Tutu signals hope as NGOs warn on G8 deal
-04/07/05
In South Africa, site of the only Live 8 concert on the continent, Anglican archbishop and Nobel laureate Desmond Tutu welcomed debt cancellation by the wealthy G8 countries. But he warned that more needs to be done to achieve change across the whole continent.
Archbishop Tutu was speaking in Johannesburg alongside former president Nelson Mandela, who declared that ìovercoming poverty is not a gesture of charity, it is an act of justice. It is a protection of a fundamental human right.î
ìLet them have a chance to change things significantly for the poor. They started well with cancelling 40 billion US dollars worth of debt. Now let them continue in that direction and change the trade laws,î said the Archbishop.
Writing in Nigeriaís This Day newspaper yesterday, the former Anglican archbishop of Cape Town added that he believes the summit comes at an ìhistoric moment of opportunity for Africaî.
ì[The continent] 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,î he explained.
Tutu praised the 100% debt cancellation for the worldís poorest countries already decided, but commented that more needs to be done, in particular on fair trade and tackling corruption.
Referring to past disappointments, he said: ìWe must… ensure that this window of opportunity does not become one more vanishing mirage.î
Meanwhile British development agencies are being cautious about what one NGO called ìGordon Brownís hypeî over the G8.
Campaigners point out that the additional aid totalling 25 billion US dollars (£14 billion) promised by the European Union, the USA, Canada and Japan falls well short of the 50 billion US dollars a year which the United Nations says is needed from 2006.
And most of the new money will not come on stream until 2010, leading to a cumulative shortfall of 100 billion US dollars by the end of the decade, claims Oxfam.
Meanwhile, 100% debt relief is restricted to just 14 of the continentís countries, when Mr Blairís Commission for Africa said it was needed by all nations in sub-Saharan Africa.
The total relief on offer is only around 10-15% of the 10 billion US dollar debt repayments made by 60 poor countries each year.
Yesterday UK chancellor Gordon Brown told a rally in Scotland organised by Christian Aid that ending poverty in Africa will not be achieved during the G8 summit. It is ìthe work of a lifetimeî, he said.
Tutu signals hope as NGOs warn on G8 deal
-04/07/05
In South Africa, site of the only Live 8 concert on the continent, Anglican archbishop and Nobel laureate Desmond Tutu welcomed debt cancellation by the wealthy G8 countries. But he warned that more needs to be done to achieve change across the whole continent.
Archbishop Tutu was speaking in Johannesburg alongside former president Nelson Mandela, who declared that ‘overcoming poverty is not a gesture of charity, it is an act of justice. It is a protection of a fundamental human right.’
‘Let them have a chance to change things significantly for the poor. They started well with cancelling 40 billion US dollars worth of debt. Now let them continue in that direction and change the trade laws,’ said the Archbishop.
Writing in Nigeria’s This Day newspaper yesterday, the former Anglican archbishop of Cape Town added that he believes the summit comes at an ‘historic moment of opportunity for Africa’.
‘[The continent] 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,’ he explained.
Tutu praised the 100% debt cancellation for the world’s poorest countries already decided, but commented that more needs to be done, in particular on fair trade and tackling corruption.
Referring to past disappointments, he said: ‘We must… ensure that this window of opportunity does not become one more vanishing mirage.’
Meanwhile British development agencies are being cautious about what one NGO called ‘Gordon Brown’s hype’ over the G8.
Campaigners point out that the additional aid totalling 25 billion US dollars (£14 billion) promised by the European Union, the USA, Canada and Japan falls well short of the 50 billion US dollars a year which the United Nations says is needed from 2006.
And most of the new money will not come on stream until 2010, leading to a cumulative shortfall of 100 billion US dollars by the end of the decade, claims Oxfam.
Meanwhile, 100% debt relief is restricted to just 14 of the continent’s countries, when Mr Blair’s Commission for Africa said it was needed by all nations in sub-Saharan Africa.
The total relief on offer is only around 10-15% of the 10 billion US dollar debt repayments made by 60 poor countries each year.
Yesterday UK chancellor Gordon Brown told a rally in Scotland organised by Christian Aid that ending poverty in Africa will not be achieved during the G8 summit. It is ‘the work of a lifetime’, he said.