04/07/05 (B305) L’Afrique a besoin de bonne gouvernance. Appel à M. Blair à l’occasion du G8 (Lecteur- En anglais)

I am really tempted to say that we are living in a funny old world.When will we understand that Africa is suffering from ill-management and that all the rest is coming as a result?

When will the world understand that if there is poverty there, it is simply the product of lack of democracy?

Honestly speaking, I am very astonished and even annoyed when presidents Bush and Blair declare at the White House that they are going to pledge a financial aid to Africa. As an african I take that as an insult to the face of many Africans. Poverty in Africa is not something new to the rest of the world, neither that ill-management which many of african leaders have majored in. Right from the beginning when the majority of the african countries had access to their independence in the sixties, po verty did not waste its time to invade the homes of many of our african follow countrymen.

In other words, both ill-management and poverty knocked on our doors the very day we got our freedom from the white rule. It is high time to acknowledge that this poverty was purely and simply a man made poverty. If our so called leaders had the wisdom to implement the rules of good-governance, conducted ours institutions in a responsible way and stayed away from corruption, I am quite sure we would not have suffered the problems we are undergoing today.

Where the good of democracy is absent, there is little chance for good school, good health service but there is certainly enough room for poverty, let alone AIDs and all those other deadly diseases that are consuming our social fabric day by day.

We, Africans, cannot admit a second that this poverty is from GOD to punish our people on earth. Poverty in Africa takes its roots from that ill-manage ment and our leaders should be blamed for.To give you a blatant example, let us have a look at the Eastern Europeans countries which had lived under communism for almost half a century. None fo them had managed to provide their people with a decent well-being. Instead these people had lived under the threshhold of poverty for a long time.

They are now flocking to Western Europe for a better life because the fruit of good governance has simply grown on this side. Another two exemples from Africa which will give you a head-ache.The Democratic Republic of Congo, former Zaire, is eighty times bigger than Belgium.This country is teeming with priceless quantities of raw materials. It must be twice or three times richer than Blegium.

Still its economy is at bay today. Endless bad-management and endemic corruption have put it into pieces.General Mobuto Sese Seko has simply geared his country into an unreversible bankruptcy that it will take t ime to recover from.The zim (zimbawe dollar) had the same rate as the US dollar 25 years ago under the leadership of the white rule.Today under the command of Robert Mugabe, the zim is ten times lower than the US dollar. The country used to be the craddle of wheat for its neighhbours, today it is in dire need for it and it is importing it from abroad to feed its people.

So who, the hell, to blame for this mess if it is not Robert Mugabeh?

What, the hell, do you call this poverty if it is not coined by Robert Mugabeh?

Africa will never stand up as long as those corrupted leaders stay in power. I am quite sure that many african leaders are eager to receive this money misters Bush and Blair have promised to Africa. They are already preparing themeselves to make their pockets bigger to put this money into regardless of the needs of their people who should be the sole recipient .

The african people are appealing to the lea ders of G8 whose meeting will be held in Edinburg in july. The main agenda of this meeting will be the poverty relief and the delete of the debt burden in the third world, mostly in Africa. For heaven’s sake, mister Blair, do not plea to secure any money for us from this conference ! Do not ask a single dime on our behalf because what we need is not money at all.

All we need is have a good governance and have respect of human rights respected in our countries. What we need is a dictatorship relief but not poverty relief. Dear Blair, if you are really sincere and do want to do a favour for us, ask your G8 counterparts to creat an international whatchdog for democracy in Africa. Kofi Annan will be sitting by your side that day.

We urgently need an international commission under the watch of the-UN which will say ‘NO" to whoever tries to rig any democratic election. Ours nations will develop and become free nations if those conditions are met tomorrow. So mist er Blair, once again, we are asking you not to miss the target, send us an envelope of good-governance but not the slightest coin of money for heaven’s sake.

Do believe us, the first offer will benefit to a whole people and the second will definitely benefit to a handfull of dictators. So you have the choice, mister Blair. We wish you all the best to make this opportunity materialise.

Thank you.