Sunday, July 3

Letter to Saint Sir Bob,

In a frank and open letter published in The Mail on Sunday, the brother of the South Africa's president tells the Live8 organiser that Africa needs honest leaders, not more aid.

Moeletsi Mbeki, who in addition to being the brother of Thabo Mbeki is also Deputy Chairman of the South African Institute of International Affairs.

In the hard hitting first paragraph Mr Mbeki writes: '' But while your aim is to relive the plight of many millions of my fellow Africans there is a real danger, that far from combating poverty in Africa, you are making things worse.''

The open letter continues: '' You Sir Bob, your rock friend Bono and politicians such as Tony Blair and Gordon Brown display a soft heart to Africa. But a soft heart will not cure the hard situation in Africa.''

Moeletsi Mbeki's letter concludes by appealing for common sense by stating the obvious: '' if you want to solve the poverty in Africa, then help create an entrepreneurial system that will generate wealth for the people''.

Perhaps the vast numbers of the press corp and others that have been caught up in the mass hysteria of Live8 will actually note the points made on page 25 of The Mail on Sunday by one of Africa's own, but depressingly that wish will remain a fatasy.

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