Mbeki: Rich must pay more

[Alan]

Poor countries need massive resource transfers, president tells UN General Assembly

Massive resource transfers to poor countries from rich countries are needed if the world wants to attain its Millennium Developmental Goals, President Thabo Mbeki said late on Tuesday.

Mbeki told the 62nd session of the United Nations’ General Assembly in New York there is an urgent need for resource transfers to poor countries — through development assistance, investment, trade, technology, and human resources.

“As we all accept, central to the attainment of MDGs [Millennium Developmental Goals] globally, is the critical matter of resource transfers from the rich countries of the North to poor countries of the South,” Mbeki said in a speech released by his office yesterday.

“Many developing countries, especially those from my own continent, Africa, do not have the material base from which to address and attain the MDGs on their own.”

Mbeki, who said he believed South Africa would attain its MDGs, urged the richer countries to enter into partnerships with African countries, using the African Union’s programme of Nepad.

He said this would strengthen the measures the continent already took with limited resources, through international community-guided programmes of the United Nations which adopted Nepad.

Referring to the resource transfers in the aftermath of World War 2, which helped Western Europe recover, Mbeki asked the question why there was an absence of the same resolve to assist poor nations today.

He said a similar intervention helped a number of Asian countries on to their own development trajectory.

The South African president also said the UN has not yet transformed itself or “designed the necessary institutions of governance consistent with the noble ideals that drive modern democratic societies”.

The reason for this was that the world was defined by the dominant and the dominated, said Mbeki.

“The dominant have also become the decision makers in the important global forums, including at this seat of global governance. Accordingly, the skewed distribution of power in the world — political, economic, military, technological and social — replicates itself in multilateral institutions, much to the disadvantage of the majority of the poor people of the world.”

Mbeki said although the UN correctly identified problems and made solutions that would make the world a better place for all, it was guided by the interests of the rich.

“Naturally, the dominant and the powerful very often respond positively to agreed programmes if these would advance their own narrow interests,” Mbeki said in his prepared speech.

Until ideals of freedom, justice and equality characterise the UN, rich nations would forever dictate to the “dominated”.

“The interests of the dominated, which are those of the majority of humanity, would be deferred in perpetuity.”

Mbeki urged the world’s nations to let actions speak louder than words and to stop making “declaration after declaration against poverty and underdevelopment” without meaning it.

http://www.witness.co.za/default.asp?myAction=detail&myRef=55476&myCat=news

WOW

That's "rich" coming from Tbone

 

[w1z4rd]

* The GDP (Gross Domestic Product) of the poorest 48 nations (i.e. a quarter of the world’s countries) is less than the wealth of the world’s three richest people combined.

http://www.globalissues.org/TradeRelated/Facts.asp

Though I agree with Alan about the comment coming from Mbeki. Fat rich corrupt hypocrite slug that Mbeki is, gives him no room to call the shots.

 

[stoke]

I wait with baited breath for Mbeki to donate his wealth to the poor.

 

[McSack]

Mbeki urged the world’s nations to let actions speak louder than words and to stop making “declaration after declaration against poverty and underdevelopment” without meaning it.

lol !!!

made my day. thabo should take up a day job as a standup comic

 

[Alan]

http://www.globalissues.org/TradeRelated/Facts.asp

Though I agree with Alan about the comment coming from Mbeki. Fat rich corrupt hypocrite slug that Mbeki is, gives him no room to call the shots.

Especially when you consider Tbone was in a prime position to make a change. Lift S.A to become a successful 1st world country pulling the rest of Southern Africa up with us.

 

[Alan]

lol !!!

made my day. thabo should take up a day job as a standup comic

Followed a close second by

Until ideals of freedom, justice and equality characterise the UN, rich nations would forever dictate to the “dominated”.

 

[w1z4rd]

Especially when you consider Tbone was in a prime position to make a change. Lift S.A to become a successful 1st world country pulling the rest of Southern Africa up with us.

