International
Bob Geldof
Budge up Bono and Bob – Bill’s the Big New Activist for This G20
This blog originally appeared on the Huffington Post.
While Bono and Bob Geldof have long been banging away, pressing world leaders for progress to help the poorest with debt cancellation, more money and better policies to fight hunger and disease, there is a tough new activist in town: Seattle’s finest, Bill Gates Jnr.
In a remarkable twist of political theatre, the billionaire philanthropist – who’s foundation gives away $2.5bn a year – has been asked by President Sarkozy to present his vision on how to finance the fight against poverty to the mixed bag of G20 leaders when they meet next week in Cannes.
To those who don’t know him, it will seem a surprisingly radical vision. Bill will call for a new partnership of revolutionary innovation between the developed world, the emerging powerhouses of the BRICS, the developing world and the private sector. Mr Gates has a devastating deadpan data-delivery style.
Bono calls it the “Kill Bill” manoeuvre. We trust it will go down well with world leaders.
It is essential we all pay serious attention to his proposals because they may shape the fight against extreme poverty for a generation to come. So if you don’t like his proposals, you should feel free to shout out. If you do like them – well, let’s shout even louder.
Even before the report has been published, much attention has been given to Gates’ support for a financial transaction tax. There are clearly huge opportunities here and those countries that are willing to do so should adopt such a levy, but with one key proviso: a significant portion of the proceeds must go towards fighting global inequalities and helping those in extreme poverty.
But this step alone is not enough. Not even its biggest supporters will argue that an FTT can singlehandedly finance the fight against extreme poverty. Fortunately there are many other big and wide-reaching proposals in his paper which also deserve urgent attention and action.
First up is Mr Gates’ push for legally binding measures to enforce transparency in the oil, gas and mining sector. Africa’s natural resources were worth $246 billion in exports in 2009. The proportion of this wealth that was spent on public services and helping people to pull themselves out of poverty should have been much larger than it was.
But without the transparency that shines a light on the contracts that governments sign with big business, money goes astray. He may not know it but in recommending this he has thrown his weight behind the “Publish What You Pay” coalition that ONE is part of, which has been campaigning on this issue for years.
The campaign helped push the USA to lead on this issue, and indeed just today the European Commission is presenting its proposals for legally binding rules to force companies extracting natural resources to make public their payments to governments. So just as Bill’s proposals on a financial transaction tax takes on the Big Banks, so his proposal on transparency takes on Big Oil.
This is why Bill is shaping up to be such a fascinating evidence-based activist. By just following the hard data his empirical process is leading to some very big ideas.
Gates’ proposals will get to the heart of the issue around the future financing of the fight against poverty. Ultimately the largest source of money for fighting poverty comes from within developing countries. The more our aid – resources given by European and American taxpayers – is used to leverage their aid – resources raised by African and other developing country taxpayers for their priorities – the smarter our aid will be and the sooner we can get out of the aid business altogether.
This is similar to the point Tony Blair made in his speech to the Overseas Development Institute last week. It’s not an argument for ending aid prematurely, rather it’s a case for scaling aid up smartly as promised until it is dwarfed entirely by the resources African citizens raise for themselves to fight poverty and promote growth. Then the aid industry exits stage left, job done.
And the job is already half done. Africa has come a long way in the last decade or so since debts were dropped and aid became bigger and smarter. Here are just some of the numbers.
46.5 million more kids started going to school in Africa between 1999 and 2008. In 2009, nearly 4 million Africans were receiving antiretroviral treatment for HIV/AIDS, up from only 50,000 in 2002. Measles deaths in Africa declined by 92% between 2000 and 2008. Remarkable stuff, but more to do.
That is why Bill is also eyeing the huge sums sitting in the coffers of the emerging powers. 1% of sovereign wealth funds may not seem like a lot, but when you realise they currently are currently worth just under $5 trillion, that’s a decent sum.
Applying that kind of money to investments in agriculture and infrastructure can quickly reduce the marginalisation that blights vast regions and put them in a position where they can function fully in the global economy. That is in the interests of all. Current global growth is just about creeping along only because of the arrival of the Chinas and Indias. Africa will be next and the sooner African growth surges even more to help prop up the global economy, the better for us all.
