G8: It's the 'Blame the Victim' Summit

Leaders of the G8 have adopted a new approach to their annual summits. Over the past five years, they have met in tumultuous carnival of protests and empty promises. This year, they have retreated to a fireside chat in a remote mountain resort, far away from demonstrations.

But some things will stay the same. There will be more empty promises. The G8 will re-announce token amounts of aid and debt cancellation, and promise more in the future. But the real responsibility for the economic crisis in Africa will be blamed on the African countries themselves.

NEPAD and G8 Action Plan for Africa

At their meeting on 26 - 28 June in Kananaskis, Canada, the G8 leaders will unveil an 'Action Plan on Africa'. The fact that the leaders of the rich countries are committing themselves to engage with the New Partnership for Africa's Development (NEPAD), being hailed an 'African plan for African development', is a welcome change from the recent past, when plans were imposed from G8 capitals.

However, as pointed out in 'Africa: What the G8 must deliver', the new briefing by Action for Southern Africa (ACTSA) and the World Development Movement (WDM), the crucial test for the G8 is whether they will deliver on their own responsibilities, rather than blaming Africa for its poverty.

It is undeniable that there has been poor governance, corruption and mismanagement in Africa. However, the briefing reveals the context - the legacy of colonialism, the support of the G8 for repressive regimes in the Cold War, the creation of the debt trap, the massive failure of Structural Adjustment Programmes imposed by the IMF and World Bank and the deeply unfair rules on international trade. The role of the G8 in creating the conditions for Africa's crisis cannot be denied. Its overriding responsibility must be to put its own house in order, and to end the unjust policies that are inhibiting Africa's development.

Yet the G8 will do little and lecture Africa extensively. Its communique will undoubtedly recycle some of the most pervasive myths:
* Africa has received increasing amounts of aid over the years - in fact, aid to Sub-Saharan Africa fell by 48% over the 1990s;
* Africa needs to integrate more into the global economy - in fact, trade accounts for a larger proportion of Africa's income than of the G8;
* Economic reform will generate new foreign investment - in fact, investment to Africa has fallen since they opened up their economies;
* Bad governance has caused Africa's poverty - in fact, according to the UN Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), economic conditions imposed by the IMF and the World Bank were the dominant influence on economic policy in the two decades to 2000, a period in which Africa's income per head fell by 10% and income of the poorest 20% of people fell by 2% per year .

As a result of these myths, the victims are being blamed for their poverty. Africa is already labouring under conditions imposed by the IMF and World Bank, aid donors, the US Growth and Opportunity Act, the EU Cotonou agreement, Bilateral Investment Treaties and the 28 agreements of the World Trade Organisation.

Promises, promises...

The past record of the G8 does not give confidence of real commitment. The strategy has been: Make promise. Grab headlines. Tick it off. Job done. Then when the shouting dies down... quietly break promise.

* Last year, they ticked off HIV/AIDS with a Trust Fund - only $2.1 billion, a fraction of the $10 billion called for by Kofi Annan, has been delivered.
* In 1999, they apparently ended the debt crisis with a promise of $100 billion - only $13 billion of debt stock has been cancelled to date ($7.5 billion in Net Present Value).

Year after year, they have promised to support education for all, to make trade rules fairer and to end tied aid to the poorest countries. Yet, year after year, the G8 has failed to deliver.

This year, it is likely to be even worse. The promises from previous summits will not only be recycled, they will come with a heavy price tag.

* $1 billion more for the Heavily Indebted Poor Countries (HIPC) Trust Fund will come with a continuation of the IMF and World Bank influence over economic policies of African countries.
* Improved access to rich markets will come with increased pressure on Africa through World Trade Organisation negotiations to give new rights to multinational companies producing a wide range of services, including those that are essential to the poor.
* Announcements of aid for Africa will not be "new money", but will come with new conditions on African leaders, including those related to migration.

As the G8 discusses new forms of conditionality, Africa is being divided into the deserving and undeserving poor. ACTSA and WDM are calling on the G8 to stop tinkering at the margins and actually deliver on its long-standing promises to Africa. This G8 must stop blaming the victims and commit to a real development plan that reflects Africa's urgent needs.

Links on Nepad and the G8:

* How does the G8 affect Africa?
http://g8.activist.ca/print/g8-africaflyer-sp.pdf

* Critiques of NEPAD from African NGO's
http://www.web.net/~iccaf/debtsap/nepad.htm

* NEPAD: A critical review
http://www.sask.fi/Documents/NepadLRS.doc

* Little hope for Africa from G8
http://www.debtchannel.org/