Posted on 06/26/2002 7:04:53 PM PDT by Clive
CALGARY -- Is it a washout or isn't it?
Either way, Prime Minister Jean Chretien's plan to make a landmark reform plan for Africa the centrepiece of the G-8 summit faces a tough road as it enters its critical day Thursday.
The plan, devised and adopted by Africans, would see billions of dollars in aid and investment tied to good governance.
Chretien has insisted it will be the focal point of the Group of Eight summit, which began Wednesday in Kananaskis, Alta., and that outside events and issues would not knock it off the agenda.
But countries such as the United States, Japan and Russia have shown little interest in the New Partnership for Africa's Development -- or NEPAD -- plan.
Canada was also struggling to get an agreement from the world's wealthiest countries to commit 50 per cent of their foreign aid to the stricken continent.
The situation worsened on Tuesday when British Prime Minister Tony Blair reportedly suggested the aid package was "not coming together in a substantive way""and was in fact "a washout."
"He didn't say that," Chretien insisted Wednesday. "We will achieve our goals."
However, Blair's spokesman warned: "We are not going to achieve everything we want at this summit."
For the first time, the summit has invited outsiders -- in this case four African leaders and UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan -- to take part in the annual talks.
Chretien is hosting Blair, U.S. President George W. Bush, Junichiro Koizumi of Japan, Gerhard Schroeder of Germany, Silvio Berlusconi of Italy, Jacques Chirac of France and Vladimir Putin of Russia at this Rocky Mountain retreat.
According to the NEPAD plan, rich countries would increase debt relief, aid and long-term investment.
In return, participating African countries will commit to standards of good governance and human rights, which they will police.
In this way, they hope to lay to rest the negative image of Africa, perhaps the greatest deterrent to private investment in the continent.
Along with Annan the key architects of the plan -- Abdelaziz Bouteflika of Algeria, Olusegun Obasanjo of Nigeria, Abdoulaye Wade of Senegal and Thabo Mbeki of South Africa -- arrived in Calgary Wednesday.
They are to meet Chretien and the other Group of Eight leaders Thursday on the final day of the summit to get approval for an Action Plan for Africa.
But other issues have since pushed their way onto the agenda.
Bush wants to talk Mideast peace and is seeking support for his sweeping reform plan that would see the Palestinians embrace democratic reforms, abandon leader Yasser Arafat in return for the U.S. recognizing Palestine as an independent state.
Bush also launched his own African aid plan last week, announcing $100 million US in aid for education in Africa over five years and $500 million to fight the AIDS epidemic on the continent.
He said no matter the means, help for Africa is still paramount.
"All of us are doing as much as we possibly can," he said. "I don't think this is a competition.
"I'm proud of the Blair government's efforts for Africa and I'm proud of my efforts for Africa.
"After all, I laid out what I call a Millennium Challenge Account in Monterrey, Mexico, that says if countries adopt the habits of democracy and freedom and private property and reform, there will be $5 billion a year available."
On the positive side for Chretien, Chirac publicly backed the plan at a news conference.
"I think we will have the accord," he said, adding that, "France is demanding with much insistence the 50 per cent (minimum foreign aid proposal)."
He said he can't guarantee the deal will go through.
"We will know tomorrow night but France will be persistent in this domain."
The 50 per cent figure is proving a sticking point, said one unnamed senior Canadian official.
"We're trying to come up with a word to replace the figure," said the official.
Obasanjo, meanwhile, said he was not worried NEPAD would fall apart: "That's why we are -- to have a discussion with G-8 leaders."
K.Y. Amoako, executive secretary for the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa, said he hasn't lost hope for the plan because Chretien continues to champion it.
He said he expected frank discussions Thursday: "When leaders meet they are often frank."
Canada has already allotted a half billion dollars to NEPAD, which has been hailed as a new Marshall Plan for Africa.
That plan brought Europe back from near economic collapse after the Second World War.
NEPAD is viewed as perhaps the last hope to break the cycle of poverty and misery in Africa.
According to summit statistics, it is the only continent where poverty is on the rise. More than 650 million people in sub-Saharan Africa exist on less than $1 US a day.
Africa's share of world trade has plummeted and now accounts for less than 2 per cent. There is widespread illiteracy, the life expectancy is the lowest in the world and HIV/AIDS rates remain alarmingly high.
The African application for alms should be returned to them stamped "Do Not Resubmit Until Zimbabwe Fixed".
Baloney. Devised by international banks, trying to wrap up their debt relief schemes with now current concerns of "good goverance" and the like.
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According to summit statistics, it is the only continent where poverty is on the rise. More than 650 million people in sub-Saharan Africa exist on less than $1 US a day.
Africa's share of world trade has plummeted and now accounts for less than 2 per cent. There is widespread illiteracy, the life expectancy is the lowest in the world and HIV/AIDS rates remain alarmingly high.
More money will not solve these problems. Only Africans, coming up with their own solutions, can make a change.
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