Benson Kathuri
16 June 2005
Nairobi — The Government has expressed disappointment over failure by rich nations to cancel Kenya's external debt.
Planning and National Development minister Anyang' Nyong'o said it was unfair for the G8 countries to forgive debts to the Highly Indebted Poor Countries (HIPC) and leave others under a heavy servicing burden.
"I am very disappointed by the finance ministers of the G8 who are reported to have decided to cancel the debts of HIPC in Africa, while leaving the burden of debt repayment to other countries," he said.
Uganda and Tanzania are among the countries that have benefited from the World Bank/IMF led HIPC initiative.
But Kenya does not qualify though it has a huge external debt portfolio.
Speaking at Carnivore restaurant in Nairobi during a party to celebrate UAP Insurance ISO 9001 certification, Nyong'o said "poverty threat was now more dangerous than terrorism." Nyong'o asked insurance companies to build more confidence in the economy that grew by 4.3 per cent last year.
"You must regard the insurance industry as growing when the economy of Kenya is growing," he said.
UAP chairman Joe Wanjui praised the company for being the first insurance company in East African to attain the coveted ISO 9001certification.
The minister said the debt burden was a drain to scarce resources used to fight poverty in Africa.
"The biggest threat to global peace and security was poverty and not terrorism, since terrorism needs the environment of poverty and relative deprivation to survive," he said.
Kenya is currently servicing an Sh400 billion external debt mostly owed to multilateral lenders like the World Bank and bilateral partners led by UK, Germany, France and Japan.
"The US and the UK governments have already shown the world that they are capable of mobilizing coalitions of the willing against threats to world peace when necessary," he said.
"A coalition of the willing against poverty as a threat to global peace is long overdue and I hope it will be born at the G8 meeting in Gleneagles in Scotland early next month," the minister said.
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