Africa Still Struggles

Mr Kofi Annan launched a report that urged Africa to drive its own development but (and theres always a but with Africa), he still wanted the aid donors to honour their commitments too.

However the report highlighted that corruption is costing Africa around $150bn (£92bn) a year.

Mr Annan said "Africa has transformed in my lifetime and the progress reached so far is proof that concrete achievements are possible amidst adversity. The economic, climate change and food security crises are all linked. They cannot be tackled separately. We need a new development model that provides security, stability, and addresses people's needs. Everyone needs to contribute. Business has a key role, as do Africa's trading and donor partners. But the primary responsibility to make it happen rests with Africa's political leaders."

The Africa panel who produced the report said the number of wars was sharply down. Fifteen years ago there were 13 civil wars. Now they claim that there are just three: Sudan, the Democratic Republic of Congo and Somalia.

However African Analysts point out that this report ignores conflicts in Chad, the Central African Republic and Ethiopia, not to mention low-level insurgencies in at least another four states - including Nigeria.

In otherwords, Africa is still a basket case of wars and corruption.