One of Africa's most prominent business figures yesterday challenged the emphasis being placed on aid and debt relief for the continent in the run-up to next month's G8 summit.
Nicky Oppenheimer, chairman of De Beers, the South African-based diamond group, urged governments to concentrate more on eliminating trade-distorting farm subsidies and tariff barriers.
Speaking at the International Institute for Strategic Studies in London, he said many African countries were poorer now than 50 years ago despite more than $1,000bn in aid that has flowed into the continent.
By Rebecca Bream and David White in London
One of Africa's most prominent business figures yesterday challenged the emphasis being placed on aid and debt relief for the continent in the run-up to next month's G8 summit.
Nicky Oppenheimer, chairman of De Beers, the South African-based diamond group, urged governments to concentrate more on eliminating trade-distorting farm subsidies and tariff barriers.
Speaking at the International Institute for Strategic Studies in London, he said many African countries were poorer now than 50 years ago despite more than $1,000bn in aid that has flowed into the continent.
"Aid is the one commodity Africa has never been short of and in the past it has failed time, time and time again," he said. Much of the aid had not only failed to do good but could have "a positive capacity for harm" and encourage corruption.
Referring to the deal reached by finance ministers at the weekend on scrapping poor countries' multilateral debt, he warned: "Blanket aid could have the effect of sweeping away good practice on those countries struggling to achieve it, and rewarding those leaders of failed and failing states who have never aspired to it."
He questioned the assumption that aid could be used as leverage for better governance. "Rapacious leaders have not been converted to probity and virtue bu the availability of aid."
He criticised the proposed debt cancellation plan, saying it failed to distinguish between responsible and bad governments.
