Vulture still hovering over Zambia
9 March 2007
A court hearing in London this morning put off for at least six weeks the decision on how much Zambia will have to pay the 'vulture fund' trying to scavenge millions from it.
The company, Donegal International, took Zambia to court trying to claim more than $55 million from Zambia for a debt it bought originally for just over $3 million. Jubilee Debt Campaign and Oxfam have been urging the vulture to drop its claim, and the UK government to Help keep the vultures at bay in order to make these cases impossible.
In the first judgment on 15 February 2007, the judge found that Donegal International was not entitled to the whole $55 million it was claiming, but was entitled to something from Zambia. He also found that Donegal's witnesses had been "dishonest". The amount is yet to be determined, but could be as much as $20 million. This is a huge amount for a country where the average income is around $1 a day. It could pay, for instance, for an entire year's salary for 7,000 nurses in the capital, Lusaka.
This morning's hearing has put off the date when the actual award will be decided: it may now come at the end of April, or possibly late May. In the meantime, Donegal International is trying to identify assets belonging to Zambia in the UK that it could seize when its award is decided.
Read more and take action
Meanwhile, efforts are being made in the USA to clamp down on the director of Donegal International, a US citizen. Some congressmen have been calling for congressional hearings into his activities.
See the Jubilee USA website for details of US congressional activities
