APRN discusses debt, poverty alleviation<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): At least 120 delegates of 80 organizations from
\n22 countries are taking part in the second annual meeting of the
\nAsian Pacific Research Network (APRN), which opened here on
\nMonday.<\/p>\n
The organizing committee said APRN, a network of some 23
\nactive non-governmental organizations from 11 countries in the
\nAsia Pacific, discussed several issues, including debt and
\npoverty alleviation in the meeting.<\/p>\n
The three-day conference was jointly organized by the
\nInternational NGO Forum on Indonesian Development (INFID), the
\nIndonesian Consortium for Nature and Forest Conservation
\n(Konphalindo) and the Ibon Foundation of the Philippines.<\/p>\n
Ibon research director Antonio Tujan Jr. said the results of
\nthe conference would be hammered out in the organization's
\nleadership meeting on Thursday.<\/p>\n
In his keynote speech, Rizal Ramli, the chief of the State
\nLogistics Agency (Bulog), said one way of alleviating poverty in
\nIndonesia was by extending credit to the poorer population,
\nespecially in the rural areas of Java.<\/p>\n
He asserted that extending credit to people in rural areas was
\nless risky than extending credit to big corporations.<\/p>\n
Rizal said that a credit and savings scheme started in the
\nearly 1980s in which rural villagers could borrow money based on
\ntheir credit history rather than collateral proved to be
\nsuccessful.<\/p>\n
"They could borrow, for example, Rp 50,000 or Rp 100,000 in
\nthe beginning. If they were able to return the money on time, the
\namount of their next loan would be increased," he said.<\/p>\n
Rizal said the scheme was better than subsidized credit which
\nhad the potential to be misused and mismanaged.<\/p>\n
Binny Buchori of INFID said alleviating poverty in developing
\ncountries would not be possible unless foreign debts were at
\nleast partly canceled.<\/p>\n
Binny, who is INFID executive secretary, said Indonesia's
\ndevelopment policy, while aimed at fighting poverty, had instead
\nresulted in the burden of more than $140 billion in debt, of
\nwhich some $60 billion was private debt.<\/p>\n
The health and education budget is reduced each year to pay
\ninterest on the debts, she said.<\/p>\n
"How can we provide better basic needs such as health,
\neducational facilities and affordable food when most of the
\nnational budget is used to pay principal and interest?" Binny
\nasked in a speech opening a conference on poverty and development
\nfinancing here.<\/p>\n
Debt cancellations have been rendered impossible under the
\nbelief that Indonesia, along with many other countries falling in
\nthe category of middle-income countries, were rich enough to pay,
\nshe said.<\/p>\n
"Time and time again we hear that 'in no way can your country
\nget debt cancellation because you are rich'," Binny said. (10)<\/p>",
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