G8 Summit Opens in Ireland, With Africa Pre-Summit Conference in London

British Prime Minister David Cameron with Presidents of Ghana, Tanzania, Senegal & Guinea

Sunday June 16, 2013
Story & Picture Courtesy of eNews Channel Africa (eNCA)

Eight of the world’s leading financial powers are attending the 2013 G8 summit in Northern Ireland this week. Taking place on 17 and 18 June 2013, the agenda of the summit (below) lists items such as advancing trade, ensuring tax compliance and promoting greater transparency – in other words the “three Ts” – of which the New Alliance for Food Security and Nutrition in Africa is part.

The summit, as expected, has drawn much attention from anti-capitalist activists and various other
organizations worldwide who want their concerns heard.

On Saturday the British leader spoke at the Open for Growth event, a pre-summit conference in London, attended by the heads of state of Ghana, Tanzania, Senegal and Guinea; where he explained why the issue of real, beneficial ownership was so critical.

“For too long the international community has shied away from condemning the appalling degree of corruption and mismanagement of resources and the fundamentally bad governance that is destroying lives in some developing countries,” Cameron said.

“Oil exports from Nigeria are many times the aid flows that go to many African countries. The extractive industry payments to developing countries dwarf the amount of aid they receive. We have got to make sure these minerals are a blessing and not a curse,” he was reported as saying.

“Obviously you need honest government in those countries, but in the west we have a role to play. If you can still have shady secretive companies, we are simply not playing our part,” he added. London has been the scene of a series of demonstrations to mark the G8, with campaigners using the opportunity to highlight issues like Britain’s close links with the arms industry and big businesses.

The mood is lighter this year than previous anti-G8 demonstrations but the message is clear – in an age of austerity and economic crisis, the world’s economic leaders should shoulder some of the blame.

For some protestors, it was time for the banking sector to come under the spotlight, for others it was to draw attention to hunger in Africa.
The Guardian Newspaper in the UK reported David Cameron as saying “International gatherings are worthwhile, if they are done in the right way. The trouble is too many of them are about long communiqués with endless textual arguments.”

Cameron reportedly has a four stage diplomatic process:

“Step one – everyone admits there is a problem. Step two – everyone agrees to action plans for beneficial ownership. Step three – Britain takes the lead to say our answer is a register of beneficial ownership. Step four would be everyone doing that and then making it public,” the Guardian reported.

The Three T’s
Taxation
Discuss how to reduce tax evasion in both developed and undeveloped countries and collect tax-revenues owed to them.
Specifically target the practice of shifting taxable profits from areas where the business activity takes place to areas that have lower taxes.
Ensure schemes to prevent money laundering, money or assets obtained through criminal means and exchanged for clean money or assets, are effective in both developed and developing countries with rapid economic growth.

Trade
Support measures to extend free trade throughout the globe
Support trade agreements, including agreements between the E.U. and the US, Canada and Japan.
Encourage African countries to cut crossing times at border posts and double intra-African trade by 2022.
Work with governments, private companies and civilians to ensure relaxation of trade restrictions and investment barriers in countries at all stages of development.

TransparencySupport measures to ensure responsible use of land, fisheries and forests in the interests of national food security.
Encourage sustainable investment and management of land resources and increased global transparency of resource-extraction.
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