Denmark Writes Off Nigeria's Debt
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Lagos, January 24, 2006 (Vanguard) – The Danish government announced, yesterday, the cancellation of debts of Nigeria and seven other African countries, worth US$576 million. Nigeria’s debt written off is 2.42 billion kroner.
The Danish government announced, yesterday, the cancellation of debts of Nigeria and seven other African countries, worth 3.5 billion kroner (470 million euros, 576 million dollars). Nigeria’s debt written off is 2.42 billion kroner.
The International Tax Justice Network yesterday cautioned Nigeria against Foreign Direct Investment, saying that a lot of the money being invested in Nigeria may have been looted from the country but which has gone through round-tripping, even as it accused Western Financial Institutions for their collaboration with the looters.
It, however, commended Nigeria for the anti-corruption drive of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).
International Development Aid Minister Ulla Toernaes announced the debt relief during talks in Copenhagen with Irish U2 rocker Bono, known for his fight to eliminate poverty worldwide.
The other beneficiaries are Sudan (512 million), Kenya (209 million), Angola (190 million), Liberia (157 million), Swaziland (41 million), Congo (12 million) and Somalia (7 million).
Toernaes told Danish television DR2 that Denmark wanted to “respect the commitment made by the eight richest countries in the world,” the G8, at their summit in Gleneagles, Scotland in July, when they announced similar debt relief plans.
Bono, who in 2002 founded the debt relief organization, Data (Debt, Aid, Trade for Africa), was also expected to hold a speech for Danish business leaders and politicians at the Boersen Executive Club during his visit to Copenhagen.
Speaking to Vanguard at a forum on Good Governance and Corruption in Bamako, Mali at the on-going World Social Forum, Director of the International Tax Justice Network, Mr. John Christensen, said round-tripping is about bringing capital to an off-shore finance centre in countries such as the United States of America, Switzerland or any other European country from where the money is then used to establish an offshore company which might belong to a Trust which is then invested in Nigeria.”
Mr. Christensen whose organization collaborates with Transparency International in Nigeria further said: “The Trust is a secret but only the lawyers and owner know who the money belongs to.
“Western financial Institutions are responsible for colluding with fraud, with embezzlement. Whereas people in Nigeria would think that the company is owned by Americans and called foreign investment, it is a way of avoiding tax and knowing who the real owners are,” he said.
Mr. Christensen who had earlier spoken briefly on the issue at a forum attended by many Nigerians said “round-tripping happens a lot.”
On efforts by the EFCC to tackle oil companies which engage in tax evasion, he described it as “an ambitious project” but hoped that Nigerian government would fully support the project.
He said if the EFCC could be given the political backing, Nigeria would recover a lot from multi-national companies in Nigeria who had engaged in tax evasion.
Meanwhile, the Justice, Development and Peace Commission in Nigeria has called for the inclusion of the civil society in the drafting of Nigeria’s national budget.
Rev. Fr. John Patrick Ngoyi who spoke at a forum organized by the Nigeria Social Forum said government had continued to involve business men and women and to the exclusion of the civil society.
He suggested that the civil society on its part should get its members trained so that they could make input into the national budget which had always appeared technical.
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