OTTAWA (Reuters) - Canada has dismissed critics who complain the international community is rushing ahead too quickly to back a new initiative to help Africa, with Ottawa saying delays could blunt the West's new-found desire to boost the fortunes of the impoverished continent.
Canada, the current president of the Group of Eight leading industrial nations, will unveil an African action plan at a summit of G8 leaders in the western Canadian mountain resort of Kananaskis next month.
The action plan is being drawn up in response to an African-led initiative called the New Partnership for African Development (NEPAD), which breaks new ground by insisting African nations need to introduce reforms to draw in sorely-needed foreign investment.
Although NEPAD was born in Africa, diplomats say some African politicians and civil activists are unhappy about how quickly the initiative is being pushed through and are nervous about the pace at which free markets and Western-style political reforms would be introduced in return for aid.
But Robert Fowler, the Canadian prime minister's personal representative with overall responsibility for the G8 summit, told Reuters there was no time to lose and rejected the idea of more consultations across Africa on NEPAD.
"NEPAD attracted the interest of the G8 when let's face it, there have been an awful lot of 'Fix Africa' plans that have not attracted a great deal of outside attention or support," he said in an interview late last week.
"There is a real sense of momentum here ... and I don't think for a moment we should lose it," he said. "So saying 'Put that support on hold until we work out a whole bunch of other things' doesn't make sense to me."
NEPAD targets a highly ambitious annual foreign investment of $64 billion -- more than seven times higher than the total amount of investment in Africa in 1999 -- for a continent with more than its share of woes.
"I can't help but think there's an irony here. Africa's need is dramatic by any stretch of the imagination," said Fowler, referring to endemic poverty, the steadily decreasing life expectancy in sub-Saharan Africa and the spread of AIDS.
"The whole idea that people are saying 'Hey, let's slow down, let's stand back and think about this a little bit more' runs a little bit counter to the evidence of the requirement" for increased foreign involvement.
Fowler, who has consistently stressed that the G8 plan will not be pouring billions of dollars into Africa every year, said it would focus on five areas: peace and security, knowledge and health, good governance, trade and investment as well as agriculture and water.
"The Africa action plan doesn't propose to fix Africa next year. This is a long-term process," he said, trying to reassure civil activists they would not be shut out of the process.
"From our perspective we're talking about a very long-term partnership that will be constantly adjusted and I hope therefore also adjusted to meet the interests, concerns and advice of civil society."
He said that while the West would not abandon those nations suffering serious problems such as famine or AIDS, it was clear that countries which embraced reforms stand a better chance of attracting investment.
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