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03/05/2005:

"Blair targets corruption in Africa plan"

Tony Blair will next week demand a radical shake-up of the west's approach to the world's poorest continent when his year-long Africa Commission calls for a doubling of aid, the dismantling of trade barriers, the writing off of debts and immediate action to stamp out corruption.

In what is being billed as the most serious analysis of Africa's problems for a generation, the prime minister will use the launch of next Friday's report to urge a new partnership between developed and developing countries.

The report's recommendations - likely to be the subject of hard bargaining between Britain and her G8 allies in the run-up to the Gleneagles summit in July - include tough measures to tackle bribery by western multinationals in addition to huge injections of cash to fund health, education and improvements to Africa's rudimentary infrastructure.
Full Article: guardian.co.uk

Spotlight falls on corruption of Africa
Forty-six countries in the world are listed as politically "fragile" by the Department for International Development, and 23 of them are in sub-Saharan Africa.

That accounts for nearly half the countries of the region. In the last forty years, more wars have been fought in this corner of the world than anywhere else.

This is the scale of the crisis of governance in Africa which Tony Blair's Commission on Africa had to consider.
Full Article: guardian.co.uk

Well isn't Africa fortunate, being so thoroughly considered at long last. It's all about the West's approach and the West's 'concern'. Britain abopve all others set the stage for the corruption it is so eager now to 'crack down' on. Well England has a long history in Africa of cracking down on resistance and stamping out the people's aspirations. They are to be trusted no more today than they were then.