TOWARDS the end of last year, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) canceled the debts of 19 poor countries to the tune of US$3.3 billion. This bonus was awarded to Benin, Bolivia, Burkina Faso, Cambodia, Ethiopia, Ghana, Guyana, Honduras, Madagascar, Mali, Mozambique, Nicaragua, Niger, Rwanda, Senegal, Tajikistan, Tanzania, Uganda and Zambia.

The debt cancellation were awarded as a commitment by the advanced countries that make up the G-8 that wa