Archbishop Njongonkulu Ndungane,

Archbishop of Cape Town

Canterbury

Let us proclaim our full humanity - It is a great honour for me to have the privilege of leading the work of Section One of our conference - Called to Full Humanity. I have come from Cape Town, the most beautiful city in the world - and I will tolerate no argument about that - at the southernmost tip of the continent of Africa.

Our continent is experiencing a new awakening in which its people are determined to take their destiny into their own hands. I come to this conference as a Church leader whose jurisdiction covers countries like South Africa, Mozambique, Lesotho, Swaziland, Namibia, Angola and the Island of St. Helena.

The crisis of International Debt

All of the countries of my Jurisdiction are affected and damaged by the crisis of international debt. It is a crisis that has become of the first magnitude in the world. We here at the Lambeth Conference have a unique opportunity to address this crisis. I want to assert from the start, that this is not a financial crisis confined to Africa or Latin America. Countries that were until recently described as economic tigers, today find themselves toothless in the face of their own rising indebtedness. As we meet here in the peaceful surroundings of Canterbury, we should turn our minds to the struggling peoples of Indonesia, Thailand and South Korea. All are trying, and many are failing, to cope with the catastrophic consequences of reckless lending and borrowing and their nations' rising international debt. Severe indebtedness and turbulence in emerging markets are de-stabilising the economies of Russia and Brazil --- and impoverishing their people too.

The United States, the world's most powerful economy, itself has a very high level of international debt - of $1.3 trillion. This is twice as much as the US owed in 1994, and nearly triple the 1989 value. Although this debt does not pose a threat to human life in the US, as it does in the poorest countries, it is causing concern in international financial circles.

So let us be clear. The crisis of international debt that we are debating here today is not just a matter for the poorest countries. Nor is it a matter that only affects sovereign governments. It affects all of us everywhere, all of us who have become too dependent on credit cards. It affects those of us who struggle to repay loans to pay for the very roof over our heads. And those of us who live in fear of losing our jobs, and therefore our ability to repay our debts. Those of us in hock to the loan-sharks that prey on our poorest communities. We all live in the grip of an economy which encourages over-lending and over-borrowing. An economy which drives us relentlessly into debt. But the poorest, those with very little income to depend on, are not just in the grip of this economy. They are enslaved by it. They live in bondage to their creditors.

Our International Economy is broken, is not working

It is therefore opportune, that at this moment when the crisis of heavy indebtedness threatens to engulf not just the poorest countries, but also South East Asia, that we, a global communion of Anglicans, have gathered together in one place. We have an opportunity to address the issues faced by our broken world, to declare that our international economy is not working. To assert that it is not working because the global economy is not allowing God's people to achieve full humanity.

Jubilee and release from debt

And to proclaim that the only economy that will work is one based on the beautiful vision of humanity which God in Jesus Christ came down to show us. It's a vision of love and grace, of compassion and equality. It's a vision, as the Archbishop of Canterbury reminded us, of the possibility of transformation and renewal. It's the vision of Jubilee, of the year of the Lord's favour, in which Jesus brings "good news to the poor". In which he proclaims "release to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind" and lets "the oppressed go free". It's a vision that releases the poor from the prison of indebtedness and dependent poverty. It's a vision where God's people have all that is necessary to live a human life - food, clothes, shelter, good health, and a chance to expand their opportunities through education.

But it's not just a vision for the poor. It's a vision for the rich too. It is a Jubilee for the powerful, who need a new vision of the proper use of riches, and the true value of all people. Through this vision we are called to our full humanity.

So let us rejoice in this gathering, and in the unique opportunity given to our Church, to proclaim our full humanity.

The Church can make the poor present

Let us remember above all that we are here to give a presence and a voice to the poor. The Church can make the poor present, can bring the voice of the poor into the room, can make the poor consequential. We are perhaps the only global, national and local institution that will give a presence and a voice to the poor, will defend the poor, will fight for the poor.

I have recently chaired the National Poverty hearings in South Africa - an initiative of the South African NG0s, the Human Rights Commission and the Commission on Gender Equality. We heard up to 16 oral submissions each day of hearings over several weeks.

During these hearings I came into contact in real terms with the many faces of poverty. For poverty is not just about low incomes; it is about loss of dignity, being treated as nothing, lack of access to basic needs - the faces of poverty can be found in women, children, the elderly and people with disability.

Listening to peoples' stones of survival amidst squalor and deprivation gave me a sense of the resilience of the human spirit.

Like the boy aged 12 who looked after his brother of 7. They had no home and nothing to eat. They used dogs to sniff out food on a rubbish dump. And the older boy always made sure that his young brother had enough to eat before helping himself. One day they were found by a woman, who took them home, scrubbed them clean, gave them food and took them to a shelter.

