Blair ‘good friend of Africa’

JOHANNESBURG – The world’s richest nations need to show greater commitment towards Africa, British Prime Minister Tony Blair said yesterday, amid concern that pledges on aid and development were falling short.

Ahead of the forthcoming G8 summit in Germany, Blair said it was still possible to effect ‘real transformation change’ in the years ahead, but only if all countries follow through. “Next week at the G8 summit leaders will show whether having put Africa at the top of the global agenda, we have the perseverance and vision to see it through,” he said in a wide-ranging speech in Johannesburg.Blair – widely credited for his leadership on Africa during his 10 years in power – oversaw the 2005 G8 summit in Gleneagles, Scotland, that secured pledges for a substantial increase in aid to Africa and debt relief by 2010.Progress had been made, he said, notably in granting 38 billion dollars in debt relief to 18 African nations.But more work was still needed in areas like HIV-AIDS prevention programmes and universal primary school education.A new dynamic was needed from rich countries towards Africa using partnership rather than aid alone, he told an audience of academics, students and business leaders.That might enable them to meet the ‘landmark’ Gleneagles commitments and UN Millennium Development Goals, which set eight targets for improving the lot of the world’s poorest countries, he added.At the 2005 summit, the group of eight industrialised nations pledged to double levels of aid for Africa by the end of the decade, but watchdogs have said that donor levels had not increased to date.Cape Town Archbishop Njongonkulu Ndungane, president of the African Monitor group, said earlier this week that aid had remained static to Africa since 2005 and criticised wealthy nations for not fulfilling their promises.Blair said that African nations also needed to deliver their side of the bargain by implementing democracy, good governance and rooting out corruption, as well as holding each other to account.In particular, he praised southern African states and South Africa’s President Thabo Mbeki for their efforts to bring together the government in Zimbabwe and opposition groups.”The world is waiting, wanting to re-engage with a reforming Zimbabwe government,” he said, without naming Zimbabwe President Robert Mugabe, who is an arch critic of Blair.Nampa-AFP”Next week at the G8 summit leaders will show whether having put Africa at the top of the global agenda, we have the perseverance and vision to see it through,” he said in a wide-ranging speech in Johannesburg.Blair – widely credited for his leadership on Africa during his 10 years in power – oversaw the 2005 G8 summit in Gleneagles, Scotland, that secured pledges for a substantial increase in aid to Africa and debt relief by 2010.Progress had been made, he said, notably in granting 38 billion dollars in debt relief to 18 African nations.But more work was still needed in areas like HIV-AIDS prevention programmes and universal primary school education.A new dynamic was needed from rich countries towards Africa using partnership rather than aid alone, he told an audience of academics, students and business leaders.That might enable them to meet the ‘landmark’ Gleneagles commitments and UN Millennium Development Goals, which set eight targets for improving the lot of the world’s poorest countries, he added.At the 2005 summit, the group of eight industrialised nations pledged to double levels of aid for Africa by the end of the decade, but watchdogs have said that donor levels had not increased to date.Cape Town Archbishop Njongonkulu Ndungane, president of the African Monitor group, said earlier this week that aid had remained static to Africa since 2005 and criticised wealthy nations for not fulfilling their promises.Blair said that African nations also needed to deliver their side of the bargain by implementing democracy, good governance and rooting out corruption, as well as holding each other to account.In particular, he praised southern African states and South Africa’s President Thabo Mbeki for their efforts to bring together the government in Zimbabwe and opposition groups.”The world is waiting, wanting to re-engage with a reforming Zimbabwe government,” he said, without naming Zimbabwe President Robert Mugabe, who is an arch critic of Blair.Nampa-AFP