Anglican Communion News Service

A meeting of the International Monetary Fund in Washington was told this week that a framework should be designed for a global security network aimed at improving the quality of life of the world's people.

Making the call was the Anglican Archbishop of Cape Town, the Most Revd Njongonkulu Ndungane, who told a conference on economic policy and equity that any policies aimed at achieving equity should recognise the interdependence of countries.

Archbishop Ndungane, internationally known for his outspoken campaign for the eradication of poverty and for international debt relief, pointed out that this interdependence was reflected in the various international conventions and instruments that had been designed to regulate people's lives.

"It is imperative that conditions are created in the world in which every
person has access to the basic necessities for human living, such as shelter, clothing, food, health care, education and clean water. This is quite possible. We possess the resources and technology. All that is required is the political will and economic commitment," he said.

Archbishop Ndungane said that he was aware that there are those "wedded to the economics of developed world" who that would argue that the answer is to leave matters to market forces alone.

"Market forces have their place, as we have seen in countries like Uganda and Botswana, but even here they are allowed to run in harmony with the norms and values of the culture of the society in which they operate," he said.

But he added that market forces were as likely to practise unacceptable forms of social engineering, because of their very commitment to promoting the wellbeing of those who already have plenty, as the most despicable political policy or ruling despot.
Archbishop Ndungane said that agreements that govern lending and borrowing money are needed for a new global security network to succeed.

"These will ensure that the relationship developed in such deals between countries is government by a fair set of principles, mutually applicable to all the parties concerned. The adoption of such principles would lead to greater security in our world. For it is predicated on the belief that governments, in the interests of their people, commit themselves to the moral imperative of ensuring the preservation of their environment, in the fullest sense of that word. The UNDP has told us that poverty is no longer inevitable.

"The opportunity now lies within our grasp, as responsible people committed to the continued existence of creation, to roll back the bleak years in which we have seen poverty reproduce itself and begin to put resources in the hands of men and women, boys and girls, to make them proud citizens of the 21st century," he said.

He added:"Now, more than ever, is the need for a global framework for economic and social action that will promote economic actions by many developing countries. This is a view held by many in the developed world as well.

Recent activity by the UN, the World Bank, the IMF and the World Trade Organisation, all hint at the hope that fair economic competition and minimum social standards are attainable. Supranational institutions have to play an integral part, together with nation states, to ensure that regulatory competencies are enforced and work for the benefit of all."
Turning to the issue of debt cancellation, Archbishop Ndungane said the cancellation of the debt of developing countries would enable countries to start again with a clean financial slate, as well as a fresh understanding of the implications of what it means to be accountable in the world's economy.

The 20th century had seen the end of inhumanities, such as the after-effects of slavery, fascism, apartheid and, to a great extent, despotic and corrupt rulers in Africa like Amin and Mobuto. "We need to guard against the re-emergence of such political practices that impact on the world's economy.

As those charged with the responsibility of being stewards of the word's economic relations, we should therefore be ever vigilant that the political colonialism of the past is not replaced by an economic colonialism," he said.

Debt cancellation could not occur in isolation, however. Debt forgiveness must be accompanied by committed economic and socio-political reform, as we have seen in countries like Mozambique, Namibia, and Uganda. A model was also required for taking international responsibility, involving all the players.