So the future of development finance is about unlocking the capital of emerging economies – but Bill argues it’s also about unlocking their creativity. Their recent experience with rapid development gives them a wealth not just of cash but of knowledge which, if used wisely and mixed with the dynamism of entrepreneurs in developing countries, will unleash job-generating growth not just for their economies but for the global economy.
There remains a real risk that the Cannes G20 summit will go down as the moment where we failed to not just get the Eurozone sorted, but also failed to spot the surging opportunities in this changing world. To world leaders I would say only this: pay heed to Bill Gates’ modest proposals – they could well be the best way to figure out the future not just of financing the fight against poverty, but also the fight for global growth.
Can France lead where others failed?
Earlier this month Bob Geldof, ONE advisor and advocate, wrote the following article for the French newspaper Libération, which is well worth reading:
On Tuesday, my fellow members of the Africa Progress Panel and I met with President Sarkozy to urge him to put Africa’s development at the centre of his G8 and G20 presidencies. The need for doing so is still as compelling as it was six years ago when, prompted by the massed global ranks of the Make Poverty History movement, the G8 signed up to a series of historic commitments to tackle poverty in Africa.
In the full glare of the world’s media, the eight most powerful men on the planet made a solemn pledge to the weakest. The resultant debt cancellation and additional aid resources have contributed to five solid years of progress in Africa. Across the continent, we can see the living proof of this progress. Millions vaccinated, millions receiving access to life-saving AIDS treatment, millions protected from malaria and millions more in school. There has also been strong economic growth across Africa. Arguably, debt cancellation has allowed African countries some of the fiscal space needed to ride the storm of the economic crisis better than was feared. Thanks to the entrepreneurialism of African citizens and the generosity of the G8, the continent is on the move.
However, not all is rosy. It is a sad fact that the G8 is nowhere near fulfilling the majority of its commitments. Last year, its members did not even deliver one third of the promised increase in aid. Reasons range from the lack of political leadership and a credible and effective accountability mechanism, to the global economic crisis and the diminishing importance of the G8 and corresponding rise of the G20. The big question is now whether the latter will be a more effective body.
This year’s G20 meeting in Cannes is President Sarkozy’s opportunity to rehabilitate some of France’s lost reputation on Africa, and to show the kind of leadership the UK demonstrated in 2005. Indeed, will this be when France takes the lead where others have failed? Two topics deserve particular attention, and the first of these is governance. Africa has vast mineral wealth, much of it undiscovered, but little of the revenues generated are shared with the people of the continent. Instead, as so often in the past, profits are siphoned off by discreet and illegal partnerships with foreign companies in opaque and secret deals. The G20 must move the odds in the citizen’s favour by insisting on transparency in deal-making, and adopting legally binding measures at least as good as the legislation recently agreed in the US at the behest of senators Cardin and Lugar. As chair of the G20 anti-corruption working group, France can lead on this issue as well as in the fight against kleptocracy and in work to repatriate assets looted from African state banks by corrupt officials.
The second issue the G20 needs to address is the challenge of supporting sustainable and equitable growth in Africa. A package of trade support and investment can build on the continent’s great potential and give some rocket fuel to its legion of skilled managers and entrepreneurs. It should focus on regional integration in Africa, and the disastrous reality that only 10 per cent of the average African country’s trade is with other African countries. It should also harness the continent’s vast agricultural and renewable-energy potential. Africa has the means not just to lift itself out of need, but to help deal with some of the rest of the world’s needs for food and fuel.
The agreement on food security reached at L’Aquila must not be forgotten. Food crises have the potential to affect our world radically, by accelerating inflation and so impeding a return to growth, while increasing social unrest in developing regions. The G20 in Seoul started a decent process on this issue, but France is better placed to deliver on those plans.
