This morning the University of Sydney hosted an international forum chaired by Deputy Vice Chancellor (International) John Hearn on Australia’s “re-engagement with Africa”. The Australian Foreign Minister, Stephen Smith, and the Finance Minister for Zimbabwe, Tendai Biti, were keynote speakers.
Unfortunately my good friend Marc Purcell who is the Executive Director of the Australian Council For International Development (ACFID) was unable to attend and he invited me to make some remarks on behalf of the ACFID membership. There has been some tweet action on this subject so I felt I should drop a few lines on the content of my presentation.
My remarks focused on poverty and under development in Africa, which are the two major challenges facing the continent although both challenges are incredibly multi dimensional. I began with a quote from Nelson Mandela, that “ending poverty is not an act of charity, but an act of justice” and justice is what the people of Africa deserve andshould accept no less.
