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Linda Ensor Political CorrespondentCAPE TOWN — President Thabo Mbeki and other African leaders will push developed countries to give greater impetus to fulfilling commitments to help with the development of the continent when they participate in the Group of Eight (G-8) summit in Russia this weekend. Leaders of the most powerful nations — the UK, US, Japan, Germany, France, Italy, Canada and Russia — have been criticised for making commitments to African countries, which they have failed to meet. Last July the G-8 met at Gleneagles in Scotland and adopted a plan driven by UK Prime Minister Tony Blair to double aid to Africa to $50bn by 2010, cancel the debt of some of the poorest countries, support fair trade and provide universal access to AIDS treatment. Apart from some debt cancellation, little has been achieved, critics say. Deputy Foreign Affairs Minister Aziz Pahad said yesterday this year’s G-8 summit was important for SA as it hopefully “will come out with a further urgency to deal with African issues. It is important that the G-8 begins to understand that making commitments to Africa without implementation is not helping,” Pahad said at a media briefing. World Bank president Paul Wolfowitz has also called on this summit to make greater efforts to implement the commitments made to Africa over the years. In letters sent to G-8 leaders and five developing states, including SA, Wolfowitz said all parties had to pull together this weekend. Pahad said the summit, which takes place in St Petersburg on Sunday and Monday, would for the first time integrate the African agenda into all G-8 deliberations. Key issues requiring attention were the development of continental infrastructure, food security, and HIV/AIDS and other infectious diseases, he said. Blair is to present a status report evaluating the progress made in fulfilling the Gleneagles commitments, with a full report to be tabled at next year’s G-8 meeting in Germany. Pahad said Germany, as chairman of the 2007 summit, had already indicated it would incorporate the African agenda as a central theme. Blair has also established an African Progress Panel — led by United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan and financed by US billionaire Bill Gates — to monitor delivery of the Gleneagles commitments. In addition to the G-8 summit, Mbeki will participate in discussions with the presidents of the G-8’s other strategic outreach partners — China, India, Brazil and Mexico — on building south-south co-operation. Pahad also warned that the “dangerous and inflammatory” situation in the Middle East could explode into violence if the international community did not act decisively. “Our view is that the humanitarian tragedy in Palestine is getting out of hand,” he said. 13 July 2006 Business Day |
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