Sustainable development and debt relief for poor countries are two of the most pressing issues facing some of the former British colonies, Commonwealth Secretary General Emeka Anyaoku said yesterday.

He said the Commonwealth is the one essential instrument for addressing these issues and finding solutions.

Chief Anyaoku, who became the third person to hold the post in July 1990, shared these thoughts in an interview with The Royal Gazette .

The Nigerian is on the Island for the Commonwealth Finance Ministers' conference which begins tomorrow at the Southampton Princess and runs until Thursday.

He said that there were several major issues facing member countries in 1996 and these included protecting fundamental human rights such as free speech, sustainable development and poverty.

Chief Anyaoku said there was a trend toward "aid fatigue'' among donor nations.

Many of them, he said, have devoted smaller proportions of their Gross National Product for official aid to poorer countries.

"We have to keep going at them,'' he said. "However, some progress has been made.'' Chief Anyaoku cited Kenneth Clarke, Chancellor of the Exchequer, who proposed that the International Monetary Fund sell off a portion of its gold stocks so that proceeds can be earmarked to relieve some debt, as one example.

And he also gave qualified support to Structural Adjustment Programmes which are economic measures the IMF and World Bank imposes on poorer countries in Latin America and Africa as a condition of further aid.

Theses programmes reduce the size of the public sector and encourage privatisation. Sometimes they involve a devaluation of the currency so that exports are cheaper.

He said the initial conditions imposed in the early days of the SAPs were far too harsh and caused undue hardship on the poorer segments of many Commonwealth countries.

"I recognise that structural adjustment programmes are necessary for a number of countries,'' he said. "But they do not have my unqualified support because these programmes need to be guided by careful consideration for the social consequences.

"I think it is still possible to develop a structural adjustment programme that does not lead to some of the serious social costs that have occurred in the past.'' However, he said the Commonwealth Africa Development Fund and the Commonwealth private investment initiative have been put in place to improve capital flows in the private sectors of developing member states.

But while debt and the fight against poverty occupy much of his work, Chief Anyaoku said he wanted so see the Commonwealth live up to its mandate as a benign force.

"In the last five to six years we have achieved quite a bit. When I became secretary general there were no less than nine Commonwealth countries that were either under military rule or were one party states. Now there are only two left.

"I hope the Commonwealth continues to be a force for good and lives up to its values and principles,'' he said. "I want to see it become even more proactive in pursuing these values and as an instrument to help our member countries in their socio-economic development.'' Stamp issued: Page 6