Africa tells G8 we want action not more promises

DAKAR, June 3 (Reuters) Suleimane Diallo has never heard of the G8. Nor have his two brothers Alsine and Abdoulaye.

But these young Guineans who sell fruit on the dusty streets of Senegal's capital Dakar know what they need: money and jobs.

Two years after the Group of Eight industrialised states made lofty promises to end Africa's poverty -- described by British Prime Minister Tony Blair as ''a scar on the conscience of the world'' -- most Africans say they are still waiting.

''The rich should help us ... but we haven't seen much of it so far,'' said 22-year-old Suleimane in halting French.

Many say most pledges made at a 2005 ''Year of Africa'' G8 summit in Gleneagles, Scotland -- to double aid by 2010, write off debts and end export subsidies -- have not been delivered.

Apart from debt relief, where some African governments say they have seen some progress, the consensus from Tunis to Cape Town and from Dakar to Djibouti is clear: deliver.

''The G8 has not kept its promises at all, especially in the area of export subsidies,'' Gambia's Central Bank governor, Famara Jatta, told Reuters.

''There was a lot of rhetoric but in terms of getting money on the table, it just hasn't happened,'' echoed Amina Ibrahim, who served as a development adviser for Nigeria's former President Olusegun Obasanjo.

As the G8 leaders prepare for their June 6-8 summit in Germany, development campaigners have published studies showing that real aid inflows to Africa from the club of wealthiest nations actually fell over 2005-2006.

Ibrahim said this had bred cynicism about the G8's promises.

''They need to meet their promises on aid and investment and they need to demonstrate how committed they are,'' said Collins Magalasi, head of ActionAid's South Africa Country Programme.

FURY OVER UNFAIR TRADE Some even question whether the West's diplomatic agenda is really as focused on Africa as its leaders like to say.

''The West is busy with other problems around the world such as Iraq, Lebanon and Iran,'' said Algerian political science professor Ismail Maaref Ghalia.

By contrast, Asian powerhouse China has been wooing Africa with high-level visits and multi-billion-dollar loans and investments as it sucks in oil and minerals for its resource-hungry economy.

One enduring sore point is the wealthy states' persistence in paying government subsidies to farmers which unfairly shut African producers out of the market, trapping them in poverty in a continent grappling with drought, disease and conflict.

''The rich countries will never stop subsidising their products,'' said Soumanou Chabo-Ota of Benin's Trade Ministry.

Benin and other West African cotton producers say they lose millions of dollars each year because of US cotton subsidies.

Most Africans are aware their own leaders share much of the blame for aid not reaching those who need it most.

''Governments spend the money ... but not on the people,'' said Dakar street vendor Abdoulaye Diallo.

Campaigners say corruption remains rife in Africa and despite a rash of recent elections in a continent better known for wars and coups, good governance is still a far-off goal.

''Just because elections are regularly held, that doesn't mean democracy is working well,'' said Burkina Faso union chief Tole Sagnon.

Many Africans said their continent should do more to help itself. ''The G8 countries cannot solve the problem of Africa's poverty. Africa must sort out its own problems,'' said Camille Mitchai, a Beninois economist.

Reuters LPB GC1659