Africa's moment of hope must not be lost

Desmond Tutu, The Nation, Asia News Network/Bangkok

A historic moment of opportunity for Africa now exists. Africa has changed dramatically in the past decade and, with the right kind of support, can now take the lead in ending its history of poverty and conflict. Next month, the leaders of the G-8-- the world's richest industrialized nations-- will meet in Gleneagles, Scotland. A key part of their agenda will be to agree how to provide that support.

Why focus on Africa? When British Prime Minister Tony Blair launched the Commission for Africa last year, he called the continent, "a scar on the conscience of the world" unique in being the only region where people are poorer than they were 30 years ago. More than 40 million African children will never set foot inside a classroom. More than half the population live on less than a dollar a day. Poverty is being exacerbated by the spread of HIV/Aids and other diseases, lack of basic services, corruption and poor governance, violence and a technology deficit. Yet Africa is showing signs of hope that need to be grasped.

There are more elected governments and fewer civil wars. A number of countries have enviable growth rates. And perhaps most importantly,

African governments are showing the kind of leadership through the African Union and New Partnership for Africa's Development (Nepad) necessary to take this progress further.

A holistic approach is required and, crucially, one that supports and builds on efforts already under way on the part of the African Union and Nepad. Rich countries must respect this and end the negative impact of their own policies and practices-- from trade-distorting agricultural subsidies to the stripping of resources.

Still, much has already been achieved, and it is right to give thanks and credit where they are due. By establishing the Commission for Africa, which reported in March, and by making Africa one of the overriding themes of Britain's current presidency of the G8, Tony Blair has elevated this subject to the top of the international agenda. President George W Bush has rightly pointed out that US aid to sub-Saharan Africa has been tripled following commitments at the International Conference on Financing for Development in Monterrey, Mexico, in 2002.

Most recently, British Chancellor of the Exchequer (finance minister) Gordon Brown and US Treasury Secretary John Snow urged and won agreement from their G-8 partners for 100-per-cent debt relief for the US$40 billion owed by the world's 18 poorest countries. Here too, Blair and Bush deserve credit for setting the strategic framework, and I take heart from the enthusiastic response of Paul Wolfowitz, president of the World Bank, to this important initiative.

Nevertheless, as significant as this is, by itself it will not be enough. To realize the full benefit of debt relief, we must follow through with other measures to encourage long-term development and ensure that this window of opportunity does not become one more vanishing mirage. First, and as recommended by the Commission for Africa, there should be an immediate increase in smarter and more streamlined aid of $25 billion annually, with a further comparable increase after five years, depending on the near-term results. This is not a figure plucked out of the air. It is based on a costed analysis of the minimum needed to confront the most urgent problems of hunger, disease and poverty and to begin to lay a foundation for future development based on access to education and technology, environmental sustainability, conflict prevention and resolution and the fostering of entrepreneurship.

Those who argue that this is tantamount to throwing good money after bad ignore the commitment already made by the international community in Monterrey, that "no country genuinely committed to poverty reduction, good governance and economic reform will be denied the chance to achieve the Millennium Development Goals through lack of finance".

The Commission for Africa's report, which will form the basis of the G-8 discussion, tackles head-on issues like poor governance and corruption and makes clear that increased aid will have to go hand-in-hand with improvements in governance, transparency and accountability. In my own country of South Africa, President Thabo Mbeki felt obliged recently to dismiss Deputy President Jacob Zuma, who had been implicated in a financial corruption situation. This demonstrates how seriously President Mbeki takes the call for transparent and accountable government that will not tolerate corruption.

Second, we need to deepen the commitment to trade facilitation and development goals begun in the current World Trade Organization round of talks, so that tariff- and quota-free access to rich markets can be opened to agricultural and other products from the poorest countries. Failed countries and regions are breeding grounds for disaffection and violence. We live in an interdependent world and what happens in Africa will affect all of us. This is an opportunity that must be seized, and the time is now.

The writer, a Nobel Peace Prize-winner, was formerly Anglican Archbishop of Cape Town.