Africa Urges G8 to Keep Promises

Bakari Machumu (The Citizen)--African leaders urged the Group of Eight nations yesterday to keep their promises to assist the continent, saying soaring oil and food prices were making their poverty worse.

Speaking during the official opening of the G8 Summit, African Union chairman Jakaya Mrisho Kikwete said rich nations should nurture and fulfil their promises if they were really concerned about the continent�s development.

He also urged the G8 countries to help the continent to improve its dilapidated infrastructure, which is a vital sector in Africa�s efforts to attain strong economic growth and reduce poverty.

President Kikwete told the leaders of the world�s richest countries that without improving the continent�s infrastructure �it would be a pipedream to achieve real economic development�.

The G8 has been accused by activists of reneging on the promise made at its 2005 summit in Gleneagles, Scotland, to double aid by 2010 to $50 billion, half of which would go to Africa.

"Some African leaders just wanted to emphasise that while appreciating G8 leaders’ commitment to help Africa in past G8 summits, they just wanted to point that they would like to see these commitments fully implemented," Japanese Foreign Ministry spokesman Kazuo Kodama said.

The push towards fulfilment of previous summits� promises was expected to be African leaders� additional agenda, with analysts and advocacy group considering it the most important part of this year�s summit in Hokkaiko, Japan.

Instead, the G8 leaders referred further dialogue and monitoring of implementations to other forums involving African countries and respective members of the rich nations.

African countries will now have to use forums like United Nations conferences to further their agenda on the Millennium Development Goals. Others include the World Bank, European Union instruments and African Partnership Forum and the Tokyo International Conference on Africa Development (TICAD) annual ministerial meetings.

G8 leaders from Japan, Britain, Germany, France, Canada, Italy, Russia and the US attended yesterday�s opening session, meant to incorporate African views in today members-only talks. The heads of state of Tanzania, Algeria, Ethiopia, Ghana, Nigeria, Senegal and South Africa represented Africa.

Speaking during a press briefing on Africa-G8 leaders� discussions yesterday, press secretary of Japan�s Foreign Affairs ministry Kazuo Kodama said the next summit � to take place in Italy � would review progress made through such forums.

With two years to go, activists are worried that G8 leaders will not meet their $25 billion additional aid for Africa, they promised in Gleneagles, Scotland in 2005.

Mr Kodama said the rich nations were prepared to continue supporting the agriculture sector, including small-scale farmers.

No specific figure has been committed, said Mr Kodama, who is also director general for press and public relations, said.

Oxfam International estimates aid support for African agriculture at $2 billion. The G8 has not made concrete commitments on agriculture in recent years.

Led by AU chairman President Kikwete, African leaders urged G8 leaders to help provide appropriate technology and inputs, especially seeds and fertilizers, if the continent was to successfully tackle the food crisis.

African leaders commended Japan for its plan to double rice production in the continent.

They also warned that it would be difficult for African countries to achieve MDGs by 2015, if no intervention was made.

Their fear was also echoed by United Nations secretary general Ban Ki-moon, who said at a press conference in Hokkaido that he hoped to have renewed commitment from the donor community before the UN Summit scheduled for September 25.

An activist on African affairs, Mr James Shikwati, said the meeting provided an opportunity for leaders to bring their agenda to the limelight.

�I think African leaders should not boycott such summits; however, they ought to meet prior to going to such summits and develop their own game plan for Africa.

�As it is now, each one goes to the summit seeking individual interest and with divided attention, whereas the G8 team focuses on the continent in its totality,� Mr Shikwati, who is the director of the Nairobi-based Inter Region Economic Network, told The Citizen.

Earlier, Japanese Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda presented his country�s position and commitments derived from the TICAD4 summit held in Yokohama in May. Japan announced that is will double aid to Africa from $900 million to $1.8 billion by 2012.

On environment, Japan said it would set aside $10 billion in support of countries ready to adopt environmental friendly technology. The support will be both in terms of funds and technology.

Mr Fukuda said Japan would fully mobilize policy tools to double investment in 5 years. He also briefed leaders on the action plan prepared after the Yokohama summit, which was adopted, before he assumed his role as chair to the summit.

The leaders took the opportunity to raise the prospect of more sanctions against Zimbabwe unless quick progress is made to end the political crisis following a run-off election in June in which Mr Robert Mugabe was the only candidate.

The opposition candidate withdrew amid widespread violence against opposition supporters.

They told African leaders at the gathering to deal with Mr Mugabe or trade and investment on the whole continent would be affected, a Canadian official told reporters.

President Kikwete suggested that African leaders shared the G8’s concerns, but differed over the best response.


Many critics and even member countries suggest the G8, formed in 1975 with just six members in the wake of the first oil crisis, should expand to take in large developing nations to better represent the world.

On Monday, hundreds of demonstrators from Japan and other countries marched in heavy rain toward the summit venue, carrying signs slamming the rich nations’ cosy club.
Heavy security meant that they were kept several kilometres (miles) away. Two groups tried to take unauthorised routes but were turned back by dozens of police.

Global warming will be the focus of an expanded meeting on Wednesday that will include China and India, two fast-growing economies that are pumping out more and more greenhouse gases.

But deep divisions within the G8 as well as between rich and poor nations have raised doubts about the chances for progress beyond last year’s summit, where the G8 agreed to "seriously consider" a global goal of halving greenhouse gas emissions by 2050.

The European Union and green groups are piling pressure on a reluctant United States to agree to a target to halve global greenhouse gas emissions by mid-century and back the need for 2020 targets for rich countries as well.

A total of 22 heads of state and government, including 14 from outreach countries, are attending the three-day summit, the largest group ever.

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