Dr Knox Chitiyo, Tony Baldry MP, Michael Ancram (GSF Chairman) and Dr Richard Cockett
Tony Baldry MP, Dr Knox Chitiyo (Head of the Africa Programme at RUSI) and Dr Richard Cockett (Africa Editor at The Economist) took part in a GSF debate entitled ‘Africa: A Continent Whose ‘Time Has Come’?’ on Tuesday 13th July. The answer to the question was a qualified ‘yes’. Dr Knox Chitiyo felt that Africa had now become part of the international system and was no longer a passive player and therefore needed to ‘seize the moment’. Tony Baldry MP and Richard Cockett were more ambivalent. Richard Cockett, author of ‘Sudan: Darfur and the Failure of an African State’ spoke about the situation in Sudan and said it was a good example of all the negatives in Africa. Tony Baldry called for a new chapter to be opened in the narrative of development aid, both from the perspective of the donors and the recipicients, which focused on transparency and effective outcomes, particularly at a time when the UK public was sceptical of the ringfencing of international aid, a point which was reinforced by all three panellists. The audio transcript of the debate is available by clicking the link above.