Will you stand with me and call on the new government to commit to a debt justice law?
Dear Prime Minister Keir Starmer,
Welcome to your new role in office.
Right now, my country – Ghana - is facing the devastating impacts of the debt crisis. For over 18 months we have been waiting for a debt cancellation deal to be finalised while private lenders have stalled.
The suffering in my country is so plain to see. More and more people are living on the streets, with many Ghanaians barely getting two meals a day.
Public services are in crisis – pupils aren’t getting exercise books and some schools don’t even have chairs or desks for the children. Food prices have sky-rocketed and in hospitals, patients are asked to pay for medication that is meant to be free.
Many Ghanaians have taken to the streets to protest or have gone on strike, demanding the higher wages they so desperately need.
The UK government could help to end the crisis for countries like Ghana, because 90% of the debts owed by lower-income countries to banks, hedge funds and oil traders are overseen by UK law. The government could pass a new law that would make the debt relief process faster and fairer.
Labour’s election manifesto committed to ‘tackling unsustainable debt’ in countries like mine. Now that you are in power, will you commit to a new debt justice law to get debt cancelled in lower-income countries in your first 100 days?
Yours,
Bernard Anaba, Ghanaian debt campaigner
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