UN Chief begins Africa trip

SOUTH AFRICA: UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon opened a nine-day African tour telling United Nations personnel Tuesday that the world’s economic woes won’t wreck their efforts to reduce poverty, war and effects of climate change.

“Even in the midst of this global financial crisis, if we work together and coordinate closely we can still reach better outcomes,” he said at a dinner with several dozen top UN staffers in South Africa.

Despite more than a half-trillion dollars of world aid spent on Africa in the 50 years since the first African countries won independence, many Africans are poorer now than a quarter century ago.

Total aid to Africa from the world’s richest nations amounts to less than one-third of 1 percent of their combined national incomes, far below the U.N. target of 0.7 percent.

Ban and his wife, Yoo Soon-taek, arrived in Johannesburg on his first official visit to South Africa since becoming U.N. chief two years ago. He told Buyelwa Sonjica, South Africa’s energy minister, the landscape “looked beautiful, all green.”

The Bans’ itinerary includes his first official visit to Tanzania and stops in eastern Congo and Rwanda. Ban plans to wind up the trip in the Egyptian resort of Sharm el-Sheik, where representatives of about 80 donor countries are to pledge money for Gaza’s reconstruction.

He scheduled meetings Wednesday with South African President Kgalema Motlanthe and the ministers for foreign affairs, environment, finance, and minerals and energy. He also planned visits with anti-apartheid icon Nelson Mandela, former president Thabo Mbeki and Jacob Zuma, the ruling African National Congress’ presidential candidate.

Ban is exploring ways to expand UN help for Zimbabwe, given South Africa’s powerful regional role. Mbeki remains the South African Development Community mediator on Zimbabwe, and the ANC is expected to win South Africa’s national elections April 22.

But Ban’s travel plans do not include a visit to Zimbabwe, where the U.N.’s No. 2 humanitarian official has spent the past few days exploring ways of ramping up aid for that collapsing nation.

The Secretary-General also plans meetings with beleaguered U.N. peacekeepers in Congo and his stop in Tanzania is designed to put attention on the United Nations’ top goal of reaching a new climate change treaty by the end of the year.

Ban’s foreign travel is usually pegged to a sense by him and his staff that his appearance could bring results, however incremental, by nudging a nation and its leaders toward improved peace, security or justice.

Nowhere is that more true on this trip than in eastern Congo, where aides say they hope his appearance can improve relations between Congo and neighboring Rwanda.

PRETORIA, Wednesday, AP