A strong call has been made on international financial institutions to declare foreign debts owed by developing countries odious. The call was made in Washington, USA this week at a conference associated with the World Bank, by the Anglican Archbishop of Cape Town, the Most Revd Njongonkulu Ndungane.
21 October 1997
Archbishop Desmond Tutu, has warned that Churches must not be the "lap-dog" of the state. Former Anglican Archbishop of Cape Town and now chairman of South Africa's Truth and Reconciliation Commission, Desmond Tutu said that Churches must always reserve the right to be "in critical solidarity" with the state.
21 October 1997
A Sudanese Anglican priest who has just been elected to one of Africa's most influential Church posts has lamented the fact that most people around the world do not even know their own human rights. Canon Clement Janda, who was elected this week as the new General Secretary of the All Africa Conference of Churches, told journalists that teaching human rights has been one of his main tasks as director of the Mindolo Ecumenical Foundation in Zambia.
21 October 1997
The Anglican Archbishop of Cape Town, the Most Revd Njongonkulu Ndungane, has expressed his delight that the World Bank is to take steps that could see up to 80% of Mozambique's debt being written off.
21 October 1997
Changes in weather cycles have had a devastating effect on Africa's abilities to feed itself. Drought conditions that normally recur every five to ten years in Tanzania have recently occurred every three years. The government in Ethiopia says 4.6 million people need relief assistance. The lack of rain in Mauritania again this year is expected to result in widespread crop losses. Action by Churches Together (ACT) is appealing for help with its efforts to feed the hungry.
21 October 1997
Bishops of the Anglican Church in Southern Africa have called into question the practice of countries arming themselves to achieve military might and trade in machines of war, violence and conflict.
26 September 1997
The central committee of the World Council of Churches (WCC) has urged WCC member churches, particularly those with direct links with the Sudan, "to continue and intensify their efforts to encourage and support the unified peace initiatives" by Church organisations in the north and south which are seeking to bring peace to the beleaguered African country.
23 September 1997
The Anglican Church in Southern Africa is to commemorate the coming of the new Millennium with a number of pilgrimages.
23 September 1997
The Church of the Province of Southern Africa (CPSA) is planning to expand its work on the sub-continent by establishing a new diocese in war-torn Angola by the turn of the century.
23 September 1997
What follows is a statement by the Primate of Southern Africa, the Most Revd Njongonkulu Ndungane, regarding Mozambique and the highly indebted poor country initiative - issued in support of representations to be made to the IMF and World Bank during meetings next week.
05 September 1997