At the 2001 G8 summit in Genoa, the world leaders announced the creation of the Africa Action Plan (AAP) – dubbed a 'Marshall Plan for Africa' by the media. This was an implicit suggestion that these governments were going to rebuild Africa in the same way that, after the Second World War, the U.S. rebuilt a shattered Europe (in a programme outlined by Secretary of State George Marshall).

The story was wearing thin by 2002, with the lavish promises unfulfilled and very little cash actually pledged by G8 countries to the AAP, causing celebrity campaigner Bob Geldof to declare himself 'sick of them all'. Crucially, however, he singled out Tony Blair as one of the few leaders who really wanted to press on with the AAP.

Blair has made an effort to paint himself as the main G8 advocate for Africa, and it's no coincidence that the 2005 summit at Gleneagles is marketed as the time when the world will 'help fulfil African aspirations for the future'. Past performance suggests these aspirations will remain unmet. There are growing fears that the development targets set by the United Nations will not be reached by the target date of 2015. These targets include halving the number of people living on less than a dollar a day, universal primary education, and cutting infant mortality by two-thirds. Britain, one of the donor countries signed up, is well behind on the UN aid targets of 0.7% of its GDP.

However, the main reason for the likely failure of the Africa Action Plan is that the means by which the G8 propose to make Africa rich are too closely linked to the reasons why Africa is poor: the AAP encourages the same corporations who have caused chaos in Africa to be part of the solution. Oil and natural gas from Africa are becoming increasingly important, and could supply 20% of US oil needs in the next five years. The AAP involves promoting trade and investment in Africa, and the oil and mining companies will be key players in this. The joint US-UK ‘G8-Africa Partnership Project’, set up to monitor the AAP, includes representatives from ExxonMobil, Coca-Cola and Pfizer, all of whom have interests in keeping African resources available at low prices.

THE CORPORATE ASSAULT ON AFRICA

Nigeria
Chevron is currently being sued in the US federal court for violations of international human rights law relating to its involvement in the deaths of unarmed civilians in Nigeria who were protesting against environmental damage caused by Chevron subsidiary, CNL. A 2004 report from Christian Aid indicates that Shell still fails to quickly clean up oil spills and runs 'community development' projects that are frequently ineffective or even widen divisions within and between communities living around the oilfields.

Chad-Cameroon
The Chad-Cameroon pipeline has been mired in corruption, starting with $4.5 million of money being diverted to buy arms for Chad's government. The pipeline is being built by Chevron, ExxonMobil and Malaysian company Petronas, and funded by the World Bank. Cameroon's government has been listed by Transparency International as the most corrupt in the world for the second year running; revenues from oil development are largely unaccounted for.

Sudan
The large-scale exploitation of oil has increased human rights abuses in southern Sudan and exacerbated its long-running conflict. Amongst the companies operating in Sudan was Canada's largest independent oil and gas producer, Talisman Energy Inc, which is subject to a $2bn court action under the Alien Tort Claims Act for aiding and abetting the Sudanese government’s ethnic cleansing. Talisman sold its Sudanese assets to an Indian company in 2002.

Highlighted by Human Rights Watch for its involvement in Sudan is the International Petroleum Company (IPC), a wholly owned subsidiary of Swedish company Lundin AB, which has offices in Aberdeen. Lundin also pulled out of Sudan in June 2003. BP and Shell are involved through their holdings in two China National Petroleum Corporation (CNPC) subsidiaries, PetroChina and Sinopec. Other UK companies directly involved in multi-million-pound contracts in Sudan include Rolls Royce (engines for the pipeline and engineers) and Weir of Glasgow (pumping stations).

Angola
Despite full-scale military operations and widespread human rights abuses in the oil rich region of Cabinda, the oil companies, led by ChevronTexaco, keep up their normal pace of activities, simply helicoptering staff in and out. The Angolan government's grip on power is dependent on oil revenues which account for more than 80% of the country's income. Global Witness estimates that $1.7 bn a year disappeared from Angola's oil funds between 1997 and 2001, and accuses Western oil companies of giving secret bonuses to the state oil company.

Equatorial Guinea
'As far as Equatorial Guinea is concerned, we've had no problems there. Africa's been a great place to do business. We've never missed a day's production'. Tullow Oil quoted in Aberdeen Press and Journal, September 14th 2004.
President Teodoro Obiang presides over what has been called a 'completely criminalised state', facing charges of corruption, human rights abuses and political oppression, after a coup swept him to power in 1979. Companies operating in Equatorial Guinea with a base in Scotland include massive US oil corporation Amerada Hess and Tullow Oil, an independent oil and gas company headquartered in London and Dublin. In May 2004, it acquired Energy Africa Ltd, thus gaining fields in Equatorial Guinea, Congo-Brazzaville and Gabon.

Congo-Brazzaville
Despite being the fourth largest oil producer in sub-Saharan Africa, Congo-Brazzaville has already been saddled with $6.4bn (£3.4bn) in overseas debts as a legacy of French company Elf Aquitaine's (now part of Total) strategy of influence peddling, bribery and obscure off-shore deals.

Mauritania
Recent coup attempts indicate a struggle to win control over the newly acquired oil wealth. UK based oil companies Dana Petroleum, Tullow Oil and multinational Premier Oil all have substantial offshore plots in this West African country where 'black gold' has only recently been struck. There are fears that the oil will be as much of a curse there as it has been elsewhere in the continent.