The G8’s $17 million security fence scandal
When I arrived in Germany on Sunday I learned from a report in the local press that the security fence around the venue of this year’s three-day G8 Summit cost close to $17 million.
I promptly sent a text message to tell Michael, my colleague back home. He was not amused: “Couldn’t those people take their summit to another venue where they wouldn’t need to construct a new barricade? Did they have to waste that money?”
I asked why he was concerned – after all, it wasn’t his government spending that money. His response was humbling:
“I lost my uncle to AIDS because he couldn’t get started on the life-saving drugs due to the bureaucracy... They should have donated that money to one of the countries most affected by this pandemic.”
While organisers of the G8 found it right to spend millions of dollars on a fence, in Africa the same amount would have helped prolong the lives of over 100,000 AIDS patients by providing them with a year’s supply of anti-retroviral drugs (ARVs).
According to the World Health Organisation sub-Saharan Africa has the greatest number of people on treatment and the second-highest rate of treatment coverage among those who need it. But the region still accounts for 70 per cent of the world’s unmet need for treatment.
The $17 million dollar fence is not a waste in the wake of the terrorist attacks. While its okay to provide for anti retroviral drugs to those who need it, it is very important to consider the security of the VIP attending the G8 meeting. a terror attack or suicide bomber can easily attack if that fence is not erected. The VIP can approve money for the ARVs for those who need it but it does not mean that they will leave other important expences because some people are sick. You cannot refuse to buy a shirt because want to buy a blanket both are important you have to find a way of providing for both.
Posted by: Paul Kihika | 07 June 2007 at 06:13
In fact there is no wrong in protecting such very important leaders of the world as they are representing millions of people in their home countries. Besides, it should be considered that they may think of the world's development only if their lives are protected and they are survived.
Therefore, we better remind these important creatures not to forget the population out side of the fence while they are in their confinment.
Posted by: Abraha Hailu | 07 June 2007 at 09:44
don't look to europe for our survival...they are killing us still with all the double talk they engage in...we know what the policies are all about
Posted by: al-fallujah | 07 June 2007 at 12:56
The fence is re-usable for the next violent mass demonstration here in Germany (we have plenty, don't worry) so that is an expense that can be justified by the politco in Berlin. If you want to follow a lead on a really hot "Untold Story" try to track the 100 million Euros already spent on the G8 Summit so far and find the breakdown on how much money went to African-German and African-European owned businesses and contractors vs. contractors and businesses from other ethnic and racial groups here in the EU and elsewhere across Europe. Turst me, it is impossible to track because nobody here keeps that kind of data (they claim).
Looking at the violence started by fringe groups (the Black Bloc & Co.) mixed in with the anti-G8 demonstrators at Rostock last weekend, all through this week and up to yesterday's antics by Greenpeace-Germany's Naval Assault Team (GNATs), the security measures that the German government has put into place were definately necessary. Try explaining to these guys (the anti-G8 organizers) that this large amount of money could have saved precious lives in sub-Saharan Africa and elsewhere around the globe, lots of lives. They will argue with you for days and weeks and months "das wir haben Recht, Du nicht!" Go figure.
Eagerly awaiting your (planned) interview with the J8 Summit 2007 ambassador from Tanzania. Good luck 'cause the kid is sharp and has very powerful friends around the world... since yesterday.
Posted by: BRE | 08 June 2007 at 11:57
They have the money to pay for anything however trivial or wasteful it may appear to us in Africa. But how sure are you that if such funds were sent to Uganda, they would realy be used to buy ARVs? Have we forgotten the saga in Uganda where billions of shilings in donations for HIV/AIDS treatment, malaria and TB control were blown up by ministers and their cohorts? Let the Germans use their dollars the way they wish
Posted by: Emmanuel Akelem | 11 June 2007 at 10:35