The Commission for Africa [which was set up by Tony Blair, when he was British Prime Minister] has released a report, which follows up on the one published in 2005. It examines what has happened in Africa since then and conducts an assessment of the progress made against each of the recommendations made five years ago.
In a statement, the Commissioners said:
“There is much to celebrate. African governments have done more than ever before to promote business and investment. Donors have supported this by boosting their support to infrastructure and providing the aid and debt relief that has allowed African governments to increase their expenditure in key areas such as health, education and agriculture.
But there remains much to be done. Progress on reforming international trade rules has been dismal; donors are still providing less in aid than their commitments; and African governments are still not investing as much as they promised in key areas. That is why we believe this review is timely, and why we believe it is right to renew a number of the recommendations.....because they have yet to be fully implemented........"
They go on to say ".....Africa’s development requires a range of measures, with African governments in the lead supported by the international community...."
This is where it begs the question, can we Africans do it on our own instead always asking for help from donors, international community? It is indeed in our common interest as Africans muster all our energies and synergies as well as available resources to work out how we are going to do it. Since this report is going to form part of discussions at the upcoming UN MDG Summit on 20 September, can our leaders use this opportunity, get together and find a formula to do it without begging donors, international community for help to solve Africans' own problems.
The report can accessed here
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