11 July 2002

The new African Union and NEPAD - the New Partnership for African Development:  I wish I could be as sanguine as the brave Thabo and his spin merchants.  Take this headline:  Mbeki ecstatic over AU.  So he should be, I suppose, it gives him another avenue to enrich himself and his cronies over the next 12 months.  How about this from the M&G:  the headline says "AU's New Chairman Rolls Up His Sleeves"; bracing stuff, you'd say, but the body of the article goes on to describe all the obstacles that must be overcome, the countless ways in which Libya's Gaddaffi, that paragon of democracy and transparency, is trying to undermine the whole effort.  Frankly, I, and seemingly the developed world, judging by their response at the recent G8 summit in Kananaskis Canada, will believe it when we see it. 10:16:39 AM    comment []