Breaking the Chains of Debt in Africa: Finding Freedom Through Jubilee
Life and Debt in Mozambique
Mozambique is one of the poorest countries in the world, where one in five babies dies before reaching one year old, and two in every three people have no access to sanitation. Mozambique first started receiving help with debt service payments in June 1999. Following the devastation of the floods in February 2000, a one-year moratorium was declared by creditors, which is now ending. The benefits so far are clear, but payments for 2001 still amounted to $54 million.
In 2001, health spending in Mozambique has increased by $13.9 million. Half a million children are being vaccinated against tetanus, whooping cough and diphtheria, increasing coverage to 80 per cent in the last 2 years. $10 million is being spent on electrification on rural schools and hospitals, and rehabilitation of infrastructure following the floods. $3.2 million is being used to increase the number of girls attending school, and scores of new primary schools are being built to try and provide education up to eighth grade for each child.
Ocelio Rafael Zivane is principle of Joaquim Chissano secondary school, the only school in the Boane district of 157,000 people. The entire country has only ninety secondary schools. In Boane, 924 pupils rotate in three shifts, morning, afternoon and evening, as there are only six classrooms. This year, thanks to debt relief, he received a fifty per cent rise in his annual budget, taking the total from $12,000 to $18,000.
After funding general repairs, buying classroom materials and equipment, and paying electricity bills, Mr. Zivane used the remainder of the money to start a library for his pupils. “It’s a start,” he says, “It’s still not enough, but it’s something.” The shelves, furniture and indexing are in place, but the books will have to wait for next year’s budget.
Because of a shortage of textbooks, teachers routinely make photocopies of their lessons for pupils. Last year, the copies cost eight cents a copy and there were few who could afford it – but that was before the debt relief windfall. “This year”, says the principal, ” the students can have the copies for free. I’d like to set up better conditions for the students. Our needs are so great.”
In the rural settlement of Mahubo, the first ever school has just been built, using debt relief money. “There’s no sign in front of the school saying ‘This is from debt relief’ but the people know it is built by the government under the poverty-eradication program. And what I know is that my budget is increasing” says Eliado Jossias Mussengue, the district administrator. “We could use at least three more schools like this one.”
For children in the rural Village Seventh of September, the increased education budget has delivered a new teacher, Arlindo Gandar, for their primary school. He has high hopes of debt relief: “We could expand the school, buy some cattle, improve the roads. We would work on the projects ourselves so they wouldn’t cost so much.” His colleague Mr Simbe walks 22 km each day to the school and back, and has the more modest request of a bicycle.
The Mozambique Debt Coalition is part of the monitoring process to make sure the government sets priorities in consultation with civil society and spends the money accordingly. “People need to see things getting done,” says Eufrigina Manoela, coordinator, who says that further cancellation is urgently needed. “There has been progress in the past year, but in comparison to the entire land, it’s like a drop in the ocean”.
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