STEVEN MANN, Cape Town | Thursday 5.00pm.
PETER Hain, Britain’s minister of state for Africa, reiterated his country’s commitment to strengthening ties with Africa and rebuilding the war-torn continent, but provided scant new detail as to how this would be done.
Hain delivered what was billed as a “major announcement” on Britain’s policy in Africa on Thursday, which turned out to be a statement of good intentions and little substance.
He called on Africa’s two “giants,” South Africa and Nigeria, to lead the continent’s revival, and said that instead of going cap in hand to the rest of the world, they should set an example of helping themselves.
Hain said Britain was working hard for peace in Africa, and will provide backing for a peacekeeping force in Congo.
Britain’s commitment towards promoting peace in the Great Lakes region have been called into question, after the revelation that it was supplying military aircraft parts to Zimbabwe, one of the belligerents in the Congo war.
Hain urged all governments to take action against sanction busters which are selling arms to the Angolan rebel movement Unita.
“The Angolan conflict has been privatised. Too many unscrupulous people are making money out of it, some of them South African residents whose links with (Unita leader Jonas) Savimbi and Unita have survived the change of South African government policy,” he said.