The partnership most exciting for some, and threatening for others, is the evolving South–South relationship between the emerging powers of China, Brazil and India, and the developing power of Africa. Europe and America will grow only in irrelevance if we do not harness ourselves to these engines, and as we do so, we must impart values of transparency and accountability, rather than narrow interests and parochial concerns. The best way to share our values is to demonstrate them in our actions. Competition with China today should not mean that we copy their worst practices, but that we share the best of ours. We also need to improve African representation at the G20. Excluding one billion men, women, children, producers and consumers from global decision-making is ridiculous, self-defeating and wrong.
If President Sarkozy can begin to deliver on these concerns, then his G20 presidency will be judged a success.
Bob Geldof
Bob Geldof: ‘We need to shout’
It’s sometimes hard, especially in tough economic times, to think about the real difference we are making in the fight against extreme poverty. So we took another look at Bob Geldof’s closing remarks at the end of September’s UN summit in New York.
Geldof called for the assembled delegates to confound the cynics and clichés, and to bring all countries to the table to continue to fight the ‘tangible condition’ of poverty. From high-level talks on the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) to each of us ‘giving a buck’ to projects abroad, Geldof stresses that we’re winning; we’ve got the ‘big heavy wheel of equity and justice turning’.
Progress on poverty is happening. You can see the astounding statistics and stories of success everywhere you look. So make no mistake we are making a difference. In the words of Goethe, quoted by Geldof, ‘Whatever you can do or dream you can, begin it. Boldness has genius, magic and power in it’.
Bob Geldof on investing in Africa
As part of the “African Century” edition of The Globe and Mail this week, Bob Geldof sat down with David Berman to discuss Africa’s economic potential, and what the future holds for investors in the continent.
Check out part 1 here, and part 2 here
Bono and Bob Geldof guest-edited Globe and Mail out now
It’s been a whirlwind few days in Toronto with ONE’s Bono and Bob Geldof editing today’s Globe and Mail, Canada’s paper of record, and turning the paper’s focus to Africa just as Canada prepares to host world leaders at the upcoming G8 and G20 summits. Late last night Bob wrapped the last headlines and stories and we made some final adjustments to the cover before it was sent to print. We think the final product is fantastic and hope you do too. The issue examines the question — will the 21st century be the African century? There are op-eds and news stories by and about a wide range of Africans from Liberian President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf to Somali rapper K’naan. President Barack Obama responds to questions from Bono about US strategy in Africa. If you’re in Canada get the hard copy too –the red graphic cover is a keeper.
Having Bono and Bob edit the Globe has been a great opportunity for ONE heading into the G8 and G20 meetings in June. The leadership and staff at the Globe, from editor-in-chief John Stackhouse and foreign editor Stephen Northfield to the other editors, reporters, photographers and graphic designers were incredible partners and we’re so grateful that they were willing to take the risk to do something they had never done before.
The Globe and Mail has asked celebrated Kenyan blogger Ory Okolloh to guest edit the globeandmail.com today and over the next month and she will be featuring a great deal of Africa content exclusively through the website including this video of a question submitted by reader Sarah Kibaalya of Toronto in which she asks Bono and Bob if Africans need others to speak on their behalf. Their answers might surprise you. Check it out:
Also check out this live webchat between Bob Geldof and Ory Okolloh which just wrapped up.
We’ll be spotlighting more content throughout the day, so be sure to check back on the ONE Blog for more updates!
Bob Geldof’s message to Canadian ONE members
While guest editing The Globe and Mail this weekend, ONE co-founder Bob Geldof took a moment to record this message for ONE members in Canada:
Bob talks about why he and Bono guest edited the paper, the importance of the forthcoming G8/G20 summits, and why we need your help to put pressure on the politicians to agree action on maternal and child health, an essential issue in the fight against poverty.
Behind-The-Scenes Video at The Globe and Mail
Tomorrow’s edition of the Canadian newspaper the Globe and Mail will be guest-edited by ONE co-founder Bono and ONE activist Bob Geldof — and the paper is already hitting the ground running with this awesome behind-the-scene video.
As the video points out, tomorrow will mark the first time the Globe and Mail has ever been guest-edited, and also the first time Bono and Bob Geldof have ever guest-edited a North American newspaper. Check back soon for more great extras.
