Africa: G7 is all talk and no action on debt

"The G7 has just announced debt reductions of ‘up to 100’ to be negotiated on a 'case by case' basis. Up to 100%" means nothing at all, since any percentage of reduction falls necessarily below 100%. The decision to treat countries 'case by case' will inevitably lead to conditionalities aimed at reducing the effect of whatever reduction is finally conceded. This is unacceptable. Nothing has been done to initiate any real cancellation; no such plan has been drawn up. It is as though the rich countries had tried to agree on a few well-chosen phrases that would commit them to as little as possible. It would be far better if they began by explaining why previous commitments were not kept," write Damien Millet and Eric Toussaint, co-authors of 'Who Owes Who? 50 questions on World debt' (Zedbooks) in this Focus on the Global South Article.