/ 2 June 2005

Look at Africa’s positives, summit told

Leading industrial countries should look at the positive examples elsewhere in Africa and not concentrate solely on the crisis in Zimbabwe, a British delegate to the World Economic Forum’s Africa Economic Summit in Cape Town said on Wednesday.

“Undoubtedly, the situation in Zimbabwe is a serious one. What I would say to our interlocutors globally on these issues is that they should look elsewhere in the continent for the positive signs that I believe counterbalance the negative,” said British high commissioner designate to South Africa Paul Boateng.

Boateng was responding to a question at a media briefing at the summit on how the Zimbabwe question could influence aid to Africa.

He said all too often when considering Africa, people accentuate the negative, rather than giving the proper and due acknowledgement of the positive.

Boateng said “determination and vigour” are needed to promote good governance, accountability and transparency. At the same time, Africa needs to be given credit for the steps it has taken.

“If you look throughout the continent, there have been successful elections held where before they were a succession of military juntas.”

Boateng said there is an expectation that the Group of Eight (G8) and the political leadership of Africa will respond to the challenge of improving the lives of the continent’s poor, as espoused in the Commission for Africa report.

Without taking real, practical steps to meet these challenges, it is unlikely that the United Nations’s Millennium Development goals will be met in sub-Saharan Africa.

“The one target on halving poverty will not be met until 2147. That’s 130 years too late. That is the scale of the challenge.”

Boateng said the G8 meeting at Gleneagles in Scotland, in less than a month, will see a reflection of a process that has already seen Canada announcing a doubling of aid to Africa, Japan taking likewise steps and the European Union announcing new aid targets.

The question of trade reform is also vitally important and cannot be underestimated. It will be discussed at the G8 meeting.

“If developed countries immediately extended quota and duty-free access to all low-income countries, annual incomes in sub-Saharan countries could increase in the short term by up to $5-billion a year.

“Sub-Saharan cotton exports could increase by 75% if the United States and European Union removed support to their cotton farmers,” said Boateng. — Sapa

Read more about the Africa Economic Summit on the World Economic Forum website