The G8 summit in Canada this week provides a singular
opportunity for developed countries to help break the cycle of African underdevelopment, South African President Thabo Mbeki wrote in the New York Times on Monday.
”A great moment is at hand: a chance for developed countries to make a sound investment while helping,” he wrote in an opinion piece in the daily.
”The common thread here is the renewed determination among political leaders and civil society to build a humane world of shared prosperity,” Mbeki wrote.
”The momentum for sustained development, in partnership with the private sector, is based on a recognition that it is possible to revive poor nations, particularly in Africa, through investments
for mutual benefit,” the South African president continued.
The summit of the G8 — the world’s seven most industrialised nations plus Russia — which begins on Wednesday in Kananaskis, Canada, will focus among other matters on the New Partnership for Africa’s Development (NEPAD), of which Mbeki is one of the leading proponents.
The plan, drawn up by several African heads of state and endorsed by the Organization of African Unity (OAU), has won wide support from government and business leaders as an initiative proposed by Africans themselves.
It calls for massive investment in the continent in exchange for a pledge by African countries to follow global standards of democracy, and has been likened to the Marshall Plan, under which the United States pumped vast sums of money into Europe after World
War II.
”There is an unprecedented resolve on the continent to turn away from the begging bowl and engage in new efforts to build a better life,” Mbeki wrote, citing a lengthy list of pressing needs, including improved infrastructure, limited telecommunications
systems, poor roads, rail and port facilities, and sometimes dilapidated cities.
Mbeki called for a ”partnership of equals” to help reverse these and other problems that plague the continent.
Mbeki was to meet Monday with his Brazilian counterpart in Rio de Janeiro for bilateral talks.
He and President Fernando Henrique Cardoso were also to answer questions at a public hearing on the
upcoming UN World Summit for Sustainable Development (WSSD).
The South African president was to leave Brazil on Tuesday to attend the G8 summit in Canada. – Sapa-AFP