A Fact Finding Report
Speech No. 4 in the Toastmasters "Speaking to Inform"
Manual
Date presented: 9 February, 1999.
The objectives of this speech were:
- To prepare a report
on a situation, event or problem of interest to the audience
- To deliver
sufficient
factual information in the report so the audience could base valid
conclusions or a sound
decision on it.
Time 10 to 12 minutes.
Rich Man, Poor Man
As most of you know, I have been fund raising for World Vision for over 25
years. I know
that the money donated to famine relief and development aid projects has
made a tremendous
difference to many people in Third World countries. But I have become
increasingly aware
that we need to redress the causes of poverty and injustice. I was shocked
to learn that
although Western Governments give grants to Third World countries, they take
back 9 times
as much in debt repayments! And that each person in Sub-Saharan Africa owes
30 times more
than they will earn in a lifetime!
I decided to find out more. I got most of the information from the
Internet,
on the Jubilee
2000 site. Also from World Vision, Tearfund, One World and Community Aid
Abroad. The main
points I decided to research were:
- How did these countries get into debt?
- What effect does it have on us?
- What can be done about it?
First of all, How did they get into debt?
The same way any of us could. They were conned by attractive offers of low
interest rates at
a time when they needed it.
During the 70's, rich countries such as U.S. had a surplus of dollars in
their banks. This
was affecting the economy and they needed to offload it fast. So they
offered low interest
loans to the poorer countries. The fact that those rates would soar once all
the money had
been lent out was conveniently forgotten. It got the rich out of a hole, and
the poor into
one.
By the 1980's the poor countries were finding it impossible to meet
payments
of just the
interest of these loans. Now if you or I were in that position, we would be
declared
bankrupt and allowed to make a fresh start. But the Western banks didn't
want to lose
their money. Then rescue arrived. No, it wasn't superman. The World Bank and
International
Monetary Fund (or IMF) came to rescue - not the poor, but the rich! They
made imposed
drastic economic measures on the poor countries to ensure they could
continue to pay.
These measures are called Structural Adjustment Programmes. - or SAPs. And
they are aptly
named, because they truly sap the poor.
Effect
on poor
SAPs are designed to help a country repay its debts by
earning more hard
currency - by increasing exports and decreasing imports.
While cutting back on unproductive social services like health and
education.
Health
So those who can't afford healthcare simply go without. Infant mortality
rates have risen
alarmingly since these programmes have been introduced, and diseases that
were thought to
be irradicated are making a comeback.
Education
School fees are often more than an average worker can earn. In some
countries, an entire
generation of children is losing the opportunity to get an education or
learn a trade.
Employment
Hard-pressed governments cut back spending and downsize government
departments.
This leads to a rise in unemployment and a cut in wages.
High unemployment means there are fewer taxpayers to contribute to the
public purse.
Trade
Countries that once grew staple crops for their own people, are now forced
to grow cash
crops for export. And because many indebted countries are encouraged to grow
the same crops, this causes a glut on the international market and prices
fall. So the workers get lower wages than ever.
The obligation to meet debt service payments also means that aid from other
countries is
often used to refinance debt payments rather than for improving health care,
education and other social services. The total debt burden also discourages
foreign investment, which is necessary to stimulate growth.
And it's no use us thinking "I'm alright, Jack". Many of the results of
international
debt boomerang back to hurt the rich world as well as the poor.
Effect on us
1. Environmental destruction affects us all.
Farmers are under pressure to produce more crops on small areas of land.
Chemical
fertilizers degrade the soil. Fish stocks are damaged through overfishing.
Forests are
destroyed. Mineral resources are exploited and water supplies poisoned by
toxic waste.
2. Lost Jobs and markets Because so many countries are
forced to export
similar products, the prices have plummeted. Our country also loses out
because cheaper
products from the Third World compete with our own. At the same time, we are
not able to
export our products to Third World countries because they have no money to
buy them. So
Australian jobs are lost and unemployment rises.
3. Illegal Drugs. If a poor country can't get a fair price
for it's legal
exports, it is likely to turn to the drugs trade to earn foreign currency
and to survive.
This contributes to social breakdown and violent crime worldwide.
4. Taxation. Commercial banks suffer very little from these
debts. Most are
able to avoid substantial tax costs by writing down the unpaid debts as
losses. This is made good in part by you, the taxpayer. Yet the debt still
remains and the debtor country has to continue paying for it.
5. Immigration Growing poverty is linked with migration as
people seek
to find a better way of life. This can increase the spread of social
problems and
communicable diseases.
6. Conflict and war As countries become poorer, one route
that people
can take is protest and violence. As this escalates, it can lead to war- and
does in many
countries of the Third World.
So What can be done about the problem?
An international movement in over 40 countries is advocating a debt-free
start to the
Millennium for a billion people. This movement is called Jubilee 2000
Jubilee 2000 derives its name from the "year of Jubilee" that the people
of Israel were
Old Testament times. Slaves and the indebted were to be freed every 50 years
and allowed to
make a fresh start.
The Jubilee 2000 movement is calling for:
a one-off cancellation of the unpayable debts
of the world's poorest countries
by the year 2000,
under a fair and transparent process.
The phrasing is important:
a one-off cancellation -
the cancellation will be once and
only once, to avoid
encouraging complacency in the governments of poor countries and
discouraging loans by
credit agencies.
by the year 2000 -
this would start the new millennium with a
clean slate.
of the backlog of unpayable debt -
It does not advocate a
blanket
cancellation of the debt. It has worked out in detail with highly trained
economists the
specific portion of the debt that is "unpayable".
Under an independent transparent procedure -
The overseeing
of the process
should not be left to the IMF and the World Bank who are the main creditors.
It should be
overseen by an independent agency.
The Jubilee 2000 Campaign promotes the responsibility of both creditors
and debtors and
searches for ways to prevent the accumulation of such high levels of debt
again.
So what can we as individuals do?
There are many ways to get involved in the movement. You can find out
more from the
Jubilee 2000
Campaign.
But you can begin
by signing this petition calling for
leaders of
lending nations to write off these debts by the year 2000. And you can take
a copy of the
petition for your friends to sign it too.
We stand at the threshold of a new millennium. What better way to
celebrate it than
to give crippled nations an opportunity to get off their knees and walk
again!
COMMENTS
This speech went over really well, although I would have liked more
time to prepare
and rehearse it. I used a lot of visual aids which made it more interesting
and easier for
me to keep on track. But was it a really a success? Not many people signed
the petition!
MAMALADE
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