A modern version of the Good Samaritan. The young boy was like many others we heard. They spoke with the same voice: "We do not want hand-outs. We do not want charity. We have brains. We have hands - give us the skills. Give us the resources - give us the capacity to work out our own existence in order that we may have a fully human life. "

Money has more powerful rights than human rights

We live in a world in which it is not fashionable to speak of, or for, the poor. Political par-ties are proud to proclaim that they speak for business, enterprise and the free market; but embarrassed to speak of fairness, equity and Justice for the poor. We live in a world where the human family has become increasingly divided - between the very few - those 20% who take for themselves 83% of the world's income, and the many who receive so little of the world's income. We live in a world in which money and riches are worshipped. A world in which money has more powerful rights than human rights. In a world governed and dominated by Mammon. Only amongst the faith communities does there seem to be any will to challenge Mammon. Only in our churches, our synagogues, our mosques and our temples does it seem possible to envision a different world and a different economy.

The Church in all parts of the world, can make the poor present. I refer here not only to the Church in Africa, or Latin America, or South Asia; but also to the Church in America, in Canada and in Australia. For the world's broken economy is there too. The poor are there too. In the US, in I965, the average worker earned about 57 per hour. Her boss, the Chief Executive, earned about $330 per hour. Today the average US worker earns about $7.40 per hour, while her boss, the average Chief Executive earns $1,566 per hour - 212 time more!

The Trickle-Up Effect

This is the opposite of trickle-down. This is the effect that defies gravity. It's the trickle-up effect. It's the transfer of wealth from the poor to the rich. And it's the same effect that lies at the heart of our broken international economy.

As this crisis has deepened, so poor indebted countries are increasingly transferring their tiny wealth to rich countries. They do this by paying interest, and then compound interest, on loans they have sometimes repaid several times over. They do this by using money given for aid and development to pay off debts. For every $1 that rich countries send to developing countries, $11 comes straight back in the form of repayment on debts owed to the richest countries. So wealth is trickling up from the South to the North. Countries of the South find themselves giving away, virtually free, their precious commodities, like coffee, copper, tea and sugar. This is trickle-up, not trickle-down. This is a form of economics that denies us our humanity, rich and poor alike.

Each day the poorest countries transfer $717 million to the richest countries

We are debating this issue today because trickle-up is not working. Because enslaving the poor through debt is unjust. Because each day the poorest countries transfer $717 million, to the richest creditor countries. Because each year Africa transfer $12.5 billion to Western creditors.

Double standards for debtor nations

Because once in debt the poorest nations lose their economic independence, and have to bow to the advice of their Western creditors. Where Japanese farmers enjoy subsidies on their rice production, poor Zambian farmers are denied such support and protection. Where European textile industries are protected from competition, African and Indian textile industries are forced to compete with the richest nations. While South Africa's markets are opened up to the dumping of European beef, South African traders find there are no level playing fields in Europe. These are double standards - and their application is unjust.

Children in debtor nations face unlimited liability

We are debating this issue, because these debts cannot be brought to an end. Because the children of indebted nations do not enjoy the protection of the law, protection of the concept of "limited liability" - so that they are born into debt, and are forced to carry on paying the debts of previous generations. As we were reminded in our Section the other day, when a company like Eurotunnel gets into debt, and effectively becomes bankrupt, the burden of debt does not fall on the children of the managers or the workers. They are protected by the concept of limited liability. But not so for the children of the indebted nations. When Julius Nyerere asks, "shall we starve our children to pay our debts?" - the creditors, led by the IMF, say: "yes, you shall pay your debts before you feed your children. Yes, you shall prioritise repayment of debts over expenditure on health, education, clean water and sanitation. Yes, your children shall face unlimited liability for the debts of their governments."

Philippine labor exported to help pay debts

We heard from our brothers, the bishops of the Philippines, that in their country, the repayment of debt has been written into the law - that 43% of government revenues must be set aside by law, to repay debts, before the government can consider expenditure on other, more productive sectors. They told us of the human cost of this repayment. The human cost is the export of Philippine labour all over the world to earn hard currency to help repay their country's debts. So people of the Philippines can be found all over the world, being exploited as servants, sailors and prostitutes.

The law on debt repayment was, in effect been written by Western creditors. Unlike the creditors of Eurotunnel, these creditors are not governed by a bankruptcy law, or by an independent receiver. They act as plaintiff, judge and jury when it comes to making loans, the repayment on debts owed to them, and the debt relief they might give. It is this unfairness, this imbalance, that lies at the heart of the injustice of international debt.

Odious debts We are debating this issue because we are challenging "odious debts" the loans given to dictators - like Marcos, like Pinochet, like Mobutu, like Suharto. These were loans made by Western governments that are quick to criticize corruption. Western governments that cannot see the mote in their own eye. The repayment of these odious loans and odious debts falls on the shoulders of their people once those corrupt dictators are dead and gone.

We must challenge the corruption at the heart of this lending and borrowing.

