South African President Thabo Mbeki said United States assistance to Africa is too focused on individual countries and should be directed in large measure toward the continent as a whole.
Mbeki, making a stopover in Washington on Wednesday evening before heading to the Group of Eight summit at Sea Island, Georgia, cited US funding to combat HIV/Aids in Africa and a new foreign aid programme aimed at countries deemed to have effective governments.
”We want to see targeting of the entire continent,” Mbeki said, alluding to the US development programmes in Africa after making the same observation about the American approach to the HIV/Aids fight on the continent.
He spoke to a large gathering sponsored by the Council on Foreign Relations. He was to have shared the podium with Nigerian President Olusegun Obasanjo but the Nigerian’s appearance was cancelled because his plane arrived later than scheduled.
In addition to Mbeki and Obasanjo, US President George Bush has invited leaders of four other African countries to take part in the Sea Island summit — Algeria, Ghana, Senegal and Uganda.
Mbeki said he expects Thursday’s discussion will focus on outside aid to the continent and on African security issues, including the establishment of proposed African regional defence forces that could be called on to deal with crisis situations.
Debt relief is another issue, he said.
”We want to see a commitment to address debt more effectively than has been the case,” Mbeki said.
Twelve African countries have been designated to take part in Bush’s planned $15-billion, five-year programme to combat HIV/Aids. Only two non-African countries have been selected to take part, both in the Caribbean.
Initial funding focuses on prevention, treatment and care services.
Of 16 countries selected to share in the development assistance programme, known as the Millennium Challenge Account, eight are in Africa.
This year’s Millennium Challenge Account budget is $1-billion. Bush has proposed that funding rise to $5-billion annually starting in 2006, representing a 50% increase in the foreign assistance budget.
To qualify, countries must have a favourable foreign investment climate and effective health and education programmes. — Sapa-AP