§ Mr. TimmsTo ask the Secretary of State for International Development what estimate she has made of the total official debt owed by the Democratic Republic of the Congo; and what was the amount spent by the Democratic Republic of the Congo and the former Zaire on(a) debt service, (b) health and (c) education, in terms of (i) US dollars, (ii) US dollars per capita, (iii) percentage of GNP and (iv) percentage of government expenditure, in each of the last three years. [31669]
§ Clare ShortReliable budgetary statistics are not available. However, the World Bank estimated total outstanding debt in 1996 at US$ 12.8 billion, equivalent to 200% of GNP. It was 36% in arrears. There is little detailed information on public expenditure. The World Bank is mounting a mission next month to tackle this. We hope to provide an expert for the team.