Bono and Bob Geldof to guest-edit The Globe and Mail
Cool news. Next Monday, 10 May, ONE co-founder Bono and our great supporter Bob Geldof will edit the Canadian newspaper The Globe and Mail as part of the run-up to Canada’s hosting the G8 and G20 global summits in June, where Africa will be on the agenda. It’s an amazing opportunity for ONE and a great chance to get the word out about the progress being made on the continent today, and about the strategic importance of Africa, not just to the 1 billion people living there, but to the rest of the world as well.
ONE is working closely with Bob and Bono on this project, as we have in the past when they edited other leading publications around the world, including Asahi Shimbun in Japan, The Independent in the UK, Bild in Germany, and La Stampa in Italy.
The special edition will feature content and commentary from African political leaders, business owners and grassroots activists; it will also include contributions from other well-known international political leaders and advocates.
“I’m a huge fan of great journalism – I can’t wait to show up for work at The Globe. Our aim in this special edition is to crack down on a few stereotypes and showcase the opportunities surrounding the African continent, not just the problems,” said Bono in The Globe and Mail press release issued last night announcing the project.
“The world will be coming to and looking at Canada this June. The older and the emerging economies will be once again be struggling to learn the new 21st century dance of cooperation and possibly even compromise, and this time under Canada’s leadership. The Globe and Mail, one of the world’s great papers of record, has, in a mad rush of blood to the head, agreed to let two Irish pop-singers edit their august journal for one special day, one special edition. It will be dedicated to that huge, emerging resource continent of Africa and the global necessity of coming to terms with its opportunities and obstacles. I’ve gone from being an old editor of the Vancouver Georgia Straight to the new editor of The Globe and Mail and it’s only taken 36 years! Now that’s a career trajectory,” said Geldof in the same release.
The Globe and Mail is inviting readers to send in their video questions for Bono and Geldof. Video questions should be sent via their website by 6 May. Select questions will then be chosen, and answered by the guest-editors online during the month of May.
So send your questions in!!
We’ll have more on this exciting development when the special edition is published on Monday.
Bob Geldof on the Millennium Development Goals
Earlier this month ONE co-founder Bob Geldof spoke at the UK Department For International Development (DFID) conference on the Millennium Development Goals.
Watch what he had to say:
For more information on the conference visit www.dfid.gov.uk/conference2010
Invictus
South African football captain Aaron Mokoena and ONE co-founder Bob Geldof at the screening of the film Invictus
On Monday night ONE was lucky to host an advance screening in London of the new film Invictus, which opens this month in much of Europe.
Directed by Clint Eastwood, Invictus tells the inspiring true story of how Nelson Mandela (Morgan Freeman) joined forces with the captain of South Africa’s rugby team, Francois Pienaar (Matt Damon) to help unite their country. Believing he could bring his people together through the universal language of sport, Mandela rallied South Africa’s underdog rugby team as they made an unlikely run to the 1995 World Cup final.
As the world’s attention turns to the continent this year for the football world cup, it’s time to unite once again to celebrate the successes we’ve achieved, and renew our energies to go the distance to achieve the rest of the Millenium Development Goals by 2015.
We were joined on the night by journalists, politicians, footballers, celebrities, and a lucky ONE member, Benjamin Palafox, who won our online contest.
After the film ONE co-founder Bob Geldof and South African football captain Aaron Mokoena, spoke passionately about the importance of this 2010 for Africa and how the world cup can focus the eyes of the world, including the 3 billion or more who will watch the competition, on the good news that’s coming from the continent.
Keep an eye on the ONE blog for video from the event, which we will be posting shortly.
P.S. To find out more about Invictus visit the the official movie website.
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About the Blog
The International ONE Blog is a daily log of the anti-poverty movement. The site is operated by ONE staff, with guest contributions from ONE volunteers, members and allies.
The content of each post and each comment represents the views of that author and does not necessarily reflect the views of ONE. ONE does not support or oppose any candidate for elected office, and any post expressing support or opposition for a candidate is not endorsed by ONE.
TAGS: Bill Gates, Bob Geldof, Bono, G20, Jamie Drummond