have been at great pains to paint themselves as the champions of the the run up to the G8 summit in Bob Geldof's very public intervention in recent weeks has suggested that all is not as it seems and his call for people to not only participate in the Make Poverty history demonstration on July 2 but to participate in the protest on July 6 at the summit itself is clearly welcome. Terry Conway looks at the real record of the British government in aid, debt relief and The political framework for these discussions lies in fact that New Labour is one of the strongest promoters of economic liberalisation includand privatisaulous (and ecologically damaging) infrastructure projects as supposedly the road out of poverty and underdevelopment.
The UK's Department for International Development (DFID) has invested heavily in international privatisation
and created programme. financing programmes and new bodies to push forward these policies.
In addition, it has channelled huge amounts of money to multinational corporations like Price Waterhouse Coopers and KPMG who are central to this process. The consultancy arm of the Thatcherite Adam Smith Institute has received over £34 million from the aid budget over the last six years (see story on Tanzania):
As a result of pressure from campaigners DFID was forced to accept in March 2005 Inal It was wrong LO make "trade liberalisation and privatisation of key utilities and public services a condition of poor countries receiving UK aid".
At the same time, receipt of aid and of debt relief is tied to the governments following an economic model that deepens poverty - at least for the overwhelming majority of their citizens. Debt and aid are used as instruments of political control.
This is not what usually gets the headlines in the press but it is the stark reality malaction G ACTNOW No. Bli 15