The International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank have 12 hours to get out of South Africa, the Jubilee Debt Campaign (JDC) said in Pretoria on Thursday.
About 150 marchers walked from the IMF building in Park Street to the World Bank building in Pretorius Street to protest againstAfrica’s debt and the institution’s pro-privatisation policies.
Calling the IMF ”International Mother Fucker”, Jubilee South Africa’s campaign co-ordinator, Makoma Lekulakalala, told the IMF and World Bank to ”fuck off out of Africa and South Africa”.
Blaming the institutions for increased unemployment and pre-paid water and electricity, Lekulakalala said the South African Reserve Bank should cut its ties with the bodies.
”Best get your CVs ready. You are not wanted and you are not acting in the best interests of our country. We instruct you and your bosses to leave the country,” shouted Lekulakalala through a loud-hailer at IMF employees.
She warned that if they stayed, they would be doing so at their own risk. ”We don’t owe them, they owe us,” she said, referring to debt owed by South Africa and other African countries.
March co-ordinator Abraham Motaung said that if the organisations did not leave, action would be taken.
”We are holding a social movement indaba in Johannesburg on Monday,” he said.
The movement, which represents numerous organisations including Jubilee, will vote on a resolution and on what action to take.
”We will mobilise,” warned Motaung.
Jubilee said Africa carried a debt of over $300-billion but has only five percent of the developing world’s income. ”It spends over $15-billion annually on debt repayment,” said the organisation in a statement.
The memoranda handed over called for:
South Africa to withdraw from the IMF and World Bank;
the two organisation to be prevented from lending to any municipal or government departments;
outstanding loans of about $1-billion to be repudiated; and
reparation to be made to the South African people for the repayment of apartheid-era loans from the two organisations.
The memoranda also called for an end to privatisation.
Sonto Mthimkhulu, chairwoman of JDC’s Gauteng branch, said privatisation led to job losses and prevented access to many of life’s basic needs.
She said the aim of the protest was to try and convince the IMF and the World Bank to change their policies.
IMF’s resident representative, Vivek Arora, accepted the memorandum and agreed to respond.
Jubilee representative George Or also threatened to take action against Justice and Constitutional Development Minister Brigitte Mabandla.
He accused her and President Thabo Mbeki of ”misrepresentation” in the fight for reparations from international corporations.
”We have consistently asked for government help and it has not come. Now we are forced to redouble our efforts,” he said. – Sapa