Mozambique bishop seeks debt forgiveness

Christian Century, April 12, 2000

The head of Mozambique's primary ecumenical organization has called on the rich nations of the world to cancel the debts the flood-ravaged country owes other countries. "The economic situation of Mozambique was precarious before the flooding," said Methodist Bishop Bernardino Mandlate, president of the Christian Council of Mozambique. "Now the economic situation has gone from precarious to catastrophic."

The month of flooding has claimed a minimum of 500 lives, according to government officials, and some 500,000 people have been displaced from their homes. Aid agencies said they expect the death toll to rise as more bodies are found and as a result of disease because of the flooding.

Christian Aid, a London-based relief organization, said Mozambique pays $1.46 million a week to service its foreign debt. It is already one of the countries targeted by the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank for debt relief that would cancel 90 percent of its external debt. A number of countries, including Germany and Finland, have announced they will cancel the bilateral debt owed by Mozambique.

Mandlate noted that while there has been economic growth in recent years in Mozambique, most of the people have not benefited from it. "Nearly 70 percent of the Mozambicans live in the countryside, and it is the life of these people which has been worst affected by the flooding," the bishop said. "With the harvest gone, these people have lost their livelihood." He said that while the flood was indeed a disaster, the "disaster" of the debt has been occurring for years. "I make no apology for discussing debt at this time," he added. "It is a disaster that children under five are dying because of the lack of health care, sacrificed because of the need to pay back old loans."