Africa summit to focus on Blair plan, governance

Africa's business leaders plan to back Britain's mission to give more aid and boost trade in the world's poorest continent at a summit this week, but will also demand better governance from their political counterparts. African leaders and business executives meet from June 1-3 in Cape Town at the WEF Africa summit to support the British plan which challenges the rich world to stop protectionism and give Africa an extra $25 billion a year in aid until 2010. "Part of what the business community will be saying is there's no more stomach for aid to be misused, and end up in personal Swiss bank accounts," said Haiko Alfeld, Africa director of the World Economic Forum (WEF).
The summit hopes the British blueprint wins the support of rich nations at their G8 summit in July, Alfeld said.
"Business needs to be more involved in this process, to lobby for more transparency and better corporate governance in order to get aid," said Lazarus Zim, chief executive officer of mining giant Anglo American Plc's South African unit.