Campaigners call for debt audit

Press Release, 3 March 2011

A number of prominent Irish academics, writers and activists have backed a campaign to audit Greece’s public debt, amid suggestions that such an audit might also be required in Ireland.  Greek campaigners are calling for an independent and international Audit Commission to find out why the debt was incurred and the uses to which borrowed funds were put.  There is a widespread belief that much Greek debt was used for wasteful or corrupt purposes and that the cost of repayment should not be borne by the Greek people.   Among the Irish figures supporting the Greek debt audit campaign are writer Fintan O’Toole and former UN assistant secretary general Denis Halliday.  International supporters of the campaign include renowned linguistics professor and writer Noam Chomsky and filmmaker Ken Loach. Continue reading “Campaigners call for debt audit”

Haiti’s debt burden – the real story

Published by the European Network on Debt and Development, 4 February 2010

Despite much talk and announcements of debt relief for Haiti in the aftermath of the dramatic earthquake that hit the country last month, Eurodad’s new analysis, ‘’Haiti’s debt burden- the real story’’ by Murat Kotan, reveals that the country is still expected to pay back as much as $1.2 billion to the International Financial Institutions. Even before the earthquake, Haiti – with more than three quarters of its population living on less than 2$ a day – was expected to use almost one tenth of its revenue to pay back debts to the International Financial Institutions. With declining revenue and increasing debts, Haiti’s debt repayments will most likely swell well above one tenth of its revenues. If new debt relief is not delivered soon, prospects for recovery in Haiti will be dire. Continue reading “Haiti’s debt burden – the real story”