values to guide it, what better set of values than those of its creator?”
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