Darfur and G8: Mbeki suggests Western taxpayers donate another GBP 50 million to AU "institutions"

Cape Town June 3 IOL report:

Supporting peace and stability initiatives on the African continent was one of the practical outcomes desired at the forthcoming G8 summit in Scotland, President Thabo Mbeki said on Friday.

"What the operations in Darfur in Sudan have done is to show that the capacity of the peacemaking, peacekeeping institutions of the African Union are not as strong as they should be," Mbeki told delegates attending the World Economic Forum meeting on Friday.

He said the peacekeeping institutions providing soldiers and police have proved to be weak, partly because of their newness.

"So, why then don't we all of us agree, that let us dedicate these sort of resources to the strengthening of the institutions of the African Union that are dedicated to the matter of peace and security on the continent."

Mbeki said this would lessen the sorts of logistical problems currently being experienced in Darfur.

Mbeki said he did not think there would be much debate about this, but Africans needed to say this was one of the outcomes they wanted from the G8 meeting at Gleneagles in July.

"The issue of peace and security and stability on the continent is critical to its development and therefore why don't we generate GBP 50-million ... in order to finance these institutions of the African Union so that they are capable of discharging their duties with regard to peace."

Mbeki cautioned against getting entangled in debate about the best mechanisms, such as the proposed international financing facility. - Sapa

{This is what African leaders are good at, sniffing out and wangling more money from the West to spend on more talk, meetings, fancy cars and travel to administer war, arms, ammunition and fighting. No mention of actual security forces. Seems the only paid jobs in African countries like Sudan are to do with fighting or politics.

Note Mr Mbeki makes no mention of the leadership and governance in Sudan, northern Uganda and DR Congo. Many a post here at Sudan Watch has pointed out the African Union has said over the past year re Darfur that funding shortages is not the cause of the holdup: it is the Khartoum regime holding up the "accommodation" of African Union troops. African politics dictates the speed at which African Union troops are found and deployed to Darfur.

I'd rather trust the UN, EU and NATO to discern whether African Union "institutions" need more hard cash or not.

UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan said he was perfectly satisfied with the $300 million recently pledged in cash and kind for the AU mission in Darfur.

America's Mr Zoellick is a good accountant keeping a keen eye on what is needed. $4.5 million has been pledged for southern Sudan of which $2 billion is from the US.

Maybe the least hard cash that is given directly to Africa, where leaders and their entourages get their hands on it and into their pockets, the better. African leaders have brought this upon themselves by proving over many decades they are completely untrustworthy.]