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.

Archbishop Ndungane, a long-time proponent of debt relief and the original author of a proposal to introduce international supervision of foreign debt by a coalition of all parties involved, also welcomed the World Bank's recent initiatives in respect of the foreign debt of Mozambique.

Speaking at a conference on "Ethics and Values: A global perspective", Archbishop Ndungane reminded delegates that he had called for the establishment of an International Mediation Council earlier this year to ease the debt burden of developing countries, and to monitor the utilisation of new loans.

He said the World Bank's announcement of the alleviation of Mozambique's foreign debt was promising, but said a need existed for all debts owed by developing countries - which did not have the capacity to repay such debts - to be declared odious.

"This would enable developing countries to start afresh, and for them to contribute meaningfully to global programmes to promote the sustainability of the environment." he said.

Archbishop Ndungane called for a new partnership between the developed and the developing world, as each was dependent on the other. A paradigm shift was needed in relations between countries in the global village which the world had become.

This involved a commitment to all to be prepared to replenish the earth's depleted resources. "Humankind was called to be fruitful and to multiply. Science has helped us do that", he said.

"But humankind was also called to do something it had not yet done, replenish the earth.

"We have entered an age in which we must be willing to pay the price of replenishing the earth by changing our values, our lifestyles, our political and economic lifestyles," he said.

Archbishop Ndungane also called for a new brand of 'science and technology' if the world was to be sustained. In turn, these had to be governed by a fresh brand of economics and politics.

He warned that humanity would have to be careful about the manner in which it used its resources in the future. Society had to move fast to ensure that the ecosystems of the world were well-protected.

Referring to the plans for cross border natural reserves, the Archbishop - often dubbed "the green Archbishop" by some commentators - said it was fascinating to see such development occurring in southern Africa.

"The creation of these reserves recognise that animals and plants that find their homes there do not recognise human-made political boundaries. Governments have co-operated to create one sanctuary, political boundaries notwithstanding, to ensure that wildlife, in all its forms, survives," he said.

"If that was possible, then it should also be conceivable that steps could be taken along similar lines for the benefit of the human species.

"It is our responsibility to ensure that developments in the fields of science and technology are used for the greater good of humanity. We are all co-responsible for the wellbeing of our planet," Archbishop Ndungane said.

This implied ensuring that development was of such a nature that people benefited by having access to basic necessities, such as the supply of purified water.

Archbishop Ndungane pointed out that poor countries, many labouring under the burden of foreign debt, had no chance of developing adequately unless rich countries reduce the huge proportion they contribute to the total impact.

He said a just world, needed to sustain the planet, required a total restructuring of the international economic order.

He added:"The world cannot live without technology. The developing world requires access to technology and capital. It requires the expertise of those who are able to contribute to capacity building."

All this had to be done in an atmosphere of mutual trust and of equal partnerships in which each party was accountable, and productivity for the good of the environment was the defining factor, he said.

On Military hardware

The Archbishop also spoke out the South African Government's proposed purchase of military hardware, worth R12 billion, at the conference. The Primate said that the proposed purchase was unacceptable and could be better spent for a country not at war. One conservative estimate is that the South African government could build 1.2 million basic low-cost homes for those who are at present homeless, he said.

Dealing with the need to preserve and promote the quality of life, the Archbishop said humankind, created in the image of God, had a moral function "to ensure our world is ordered so that there is a coordination of the social condition for the common good of all."

He warned that anything that tarnished creation, "whether it be the blight of pollution or the spectre of poverty", dishonoured creation.

He added: "Countries say they reject violence and war, yet billions of dollars continue to be spent on arming themselves."

South Africa had emerged from "the baptism of fire" of apartheid, and still faced the legacy of a shortage of housing, unemployment, education, health, a high rate of crime and the need to address the issue of the environment, he said

In spite of this, government saw fit to call for tenders worth R12-billion in order to replenish and modernise its armed forces.

"What aggravates the situation is a (further) announcement that the South African government will only start paying for these arms four years after it has placed its order.

"Conveniently, this will be after the next general election, so no unwelcome preelection taxes will have to be raised.

"More seriously, our people will be even more indebted than they already are as a result of the borrowings of the previous regime. Such actions are not in keeping with an harmonious global village," he said.

Archbishop Ndungane said all involved in such actions, including foreign governments, needed to be censured and dissuaded from participating in such deals.

The time had come for a mechanism to be found whereby governments could be prevented from pursuing objectives that were only in their own interests, and not in the interests of their citizens, or of human dignity and rights, he said

Violence and war had to be rejected in this context, particularly when there was no threat to a nation, such as in South Africa. Human interests should dominate national interests if the common good of human good was to be perpetuated in the century ahead.