Bamako, Mali (PANA) – The Malian antiglobalization Association, the Coalition of African Alternatives on Debts and Development (CAD-Mali), has called on technical and financial partners (TFP) of Mali to turn their loans to the West African country into donations.
CAD-Mali called a press conference Sunday to press home its demand from international partners regarding funds mobilized for Mali at the high Level Donors Conference for Mali held in May 2013 in Brussels, Belgium.
In a statement, CAD-Mali denounced the conditionalities attached to debts received from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and demanded that all the technical and financial partners turn their loans into donations in a bid to enable Mali to effectively boost its economy.
According to the Executive Director of CAD-Mali, Souleymane Dembele, “Conditions attached to these loans violate the sovereignty and the right to the development of the Malian people.”
He said loans disguised under the cloak of gifts are not likely to contribute to the real development of the country, but rather push it into extreme poverty and the continued dependence on donor countries.
In addition, CAD-Mali urges the Malian government to suspend the payback on the foreign debts, to withdraw from the IMF Extended Credit Facility (ECF) and actually involve Malian civil society actors in the planning and monitoring of funds pledged during the donors conference in Brussels.
