Aid for Africa - The richest countries must do more

ZIMBABWE is not the only place in Africa where election results do not mean a change in leadership.

Chad’s President Idriss Déby is the latest in a line of dictators to preside over the world’s fifth poorest nation. When he came to power in 1990 it was hoped that he would encourage democracy and build his country’s economy for the benefit of all its citizens but, as in so many tragic instances on that beautiful but impoverished continent, power did indeed corrupt.

The central African country is rich in gold and uranium and has just become an oil-exporting state and may be in a position to reap the benefits from soaring oil prices — yesterday oil cost over $135 (€86) a barrel.

A growing number of attacks on aid vehicles in Chad and an increased level of violence have prompted warning calls from the United Nations. Officials say two security officers were killed while protecting a refugee camp. Militant rebels have intensified their attacks on aid vehicles in eastern Chad. The increased violence, along with the ongoing conflict and genocide in neighbouring Darfur, have led to warnings from the UN high commissioner for refugees, António Guterres, that the security situation is deteriorating. This will make the role of the Irish peacekeeping mission all the more challenging.

The UN estimates that eastern Chad is home to 12 refugee camps with as many as 180,000 internally displaced persons and about 250,000 who fled Darfur.

The UN has warned that the growing number of refugees raises concerns about the ability of aid workers to sustain the camps.

This is an echo of the escalating situation in South Africa where migrant workers are being killed — as many as 30 in the last two weeks — by South Africans who see the migrants as a threat to their livelihoods. The attacks are concentrated in KwaZulu-Nataland and Mpumalanga and police in Cape Town are on high alert. It is difficult not to have the greatest sympathy for these migrants, many of whom have been forced to flee Zimbabwe because of that country’s collapsed economy and growing food shortages, both the result of a corrupt dictator refusing to step down.

Yesterday, South Africa’s President Thabo Mbeki ordered troops into troubled townships as violence spread across the country. Mr Mbeki must bear some responsibility for the violence as he has refused to condemn Mugabe’s appalling record and corruption.

All of this has a tragically familiar ring to it and we can take little comfort from the fact that a survey by a US think tank has this week ranked Ireland in second place among rich countries for commitment to development in Africa.

The Washington-based Centre for Global Development in its Commitment to Development Index for Africa, which rates rich countries on how their policies help the continent, found that Ireland was second only to Sweden in a list of 21 states. The report also found that among the G7, “five are mediocre or worse when it comes to living up to their potential”.

The United States gives little aid to Africa for its size, and holds up the end of the list when it comes to slowing global warming. Japan was ranked in last place for its overall commitment to Africa, with only Austria giving a smaller share of its GDP in aid to Africa.

Surely these countries could and must do more; surely we should use the little influence we have to encourage them to do more.