Editorial
After the galvanising concert
G-8 affirmative action imperative
One would hope that the largest musical extravaganza ever produced, held across 12 time zones in ten different locations of four continents, to draw the attention of super-rich countries to the plight of the world's poorest nations, especially in Africa, has marked a significant step towards 'making poverty history'. The concert participated by millions of people and watched over by a billion on TV is a sensitising forerunner to the forthcoming G-8 Summit next week in Gleneagles in Scotland where the major thrust will be Africa and climate change.In spite of the huge symbolism of the concert, the second of the kind held almost twenty years after the first, the organisers must be commended for their efforts to remind the leaders of the rich eight nations that a situation, where the majority of the people of the world go hungry to bed every night, where almost fifty thousand die every day of it, cannot be allowed to persist for long. Notwithstanding the razzmatazz of an event like this, and long after the hustle and bustle of the Live 8 Concerts will have settled down, and long after most of the many millions that attended the concerts will have returned to the comforts of their homes, the words of Nelson Mandela will hopefully reverberate in the policy planning circles of the G-8 nations that freedom from poverty was not a charity bestowed on the poor by the affluent but a matter of right. However, there is merit in the comments of those who suggest that it is not poverty that ails the continent of Africa but more importantly, it is corruption that leads to poverty that must be eradicated first; thus one must not overlook the issue of governance that remains at the core of all developmental dynamics. We would like to share the optimism of the UN secretary general that the focus on Africa and the fight against poverty will help move the world's concerns forward. Going by the reports there are good indications that the G8 heads of state will confirm the debt-relief matters being recommended by their foreign ministers and that they would also be forward-looking and take some concrete steps on trade negotiations. To seek freedom from poverty is not seeking charity but demanding justice.
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