Global Debt Cancellation, not Reduction and not Suspension

This petition supports the argument presented by 2019 Nobel Laureate and current Prime Minister of Ethiopia, Dr. Abiy Ahmed

In a New York Times op ed on 4/30/2020 the Prime Minister stated: “Most of our countries managed to borrow funds on the back of solid economic performance and highly promising and evidence-based development programs and trajectories. Nobody foresaw this promise being derailed by a once-in-a-century event such as the coronavirus pandemic”.

https://www.nytimes.com/2020/04/30/opinion/coronavirus-debt-africa.html

The argument presented by the Prime Minister highlights a common practice. In the United States and many other donor countries companies are allowed to declare bankruptcy for businesses they established for incidents less than a once-in-a century event. It is, therefore, reasonable to assume that donor countries and lending banks understand why nations that borrowed money in good faith cannot pay their debts because they were struck by a once-in-a century event, a global pandemic, COVID-19.

The Prime Minster continued his argument to highlight that the borrowers and the lenders have a common enemy, COVID-19. He also assured lenders that the borrowers were victims and that they were not defaulting out of bad policies and mismanagement of funds but because of the unexpected scourge of COVID-19 that derailed developments globally. His request is similar to the income protection schemes federal governments passed following massive layoffs in their respective countries.

This petition asks all donor governments and international banks for cancellation of all debts because the borrowers secured those loans in good faith but suffered the same devastating consequences as their lenders because of COVID-19. Removing the pandemic from every country must be the priority of all nations. It is not possible to pay debts when people cannot work and no country will be safe if the pandemic lingers anywhere in the world. Prime Minister Ahmed asked, “Do we continue to pay toward debt or redirect resources to save lives and livelihoods, and added, “Lives lost during the pandemic cannot be recovered…”

President Thomas Jefferson in 1802, said: ”I believe that banking institutions are more dangerous to our liberties than standing armies. If the American people ever allow private banks to control the issue of their currency, first by inflation, then by deflation, the banks and corporations that will grow up around the banks will deprive the people of all property until their children wake-up homeless on the continent their fathers conquered." This statement was made 200 years ago by a President who knew the excruciating pain of debt and is repeated today by a Prime Minister who reminds lenders to do the right thing and save lives.

Enku Kebede-Francis, Neil H. Francis and Arez Aran
Massachusetts, USA