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29/01/2010
Committee Says Scrap Haiti Debt
The Oireachtas Foreign Affairs Committee has said Haiti’s $800 Million International Debt must be written off.
In a statement issued yesterday, that Committee insisted all outstanding loans owed by the crippled country of Haiti must be cancelled and any money lent to the country to aid its reconstruction must be in the form of grants rather than the typical high interest loans.
The Committee met with representatives from some of the Irish aid agencies currently operating in Haiti and were given a briefing on the current situation.
A spokesman said that one of the key aspects to emerge at the meeting was the need to sustain support for Haiti in the long term and assist with its future redevelopment and not only with immediate humanitarian needs.
The Committee said that one significant contribution to this would be to cancel its outstanding debt.
Committee Chairman, Dr Michael Woods said: “The Committee unanimously endorses the call for all Haiti’s international debt to be written off immediately and ensure that any disaster relief assistance is provided in the form of grants rather than loans.
In June 2009, Haiti secured $1.2 billion debt cancellation from its major creditors when it reached completion point in the Heavily Indebted Poor Countries Initiative, however the country is still burdened with a debt of €800 million.
More than half of the debt is owed to the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the Inter American Development Bank (IDB). Haiti is obliged to pay at least $100 million in debt payments over the next five years unless this debt is cancelled.
The Committee also commended the Irish people for their overwhelming generosity in contributing to the disaster relief fund.”
(DW/BMcC)
In a statement issued yesterday, that Committee insisted all outstanding loans owed by the crippled country of Haiti must be cancelled and any money lent to the country to aid its reconstruction must be in the form of grants rather than the typical high interest loans.
The Committee met with representatives from some of the Irish aid agencies currently operating in Haiti and were given a briefing on the current situation.
A spokesman said that one of the key aspects to emerge at the meeting was the need to sustain support for Haiti in the long term and assist with its future redevelopment and not only with immediate humanitarian needs.
The Committee said that one significant contribution to this would be to cancel its outstanding debt.
Committee Chairman, Dr Michael Woods said: “The Committee unanimously endorses the call for all Haiti’s international debt to be written off immediately and ensure that any disaster relief assistance is provided in the form of grants rather than loans.
In June 2009, Haiti secured $1.2 billion debt cancellation from its major creditors when it reached completion point in the Heavily Indebted Poor Countries Initiative, however the country is still burdened with a debt of €800 million.
More than half of the debt is owed to the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the Inter American Development Bank (IDB). Haiti is obliged to pay at least $100 million in debt payments over the next five years unless this debt is cancelled.
The Committee also commended the Irish people for their overwhelming generosity in contributing to the disaster relief fund.”
(DW/BMcC)
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