From Africa Recovery, Vol.16 #4 (February 2003), page 23

NGO review dissects adjustment policies

In 1996, a network of non-governmental organizations, with World Bank and government participation, launched a multi-year investigation on the impact of structural adjustment programmes. Known as the Structural Adjustment Participatory Review Initiative (SAPRI), in Africa the study was carried out in Ghana, Uganda and Zimbabwe. It examined the impact of trade and financial sector liberalization, labour market reforms, agricultural and mining reforms and public expenditure policies on the productive sectors, social services, employment and women's access to resources. In August 2001, the World Bank withdrew from the initiative owing to disagreement with its preliminary findings. The final report, entitled The Policy Roots of Economic Crisis and Poverty, was released by the NGO participants in April 2002. Some of its findings were:

-- Precipitous and indiscriminate trade liberalization and the weakening of state support have devastated local industry. Domestic businesses in many countries could not compete with the flood of foreign, subsidized imports, forcing them to close.

-- In agriculture, underpriced imports, the removal of subsidies on inputs and the withdrawal of the state from providing technical and marketing assistance eroded the viability of local farmers. Emphasis on export production marginalized poorer domestic farmers.

-- Labour market reforms and privatization have led to less employment and lower wages in many countries undergoing adjustment. Workers' rights and the power of unions have also been significantly weakened by reforms granting employers greater flexibility.

-- Privatization of public services and the introduction of user fees, particularly in health care, have put these services out of reach of many poor, who cannot afford the market rates charged. This has discouraged many, especially in the rural areas, from even seeking medical care.

-- The brunt of the impact of policy reforms has fallen heavily on women. Because they are the majority of those in the informal and small business sectors in many countries, they have been undermined by import liberalization and rising credit rates. In the formal sector, labour reforms have at times also hurt women, for instance by removing the right to benefits such as maternity leave.

The study concluded that many of these problems were caused or exacerbated by adjustment programmes. (See: http://www.saprin.org/SAPRI_Findings.pdf)

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