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“Development remains the foremost African need, both as an
end in itself and as a foundation of security,” Mr. Annan said, citing the
progress that has been made, with inflation at historic lows in many countries,
the continent’s economy growing by some 5 per cent, advances on debt relief, and
world recognition of the urgency to confront HIV/AIDS.
“My fellow Africans justifiably look to their allies in
the international community for strong and sustained support,” he added. “The
truth is that, for Africa, the ‘global partnership for development’ remains more
a phrase than a fact. About 50 per cent of all Africans have never made or
received a phone call. A minuscule proportion have ever logged on to the
internet.
“The global green revolution has bypassed African
farmers, whose ranks have also been decimated by the HIV/AIDS epidemic. Ours is
the only continent that cannot feed itself today, much less ensure food security
for its people. And, bucking the worldwide trend, sub-Saharan Africa has sunk
deeper into poverty.”
Africa lags behind in the race to achieve the Millennium
Development Goals (MDGs), which
seek to slash a host of social ills such as extreme poverty, hunger, maternal
and infant mortality, and a lack of access to education by 2015, he stressed.
Turning to security, he noted that about half the
world’s armed conflicts, and some three-quarters of UN peacekeepers, are in
Africa, but compared to a decade ago, there are fewer inter-State conflicts and
many civil wars have ended. “But, here too, we should be under no illusion,” he
warned. “In far too many reaches of the continent, people are still exposed to
brutal conflicts, fought with small but deadly weapons.
“Every day, in Darfur, more men, women and children are
being driven from their homes by murder, rape and the burning of their villages.
Beyond Sudan, less visible but no less deadly conflicts – in Côte d'Ivoire,
Somalia and northern Uganda – cry for African resolve and international
attention.”
Ultimately, a peaceful Africa will be sustainable only
if accompanied by democratic transformation and good governance, the third leg
of African progress, he said, citing advances with more democratically elected
governments than ever before, including that of Liberia’s Ellen Johnson Sirleaf,
the first woman ever to be elected an African president.
“The governance gains I’m referring to are real, but
they remain tenuous in the face of grave challenges,” he cautioned. “Despite
elections and better leaders, bad apples remain. And even some elected
Governments continue to suppress opposition parties and tolerate large scale
corruption, or practice it. Too often, the exploitation of natural resources
continues to benefit only a few.”
Africa needs more leaders like Mr. Tambo and South
Africa’s first black president, Nelson Mandela. “Now that the tide is turning,
and Africans are holding their leaders to account, we have a real opportunity to
help Africans help themselves,” he declared.
Today, Mr. Annan opened the Conference on the Kofi Annan
Legacy for Africa, which took place at Georgetown University.
Source: UN News Service
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