(June 10, 2005) Fears over corrupt African regimes should not be used to delay aid to the poverty-stricken continent, Bob Geldof said yesterday.

(June 1, 2005) The devastation caused by the Third World’s debt is finally getting the attention it deserves. Many of you will have read in the newspapers about the plans of world leaders to finally forgive the dreadful debt that the world’s poorest have been burdened with. But why are the lenders – mostly northern governments and their agencies, such as the World Bank and IMF – suddenly arguing for debt forgiveness when before they so stubbornly argued that Third World nations must repay their debts?

(May 28, 2005) In the lead up to the G8 summit at Gleneagles, Scotland, this July – where Africa is expected to be a main focus of discussion – Demba Moussa Dembele, of the African Forum on Alternatives, cautions Africans to curb their expectations.

(May 18, 2005) Women at a two-day conference in Nairobi to launch an African women’s intiative on poverty and human rights have declared the continent’s leaders are responsible for the numerous problems facing Africa, the Ghana News Agency (GNA) reports.

(May 18, 2005) The direct transfer of development assistance to African "vampire states" from Western governments that "do not want to criticize black African leaders for fear of being labeled racist" are two related aspects hobbling international aid programs, a Ghanaian scholar and author charged earlier this month, the Canadian-based Embassy magazine reports.

(May 14, 2005) Africans should not blame Mr Tony Blair, the newly re-elected Prime Minister of Britain, for attempting to redress through the Commission for Africa report, decades of imbalances and injustices visited on Africans by both African rulers and their western
collaborators.

(May 11, 2005) The Bush administration’s budget request of $1.33 billion to co-fund multilateral development banks (MDBs) would advance reforms aimed at making those banks more effective, a top Treasury Department official says.