G7 backs Africa debt relief plan

[muriel_volestrangler]

Mr Brown said it was a major breakthrough for the international organisations to offer up to 100% multilateral debt relief - "the vast bulk" of money owed by the poorest countries.
...
Some 37 countries could benefit after a case-by-case review by bodies including the World Bank and the IMF, he said.
...
But he said they would insist on government reforms and the need for transparency, tackling corruption and openness from both the poorest and richest nations.
...
Oxfam senior policy adviser Max Lawson welcomed the statement and said G7 ministers had "passed the first hurdle of 2005".

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/4238045.stm

It's a start, I think - no more. The 'government reforms' sound suspicious, though. They could be a get-out clause, or too much interference by the developed countries.

[lazarus]

1. those government reforms

are essentially the rebuilding of the government according to the WHO and World Bank's specifications. In other nations, they've ordered wage cuts, price increases, etc.

It's really a horrible thing.