Wednesday, June 15, 2011
Deutsche Presse-Agentur (dpa)
Germany unveiled its new policy towards Africa, which shifts the stress away from selfless development aid and puts more emphasis on the German interest in obtaining minerals and oil.
Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle set out the details just before he was due to leave Berlin on a visit to Sudan. His trip was however cancelled because drifting ash from a volcano erupting in Eritrea, made aviation in the area unsafe.
German business is to be encouraged to negotiate deals that combine investment in the 53-nation continent with extraction rights under the new policy.
The European country's approach to Africa would be "internally consistent, set realistic objectives and serve our values and interests," according to the policy paper.
The center-right government's policy is binding on all ministries and agencies dealing with Africa.
Germany was a colonial power in Africa until the end of the First World War in 1918, when it lost control of all the territories that are today known as Namibia, Tanzania, Rwanda, Burundi, Cameroon and Togo.
Its interest in Africa revived in the post-colonial period, with many Germans eager to use their wealth to end world poverty, but disillusionment soon set in amid reports of waste and corruption.
Under the new policy Berlin adopts a tougher approach to Africa, that requires future development aid spending to achieve "value for money" and better market access for German companies. The 29-page policy document talks of a "partnership between equals" and gives "peace and security in our neighborhood" as Germany's prime objective.
The document also mentions "irregular migration" from Africa as something Berlin wants to prevent.
The paper said Germany will stress its own values in Africa, including good governance and democracy, and hopes the 32 African nations that allow the death penalty will abolish it.
Berlin will also push for more rights for women and an end to laws against homosexuality. However the policy paper does not suggest that aid would be conditional on such countries changing their laws.
"We don't need to infect Africa with the germ of a love of freedom. It exists there already," said Westerwelle.
Referring to the revolts in North Africa, he said, "What we are experiencing in Africa is perhaps the most fascinating proof that the world is changing."
Africa was not being given a big enough place in world diplomacy, according to Westerwelle, noting that no African nation had a permanent UN Security Council seat.
"Africa is seriously under-represented in the global balance," he said.
Several aid groups in Berlin criticized the proposals to put aid under tough scrutiny and require it to yield economic benefits.
A joint response by several non-government organizations said the policy ignored the reality of the lives of the majority of Africans who live in rural areas, putting business interests ahead of beating poverty.
One aid group, Welthungerhilfe criticized the policy's hostility to import controls that protect African industries.
"Sometimes it serves economic development to protect newly created markets for a certain time," said the group's secretary, Wolfgang Jamann.
Chancellor Angela Merkel's cabinet meanwhile passed a resolution to recognize southern Sudan as Africa's 54th independent state when it gains independence from Khartoum on July 9. Westerwelle had been set to visit both parts during his scheduled three-day trip.
Germany will be chairing the UN Security Council when the new state is admitted to the UN next month.
Copyright 2011 dpa Deutsche Presse-Agentur GmbH
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