Voices From The Global South: Vitalice Meja on Debt Releif (Jubilee USA Network)
Nov 10th, 2009 by dchang85
This video asks the question why the job of the US Treasury Secretary is important for the world. It goes on to talk about the importance of expanding debt concessions. This is especially important given the large role that the US and the international financial institutions such as the World Bank and IMF play.
The video highlights the important power that the US treasury has, in that it has the ability to veto a vote and make reforms in institutions, which form policies
The video argues that the governance and management of these international institutions should address policy concerns that are harmful to economic development as well as expanding debt consolidation to many African countries that are heavily indebt and impacted. Furthermore, debt is often used by corrupt leaders to finance operations that oppress the poor.
The video argues that these international institutions need to address development needs. The video says that debts need to be repaid, however the model of paying debts should be closely related to what the US is going through in regards to the credit crunch.
This video is important as it highlights the importance of “North-South relations for understanding development” as development geography is “…mapped onto the global South to the exclusion of Northern societies” (Lawson, 2007, 3). The need to rethink development and debt relief in particular is reinforced by Bono’s view in regards to debt relief. Bono argues that Debt should be cancelled to give the African countries a fresh start. However, the bureaucracy and Red Tape that goes on in Congress inhibits the debt relief. These videos also highlight the concept of Big D and little d development. Little d development is considered the first step as little d development refers to “unscripted shifts in economies and societies of landscapes of investment, production, consumption patterns, global flows of debt payment, the emergence of political alliances among workers, feminist, environmentalists, indigenous people, transnational migrations and the like” (Lawson, 2007, 6). Cancelling the debt in these African countries, little d development, would allow big D development (development policies such as building infrastructure) to occur.
The video also highlights the “continued dominance of western ways of knowing” (Can the Subaltern Speak 110). Rather than questioning the role of the US, and other Western countries, by allowing the subaltern, such as ordinary Africans express themselves, these videos highlight the continued focus that the Western nations such as US and the international financial institutions that they control, such as the World Bank and IMF have on many countries in global south such as Kenya, Africa. There is a common acknowledgement for the need of the US to adjust their policies to allow Africa to thrive rather than focusing on how development is “situated knowledge” (Can the Subaltern Speak, 116). These videos highlight that although the subaltern, is speaking, there is an insistence for him to remain in the centre, and interpreted through the Western power grid rather than focus on alternative models in regards to development that does not involve the continued dominance of the West such as the
3 Responses to “Voices From The Global South: Vitalice Meja on Debt Releif (Jubilee USA Network)”
I think that it’s interesting to compare Africa’s debt to the U.S. with a comparison to the credit crunch. The difficulty of paying off a loan to another country almost seems eerily identical to that of a credit card bill. The interest quickly has you paying much more money than you originally owed. It would be interesting to see what these loans entailed as well as the stipulations attached to them. It’s likely that much more money was made off of the requirements of the loan as well but in an abstract and hard to calculate sense. I’d have a hard time imagining the U.S. will let these countries off the hook for their loans. Good will with no strings attached doesn’t seem to exist in our form of late capitalism. It is also very hard to encourage a country to excuse debt when that country owes China over 500 trillion dollars.
… and by “trillion” i meant “billion”…
I think it’s funny that the first video is titled “Voices from the Global South”. It absolutely does not give voice to any non-western points of view! Sure, the man speaking is African but he is pretty much saying the same thing any American Newscaster would say. It would be interesting to hear what an average joe (or jane) in a heavily in-debt country would have to say about the US relieving the country of all its debt.
About the issue of debt forgiveness I believe it would help countries immensely to start putting money into more immediate Big D development programs and institutions. There would have to be strict requirements for the forgiven countries to put that money into approved areas etc., but it would be a huge start towards improving the lives of everyday people in those countries.
I really agree with what Bono says in that the real problem behind this and similar issues today is Bureaucracy and Red Tape. It’s so frustrating that there is so much suffering around the world and so much potential for improvement and what’s in the way is not the will but the technicalities.