Birmingham campaigners quiz Poverty Minister
Campaigners were given the chance to quiz Andrew Mitchell, local MP and now Secretary of State for International Development, on Thursday at a meeting organised by Birmingham Jubilee Debt Campaign. It covered a wide range of subjects and gave the audience a clear indication of the priorities for DfID under the new Government.
The Minister arrives and is given a cup of tea
Proceedings started well with Bhai Sahib Bhai Dr Mohinder Singh addressing both Minister and audience. He welcomed all to the centre, outlined the work of the Guru Nanak Nishkam Sewak Jatha organisation and its role in delivering spiritual and practical help and guidance to the West Midlands.
A campaigner offers a sticker in support of the Robin Hood Tax
Using inspiration from his religious beliefs, Dr Singh challenged all to do good and act justly, concluding that we should all be focussing on spiritual development of the self, a missing key component in current global action for true economic, environmental and social justice.
This rousing call to action was focused onto specifics by Samia Ahmed of Islamic Relief. After outlining the key principles which should guide development work (Justice, Stewardship and Jubilee) she reiterated key calls from a recent JDC/Islamic Relief report Fuelling Injustice: The cost of 'third world debt' to Muslim countries:
"In summary, the key issues are around: the cancellation of unjust and unpayable third world debt; the moral obligation from the rich polluting countries to pay "climate debt"; the need for aid for countries facing disaster to be in the form of grants, not loans; the establishment of an international debt court; and the reform of the operation of the World Bank and the IMF."
Dr Mohinder Singh welcomes everyone to the Nishkam Centre
John Nightingale from Birmingham JDC introduces the Minister
After such a clear and conscientious start it was the Development Minister’s turn to talk. After briefly grounding the meeting in political reality he outlined the upcoming priorities for his department. These will form the principles by which work is both judged and funded under his watch:
- Donor coordination and transparency,
- Commitment to MDG4 AND MDG5, particularly reducing childbirth mortality of children and mothers,
- The fight against malaria with a commitment to reduce deaths by half in the 10 worst affected areas,
- An emphasis on nutrition for young children and mothers.
The audience prepares for the grilling
Now it was time for the audience to shine and challenge the Minister on issues of their concern. A full, frank and challenging forty minutes was filled by multiple topics. These included: the role of peace-building in development, which Mr Mitchell saw as key; debt and the environment - the Minister arguing that the World Bank will give some grants through so-called “Fast-Start Finance”; funding of UK action to tackle global injustice - he responded that a Poverty Impact Fund is in the pipeline which will provide matching funds to proven NGO projects; and policy on corporate investment in developing countries - he said it will be announced in an upcoming speech at a London University. Meanwhile, questions on the Robin Hood Tax were swiftly batted away as a concern for the Treasury.
Andrew Mitchell outlines his priorities at DfID
The most disappointing part of the questioning was when it turned to JDC's End Britain’s Dodgy Deals campaign. The campaign calls for three significant changes at the Export Credits Guarantee Department (ECGD). Firstly that it does not turn UK exporters failed deals into debts for developing countries. Secondly that the department ceases using taxpayers money to provide subsidised insurance for arms exports, polluting industries or projects that use forced or child labour. Thirdly that the ECGD publicly audits all outstanding debts owed to it by developing countries and cancels any found to be unjust.
While the minister obviously knew about the department, explaining to the audience why development wasn’t its only focus, he then surprised all by asking for ‘more information’ on why the department is of concern to campaigners – despite his own speech last year condemning its support for fossil fuels, and the letter he has received from JDC outlining our concerns. Consider this a call to action to pin him down next time!
Overall, while the Minister clearly has a passion for his subject, his avoidance of detailed answers to several questions suggests he isn't won over on crucial issues for campaigners, from climate debt to the Robin Hood Tax to the need for a debt audit. However, the Spending Review has yet to be delivered and no new poverty White Paper has been announced, so we will need to keep up the pressure and shape his agenda.
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Photos: John Cooper. See the full set on Flickr >>