Tony Blair’s Commission for Africa closed down
By Abebe Gelaw
The Commission for Africa, which was launched by British Prime Minister Tony Blair in February 2004, has shut down its doors permanently after submitting its recommendations at the Gleneagles G8 Summit.

A spokesman for the British Department of Trade and Industry, Mr. Richard Shrubb, confirmed to this reporter that the Commission, with its London based Secretariat, was closed down on 1st August. He said that the reason for the closure of the Commission was due to the completion of the tasks it was entrusted with, which were mainly to conduct consultations and come up with detailed recommendations to “take a fresh look at the challenges facing the continent and to build on existing knowledge and experience.”

He explained that there was no consideration to extend the life of the Commission as Tony Blair took a personal initiative with a view to taking advantage of Britain’s current chairmanship of both the EU and the G8 to convince richer countries to take concrete actions to help Africa tackle the development challenges its facing.

Chaired by Tony Blair, the Commission had seventeen Commissioners, including two members of his cabinet, Chancellor of the Exchequer, Gorden Brown and the Secretary of State for International Development, Hilary Benn. Live Aid founder Sir Bob Geldof, the Executive Secretary of the Economic Commission for Africa, K. Amoako and Ethiopia's ruler, Meles Zenawi, were also members of the Commission. All the Commissioners were invited by Tony Blair to join in their personal capacities rather than representatives of governments and institutions, it was learnt.

The Commission’s 462-page report, Our Common Interest, made numerous recommendations on culture, peace, security, poverty alleviation, health, education and good governance. In its key message on building effective states, governance and nations, the report stated: “Effective states, those that can promote and protect human rights and can deliver services to their people and a climate for entrepreneurship and growth, are the foundation of development. Without progress in governance, all other reforms will have limited impact.

“While there have been improvements in many African countries, weakness in governance and capacity is the central cause of Africa’s difficult experience over the last decades. Improvements in governance, including democracy, are first and foremost the responsibility of African countries and people.”

Asked whether such recommendations make sense in light of Mr. Meles', one of the authors of the report, appalling human rights records, Mr. Shrubb indicated that Britain never condoned human rights violations in any form or shape anywhere in the world. He noted that the freezing of a £20 million aid increase by Tony Blair, after the latest killings and mass detentions of protesters in Ethiopia, carried a clear message.

The state-sponsored violence in Ethiopia appeared embarrassing for Tony Blair who personally invited Meles Zenawi to join the Commission. In the aftermath of the June 8th massacre, UK’s Secretary of International Development, Hilary Benn, flew to Addis Ababa to hold talks with Meles. “In the run up to the G8 Summit I think what happens here in Ethiopia is a very important test for Africa’s commitment to good governance,” he told reporters.

There was no question that the gross human rights violations in Ethiopia seriously dented the credibility of the Commission for Africa especially during its presentation of key recommendations at the Gleneagles G8 Summit. Angered by the killings of civilian protesters, a member of the Commission, Sir Bob Geldof, openly called on Meles to grow up. “It is pathetic. I despair, I really despair…Grow up. It is a disgrace,” Geldof said on Channel 4.

Although Tony Blair’s government also joined the call for an independent inquiry into the shootings that claimed the lives of over forty civilians and injured over one hundred others, the government seemed to have failed to take any practical steps to that effect.

The Commission’s website,www.commissionforafrica.org, is to remain online as a permanent archive to provide information and materials associated with its work, Mr. Shrub noted.
(Source: Ethiomedia.com)

Tony Blair must have been regretted!!!!