Douglas Alexander the UK government’s Secretary of State for International Development – a cabinet level position – has one of the hardest jobs at the London Summit as it falls on his shoulders to persuade us that this Summit intends to tackle the concerns of the people and countries who have been deemed not important enough to be represented here directly.
Alexander did this in his press briefing by throwing numbers around, for example:
- This summit is the 1st time ever that global leaders have come together to forumlate a global plan to economic recovery.
- 90 million people are at risk of falling into extreme poverty in the next two years
- 70% of global economic growth has been in emerging markets
- a World Bank Rapid Response Social Fund to stimulate trade needs USD 30 billion and the UK has pledged GBP 200 million towards it
- The USD 250 billion that the IMF has at its disposal is not enough
- 90% of global trade requires either credit or insurance – in many cases both
Alexander is in the unenviable position in that many UK citizens feel that their government has lost focus on what should be its key mandate, domestic issues and tackling hardship at home in the UK in order to play big on the world stage tackling global problems.
To make Alexander’s position even more challenging when you consider that many of the initiatives this summit promotes, while helping some countries in desperate need of help, hurt others in the same position. Cheryl Contee who writes as Jill Tubman for the award-winning and top-ranked black political blog JackAndJillPolitics.com which she founded in 2006, and I came face to face with a such a scenario on Wednesday during the World Have Your Say phone in programme on BBC World Service. Asked to comment on the G20’s proposed initiative to close down tax havens both Cheryl and I spoke strongly in favour of the policy. Coming from Kenya where our former president the dictator Daniel arap Moi together with his cronies and family looted Kenya for over 20 years stashing away billions in these tax havens, my position is not that surprising. One caller from a tax haven, The Bahamas, emailed the BBC show to disagree stating that many people in the Bahamas relied on the tax haven financial system for their livelihood.
How would you balance all these competing interests as the UK’s Secretary of State for International Development has too?
Alexander’s response during the press briefing when remarking on the UK, but this could be equally applied to the caller in The Bahamas, was to remind us that yes in some places livelihoods would be lost however in other places lives would be lost and saving lives take priority over saving livelihoods.
© Mentalacrobatics for Mentalacrobatics, 2009. | Permalink | 3 comments
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I am in London at the kind invitation of