Breaking the Chains of Debt in Africa: Finding Freedom Through Jubilee
International debt has become a new form of slavery and impoverishment for millions of people in Africa. Many governments of sub-Saharan Africa spend more on debt repayment than they spend on health care and education.
Poor people have also been burdened by the economic requirements placed on their governments by international lending institutions.
• Zambia spent more than 25 percent of its national budget last year to service its debt. This is a country where the impact of HIV/AIDS has reduced life expectancy to 40 years and where one out of five children will not live to see their fifth birthday.
• Niger also spent more than 25 percent of its revenue on debt last year. This is a country with 86 percent of its population unable to read or write. (Oxfam International, “Debt Relief: Still Failing the Poor,” April 2001)
Even though a few African countries have received some debt relief none have received entire debt cancellation. After receiving partial debt relief these countries are still spending more to service their debts than they are spending on basic education or health.
Becoming Jubilee people - hearing the scriptural call
Hebrew scripture called for a periodic year of Jubilee in which debts were to be cancelled, those enslaved because of those debts were to be set free, and lands lost because of debt were to be returned to their original owners.
While the Jubilee year was an every-50-year event, Hebrew scripture also called for full release from debt and debt slavery, and rest for the land and community every seventh year, the Sabbath year.
Jesus began his ministry with the Jubilee call to “bring good news to the poor, release of captives, recovery of sight to the blind and to let the oppressed go free.” (Luke 4:18-19) Jesus’ words, a quotation from Isaiah, place the Jubilee principle at the heart of Jesus’ ministry and teachings. Restoration of right relationship is at the heart of the biblical concept of Jubilee.
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