G8 calls for increased scrutiny of African aid

New York – April 9, 2007 – As aid to Africa is rising at all time new levels, the G8 has called for further scrutiny of aid to Africa.
At the G8 summit in Gleneagles in 2005, Tony Blair, UK prime minister, extracted pledges from heads of government to spend $50bn more each year to 2010 on aid, with half the rise going to sub-¬Saharan Africa.

This was the largest increase and commitment to African aid in history. Yet as aid to Africa was at an all-time high for the major 8 industrialized countries, emerging economies such as China and India have begun to play an important factor in African aid.

China already provides aid amounting to $2bn (€1.5bn, £1bn) a year, a higher figure than Belgium, Switzerland or Australia. India's estimated total of up to $1bn a year already exceeds that of Finland and Ireland, according to the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development club of industrial states.

While most G8 critics are calling for increased G8 aid to Africa before its June meeting, few have asked where an estimated $60 billion a year goes.

It certainly has not gone to the purposes of disease vaccination, because HIV and malaria are at all time highs in the continent.

It hasn't gone towards peacemaking efforts because many parts of Africa are currently engaged in cultural wars or civil wars.

One critic who has called for increased scrutiny of African aid is 2008 Presidential Candidate and Representative to the United Nations, Daniel Imperato.

In a July 8, 2005 press release (The G8 Summit: Subject Africa), Imperato called out for increased scrutiny of further African aid due to its lack of effectiveness.

"The policing policy for the control and distribution of the last enormous sum of money, that obviously has not brought us to a successful present situation, needs to be analyzed to allow Africa to support itself with its growth. All I'm saying is we should look at this performance in the past and the policing of the distribution of funds and the structure of which future funds shall be allocated."

During the statement, Imperato stressed the need for education and health care awareness within the region, along with policing the corruption. He pointed to those two key factors as determining the fate of the African people and ultimately being the root of many of their problems.
Imperato said that healthcare education needed to be focused on AIDS, Malaria, and general nutrition.

In addition, he stated that classroom education should focus on reading, writing, language, business opportunity and technology development.

The world's top 23 aid donors, including the G8, provided $107bn in aid in 2005, 95 per cent of the global total. This is set to fall to 90 per cent by 2010, aid experts predict, as emerging economies and oil-rich Middle Eastern countries, give more.

Officials at last month's G8 talks said the delegates from China and India were keen to talk to the G8 on aid issues but stressed their right to set their own priorities.

When asked for a current comment regarding the upcoming G8 meeting, Imperato responded with the following: "We have learned over the past few decades that a top down approach to aid does not work in Africa. We have been sending billions of dollars to Africa only to watch leaders take the money and not give it to their people. What is even worse is the instability in the region, because every few years there is a new government that comes into power in a significant number of African nations. This makes it next to impossible for our current system of aid to work. "

Imperato also added, "Instead of giving billions of dollars to leaders, the G8 and other industrialized nations should lend a hand to infrastructure in the region. Africa needs roads, bridges, telecommunications networks, power plants, and other industrial facilities. The G8 should focus on investment in those types of projects rather than blindly forgiving debt and giving new aid to African leaders whose government may or may not be there five years from now."

G8 development ministers said a "global partnership" with emerging economies was needed when setting governance benchmarks for potential recipients.

*** This release has been created by i1connect, an independent news agency.***

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