[act-ma] 4/9 Patrick Bond on South Africa, the World Bank, & Climate Justice (Friday, noon @ e5)

[Suren Moodliar]

Patrick Bond on South Africa, the World Bank, and Climate Justice
April 9, 2010, 12 noon - 2:00 p.m.

South Africa now has its 4th post-Apartheid president... But the
country is  more unequal than ever! It is also under consideration for
a World Bank loan to “modernize” it ailing electrical power generation
and distribution infrastructure. Revamping its grid would normally be
a decisive opportunity to set a new course, redress inequalities and
deveop a green strategy. But activist-intellectual Patrick Bond warns
that the opposite seems likely with the Bank loan. It will strengthen
the private sector and sharpen the gap between rich and poor: urban
residents prepay their electricity at 4 times the rate of large
transnational corporations. Further, the proposed loan will finance
the world's 4th largest coal-fired plant and raise rates on working
people.

On April 8, 2010, the World Bank will make its decision. Patrick Bond
will reflect on the outcome on Friday, April 9, 2010, from noon to
2:00 p.m. at encuentro 5 (in Boston's Chinatown, see below for more
information).

Also invited to the conversation is Tufts University professor,
William Moomaw who consulted with the World Bank and who is in support
of the loan.

This Bank critic meets Bank supporter discussion allows for a reasoned
engagement of ideas.

For Patrick Bond's biography, see:
http://www.nu.ac.za/ccs/default.asp?10,24,8,55
For William Moomaw's biography, see: http://fletcher.tufts.edu/faculty/Moomaw/

This event is hosted at encuentro 5, 33 Harrison Ave, 5th floor,
Boston, MA 02111. It is within blocks of the Orange, Red and Green
line stops (Chinatown, Downtown Crossing and Boylston). See
http://www.encuentro5.org for more directions. Also check website for
updates before coming to the event.