A Mediation Council

That is why I am proposing a Mediation Council. We need a strict and neutral arbitration and monitoring process for agreeing debt relief for the poorest countries. Since 1982 and the Mexican crisis, there have been endless re-schedulings of debt; a growing number of Initiatives by creditors - the Houston Terms, the Toronto Terms, the -Pn'nidad Terms, the Naples Terms. Two years ago, creditors took another Initiative - the Heavily Indebted Poor Country (HIPC) Initiative. But these negotiations are dominated by creditors. We need an independent Mediation Council.More fairness. More transparency. More discipline The Mediation Council I propose would function as an international bankruptcy court. Its purpose would be to give countries that can no longer pay their debts, except at great human cost, a fresh start. The Court would call on local elites to explain why loans were taken out, how they were spent, and who benefited. It would call for greater transparency. For Parliaments, both in the developed and developing world to have greater scrutiny both of loan-giving and loan-taking. We would encourage governments to follow the example of Uganda, where no loans are sanctioned without the authority of Parliament.

The Mediation Council would challenge corruption, in both the lending and borrowing. It would take evidence from experts. It would assess the country's capacity to pay. Above all it would seek to protect ordinary citizens of the country - men, women and children - from having to carry the full brunt of the country's debts and losses. Resources for human development - like clean water, sanitation, health provision and education - would have to be allocated before governments could divert funds to unproductive debt service.

Its purpose would be to give countries a fresh start - and by disciplining both debtors and creditors, prevent countries from over-borrowing in the future; and discourage lenders from making reckless loans. It would stop the poorest people of a country falling into a bottomless pit of debt in the future.

What I am saying here is that debt cancellation - far from being an unjustified and wasteful handout - is really an opportunity to return order, stability and discipline into the international financial system of lending and borrowing. It will make creditors think twice about making bad, and odious loans. It will make borrowers think twice about signing contracts for loans they know can only be repaid at a cost to the lives of their people.

The Heavily Indebted Poor Country Initiative (HIPC)

We recognise that the World Bank/IMF Initiative - HIPC the Heavily Indebted Poor Country Initiative - which offers limited debt relief to some of the poorest countries was a historical break-through and a good beginning. But it is not enough. HIPC is a remedy for the lender's problems, for problems faced by the IMF, the World Bank and by OECD governments in getting their debts paid. It's not a remedy for the debtor nations. If you study the formulas it becomes clear that HIPC's present purpose is to make just enough adjustment in the debt burden, for debtor nations to repay their foreign creditors. That suits creditors, not debtors. But that should not surprise us, for it was designed by creditors, not by ally independent body.

HIPC is not really going to be effective. We know, because we have seen how little it has done for a country in my region, Mozambique. Mozambique's debt relief under this scheme, will make virtually no difference to he r ability to reduce the appalling poverty in that country - which is still struggling to recover from the war fought against her people, by the apartheid regime and its allies.

Outright cancellation needed Substantial and permanent debt relief - including outright cancellation is a necessary and early part of the remedy which will enable these countries to thrive.

One consequence of changing the objective is that HIPC will cost the multilateral lenders more. At the moment, the World Bank estimates that, by the time settlements are made, the total cost to all lenders in I996 dollars will be only about $7.4 billion. Compare that to the $12.5 billion being promised to President Yeltsin. Compare that to the $60 billion that was found, almost overnight, to ball-out bankers that had lent foolishly to South Korean private banks and companies. I know that the money for South East Asia is different, because it is new loans, to be repaid at high interest rates. Nevertheless, it is possible for the G8 countries to find such money, where there, is the political will. What is lacking is the political will to find money to ball out the poorest people on earth.

Where we stand determines what we see That is where we in the Anglican Communion, and other faith communities come in. We know that where we stand, determines what we see. In Section One, we have been hearing from each other about the effects of international debt on the poor and impoverished in our countries. What will the Bishops give the world?

Observe, my brothers and sisters, that the world is waiting for a word of hope, of encouragement. The world longs to hear good news for the poor and recovery of sight to the blind, and to be told that now is the year of the Lord's favour. What will the Bishops give them? Bitter, distressing words of conflict over what it means to be human? The world already has more of that than it can bear.

What the bishops can give them is one voice, a voice strong in defence of the poor, bold in contradiction to the rule of money, and full of the love of God.

I invite you, my fellow bishops, to take this matter prayerfully into your own hearts. What is God calling you to say to the Church in your own country - to the members of your Diocese; to the rich and powerful in your country?

In conclusion, the thought I would like to end on is that our primary concern must be for enhancement of the quality of peoples' lives. This can only be done by the mutual will and commitment of all institutions and interests. By developing and developed countries together. And we need to recognise that what we are doing is constructing, not just a global economy, but a world of community.

I have a dream

I have a dream. That we will celebrate the birth of Christ our Lord with a truly Jubilee celebration - by the cancellation of the unbearable debts of the poorest countries. That we will give a billion people a debt-free start. That the Third Millennium will be a new beginning for the Third World.

Help us realise that dream.