Mbeki is scum... if he wanted to sort out poverty he would have voted with the UN to make sure Burma became a free country, would have drop kicked our Dr of Death (manto) out the window and would have put Poison ivy into a prison where only Telkom hold music was played.

 

[stoke]

... and would have put Poison ivy into a prison where only Telkom hold music was played.

Nooooo, surely even she is undeserving of that torture!
THE HORROR!

 

[w1z4rd]

Nooooo, surely even she is undeserving of that torture!
THE HORROR!

For making prices so bad that almost a whole generation of youth suffers for her stupidity and greed... no punishment hard enough. Stupidity and corruption on her level should be punishable by death.... or telkom hold music.

 

[Roo!]

Ahh, the usual African 'give me, give me, give me'. Do it for yourself you lazy b@st@rd, Singapore did!!!!

 

[w1z4rd]

^ Its amazing how one idiot can destroy a thread

 

[Roo!]

^ Excuse me?!

 

[Londo]

Especially when you consider Tbone was in a prime position to make a change. Lift S.A to become a successful 1st world country pulling the rest of Southern Africa up with us.

I see often that Mbeki is call T-Bone on this forum. What is the origin or reason for this nickname?

 

[Roo!]

I see often that Mbeki is call T-Bone on this forum. What is the origin or reason for this nickname?

The first time I heard him referred to as T-Bone was by Mark Gillman on 5FM quite a few years back, not sure where he picked it up from (or maybe he coined it).

 

[Vrotappel]

^ Its amazing how one idiot can destroy a thread

Sorry but I agree with the sentiment expressed. This is pretty rich coming from Mbeki. He and his friends have been enriching themselves at the cost of the country and now they are asking for handouts.

 

[Sneeky]

The problem with uplifting Africa is largely one of rich nations being reluctant to donate money to inherently corrupt African governments.
Africa needs to sort this out.

The best thing people of this continent can ask for is the right to trade their products on the free market on a level playing field.

Modern nations heavily subsidize some of their industries to offset the influx of products and produce.

If African states were allowed to trade fairly in the open market this would be a massive boost for the continent, especially in agriculture.

Every G8 summit or UN meeting where this is on the agenda there seems to be some significant distraction around that time that puts Africa completely on the back burner. It happens all the time.
Sidestepping 101.

 

[Ricard]

I do agree with some points... but GDP ...

Gross Domestic Product is spurred on by the Employment Act, Government Policy and Tax breaks...

The Government has to make the country suitable for small companies to grow. only the S.A. Government can change what the countries GDP is!

so comparing it to the 3 wealthiest people in the world is not any sort of comparison.

 

[bekdik]

The problem with uplifting Africa is largely one of rich nations being reluctant to donate money to inherently corrupt African governments.
Africa needs to sort this out.

This is the core of the problem. We have seen, almost without exception, that when large donations have been made, that corruption and dishonesty have caused the funds to be diverted to the ruling powers and their cronies.

With the opening of the East-West borders, the break up of the Soviet Union, European governments have are looking at spending their money on creating local stability. The USA is footing big bills at creating democracy in various arenas, although many will dispute this cause.

But the result of this, is that there is little spare cash to be given away as donations and, with the track record of the money being diverted to personal wealth, it is unlikely that money will be forthcoming. Unless, perhaps, if the various African regimes guaranteed delivery.

 

[Tsimo]

another problem is wanting companies to invest in south africa and then smothering them in red tape. think seacom.. a while ago i heard of a german investor who hadsomething like 500 million rand invested in SA. then they told him that he should be BEE complaint... he (not surprisingly) gave them the finger and took all his money with him...
you cant expect a foreigner to sell 50% of his company to a token investor just to do business.

 

[ToxicBunny]

I don't even know where to start with that little speech of T-bones.....

There are so many problems with it that its frightening. As a few people have said before, we've had every opportunity to sort out own problems out, and pick up our neighboring countries with it, but we've p****ed them away with corrupt officials and stupid laws.