US embassy cable - 02HARARE1576

UNCLAS HARARE 001576 
 
SIPDIS 
 
DEPT FOR AF/PD, AF/S, AF/RA 
NSC FOR JENDAYI FRAZER 
LONDON FOR GURNEY 
PARIS FOR NEARY 
NAIROBI FOR PFLAUMER 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: KPAO, ZI 
SUBJECT: MEDIA REPORT  -- G8 SUMMIT AND NEPAD 
 
1. Under headline "G8 summit a damp squib for NEPAD's 
  lofty goals," the independent daily "The Daily 
  News" dedicated its July 3 editorial to stating 
  that the G8's proposed aid package to Africa falls 
  short of expectations.  Excerpts: 
 
2.  ". . .The Group of Eight (G8) summit paid more 
   attention to the Russians and their problems.  To 
   be sure, they did pledge to give Africa some aid, 
   but it was far, far less than what had been 
   promised earlier.  Vladimir Putin left the summit 
   with a smile as broad as the Volga River on his 
   face while the four African leaders invited to the 
   summit must have left the Canadian Rockies feeling 
   as barren in their hopes for the future as the 
   Sahara Desert.  They had been invited to the 
   summit because of their starring roles in the New 
   Partnership for Africa's Development (NEPAD). 
   What the rich nations eventually undertook to do 
   may go a long way in improving living standards on 
   the continent.  Individually, the rich countries 
   pledged to increase their aid to Africa, to cancel 
   the crippling debts of the poorest countries and 
   generally to boost trade between themselves and 
   the continent.  But none of this was enough to 
   satisfy critics of the G8 leaders who felt they 
   had fallen far short of their earlier promises. 
   For NEPAD and its lofty goals, the summit was 
   truly a damp squib. . . ." 
 
SULLIVAN