The banking system:
On May 21, 2004, a symposium organized by the Pontifical Council for
Justice
and Peace took place in Rome, with the theme "The Social and Economic
Development of Africa in the Era of Globalization". Here is the speech
given
on that occasion by Bernard Cardinal Agr�, Archbishop of Abidjan, Ivory
Coast, and member of the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace:
Your Eminence Cardinal Martino, President of the Council, ladies and
gentlemen,
Developing Africa, the forgotten continent, a continent saturated with
bad
news as they say, constitutes a problem of rare complexity. And yet,
the
natural resources are not lacking: abundant products from the earth and
from
under the earth, the presence of an intellectual elite, and a
noticeable
economy...
This elite comes from universities and local high schools, and also
from
universities and important schools from the West. Many of its members
won
fame in Europe and America through their abilities and creativity.
These skilled and motivated Africans are ready, very often, to
undertake
developments in Africa. But, besides marketing problems that often act
as a
brake on their spirits because of very strong foreign competition,
aggravated by the sacrosanct laws of globalization, these African
developers
usually come up against a banking system that constitutes an impassable
barrier. It is customary to accuse the Africans of bad financial
management,
but there are, as in every continent, encouraging exceptions. Today, in
Africa, there are good administrators, good entrepreneurs. However, how
can
they have access to credits, which are, everywhere in the world, an
important lever of entrepreneurship and development? Banks are
generally
based in Europe, and are primarily at the service of these nations.
Even
when African entrepreneurs present trustworthy projects to the branches
of
these banks in our countries, they can still meet with polite or
categorical
refusal because of priority national interests.
One must also notice that the interest rates in force in Ivory Coast,
for
instance - to use the example of a country that I know well - are very
high.
Capital is never loaned below a rate of 17 or 20%. Who can cope with
such
rates, which cause the principal to double every five years? To force
people
to borrow credit in such conditions is not at all encouraging. One must
also
note that most often, banks take no risk at all, for before lending
money,
they demand such guarantees that cover the capital borrowed. This
system
must be reviewed and corrected if one wants to give good people the
chance
of transforming on the spot, in our own country, raw materials that we
pride
ourselves of being the first or second producers in the world, and give
them
an increase in value. Africa seems tired of being only a producer of
raw
materials.
I invite all those who can contribute to bring to this state of affairs
a
more humane and profitable solution, to give one another a helping
hand, to
help Africa take charge of itself.
When one talks about Africa, it would be a good thing to go beyond
ideological talks, and move to concrete commitments. Talks keep the
Africans
in underdevelopment, and even make them downgrade. Real commitments
free
them and make them true partners. This way, western nations and Africa
will
no longer have the relationship of a horse and a rider - Africa always
being
the horse - but relationships of mutual respect and effective
friendship.
Thank you.
Bernard Cardinal Agr