NAIROBI: A trail of looted diamonds, greased palms and suspect arms deals suggests Britain is betraying its calls for action by other rich nations to stop shady corporate dealing in Africa, activists say. British Prime Minister Tony Blair launched a detailed plan devised by his Africa Commission this month to reverse the continent’s descent into poverty, including measures to ensure foreign firms do not profit from war and corruption.
But critics say Britain has failed to meet previous commitments to clamp down on activities from bribery abroad to dubious deals in African conflict zones, casting it as laggard rather than leader in enforcing corporate responsibility.
“It’s a big contradiction,” said Laurence Cockcroft, chairman of Transparency International’s British chapter. “The government is seriously deficient in meeting the strategy and targets identified in the commission’s report.”
Blair aims to use Britain’s presidency of the Group of Eight rich nations this year to win backing for his Africa plan, which also calls for a doubling of development aid and big policy shifts on trade to open markets to Africans.
But unless Britain reins in the more unsavoury activities of its businessmen in Africa, it may lack the moral authority to win meaningful backing for its plan.
“They’ve taken very much the usual line of protecting our companies at any cost,” said Patricia Feeney, executive director of Rights and Accountability in Development, an Oxford-based advocacy group. “They’ve not shown any sign of really taking their own medicine.”
BRIBES & HELICOPTERS: Just before the Africa Commission launched its findings, a group of British members of parliament tabled a report on the government’s “slow progress” in investigating British firms accused of profiteering from a five-year war in Democratic Republic of Congo in which millions died.
A UN panel of experts listed 18 British-based firms among 85 companies accused of helping to fuel the conflict through activities such as trading looted diamonds, or securing lucrative contracts with warlords.
The MPs’ report says British investigators have been hampered by a lack of resources, saying they have so far only issued public statements on two of the cases.
One statement said allegations against diamond giant De Beers were unsubstantiated, while the other urged Avient Ltd, which supplied crew for a Congolese government Mi-24 attack helicopter, to “respect the human rights of those affected by their activities”.
“The experience in Democratic Republic of Congo demonstrates that the system at present fails miserably to hold anyone to account when there has been wrongdoing,” British MP Norman Lamb said.
Britain came in for more criticism a week after the Africa Commission report was published for its failings in cracking down on bribery by its firms abroad — precisely what the commission recommended rich countries do.
The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) issued a report saying not a single firm or person has been prosecuted since its anti-bribery convention came into force in Britain in 2001, citing a lack of political will and resources.—Reuters
