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Africa, Blair and United Kingdom's commendable push for development assistance

USAfrica The Newspaper, Houston, CLASS magazine
USAfricaonline.com and The Black Business Journal

By Chinua Akukwe
Contributing Editor and Special correspondent of USAfricaonline.com and CLASS magazine

June 6, 2005: Ahead of the G-8 meeting July 2005 in Scotland, Tony Blair, the Prime Minister of Britain has been on a whistle-stop tour of key Western Capitals to drum up support for his country's comprehensive development assistance for Africa. As outlined by the U.K powerful finance minister (Chancellor of Exchequer in Britain), Gordon Brown, the UK's bold comprehensive development assistance plan for Africa rests on four critical pillars: immediate and unconditional debt relief for the poorest nations in Africa; a new international financial facility with a major focus on comprehensive, age-appropriate immunization for all African children; removal of trade distortions and agricultural subsidies by Western governments so that Africa can have a fairer chance in the highly lucrative markets of North America and Europe, and; a doubling of aid to Africa by 2015.  

The UK Plan for Africa grew out of the Tony Blair Commission for Africa, made up of prominent Africans, Britons and a former US Senator. The Commission recently released a wide-ranging report of development needs in Africa and articulated how best African governments and rich nations can work together to dramatically reduce poverty and improve standards of living in Africa.  British Prime Minister Tony Blair commitment to Africa's development is not in doubt. The humanitarian role of British soldiers in ending the atrocities of Sierra Leone is well known. The Prime Minister has spoken on numerous occasions on the need for greater development assistance for Africa. Mr. Blair has also pledged to increase the UK government's overseas development assistance as a percentage of GDP by 2012. Both Tony Blair and Gordon Brown have shown strong commitment to African-related issues despite the strident national disagreements between the United Kingdom and Zimbabwe. The push by Prime Minister Tony Blair and his government for massive but accountable development assistance to Africa is timely and commendable. However, the United Kingdom plan is generating some hostility, especially from the United States' president George W. Bush.

Bush while welcoming President Thabo Mbeki of South Africa to the White House in May 2005 expressed reservations about the United Kingdom Plan, especially the proposed International Financing Facility which seeks to scrap some of the continent's debts. The support of France, Germany and Italy may not be guaranteed due to a combination of domestic political and economic concerns, and the stability of the each nation's bilateral development programs.  

There is a possibility that the G-8 nations may not announce a wide-ranging development assistance program for Africa. 

What to do before the G-8 meeting in July 2005? First, the UK government should recognize the development assistance programs of G-8 nations to Africa. This is a very touchy issue, especially for the US government. The Bush administration, for example, would like ample recognition of its $15 billion, 5 year global HIV/AIDS initiative in 15 countries, including 12 African countries. The French government would like appropriate recognition of the impact of its communicable diseases and humanitarian assistance programs in the French-speaking parts of Africa. President Chirac will surely want serious discussion on his earlier proposal for an international airport tax for Africa's development. 

Second, it is critical for the current UK plan to quickly become a G-8 Development Assistance Plan for Africa. I do not believe that other rich nations will sign up without significant tradeoffs the plan of another rich nation regarding development assistance. It is most likely that other G-8 nations will modify the UK plan especially the proposed international finance facility which is likely to run into strong opposition from the United States. A compromise could be substantial increase in expenditure for age-appropriate immunizations using current implementation channels and facilities.  

Third, the UK government may need to focus on few, big ticket, verifiable items that it can decisively influence during the nation's G-8 presidency. The issue of 100% debt relief for poorest African countries without any technical, administrative or legal mumbo jumbo is feasible. At the end of the G-8 conference next month in Scotland, its leaders should announce 100% debt relief for specific African countries. The only conditionality that should be attached to the 100% debt relief is the set up of verifiable mechanisms that can transparently show how resources earlier used for debt servicing by African countries is being utilized for health and education programs. Another feasible deliverable at the next G-8 meeting is the need to untie aid to Africa. For serious meaningful development assistance, African countries should not be forced to buy goods and services from donor countries. Instead, goods and services from donor countries should be an attractive option for recipient countries, in addition to other viable alternatives.  

Fourth, African professionals living in the West should become an indispensable strategy for sustainable development assistance to Africa. As a major beneficiary of the services provided by African professionals who initially trained in Africa, the UK government should work with other G-8 nations with sizeable African professional populations such as the United States and France to implement incentive programs that allow these professionals go back to their native lands for specific periods of time and to work on specified development projects. African professionals living in the West should be the fulcrum of international development assistance since most of these professionals maintain strong familial, economic and social ties with their native lands.  

The G-8 annual meeting in Scotland in July 2005 should end with a legacy of verifiable development assistance for Africa. The next step is to develop and implement a comprehensive G-8 development assistance plan for Africa. During Britain's leadership of the G-8, Africa should benefit from a comprehensive, verifiable G-8 development assistance. Stakeholders in G-8 nations and Africa should have no doubt on the specific programs, expected outcomes and the agencies responsible for implementation of comprehensive development assistance from the richest nations on earth.
Dr. Akukwe, special correspondent for USAfricaonline.com, discussed some of the issues in this article in the BBC 24-Hour Prime Time News on June 3, 2005.

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