Gleneagles One Year After

British Prime Minister Tony Blair says that the Group of Eight had failed to make progress on some of the commitments it made at a summit last year to tackle global poverty.

Blair has enlisted rock star Bob Geldof and U.N. Secretary General Kofi Annan to track how G8 industrialized nations live up to their aid promises to Africa.

Blair announced he is setting up an independent Africa Progress Panel, to be chaired by Annan and to include Geldof, organizer of a series of Live 8 concerts last year, and Nigerian President Olusegun Obasanjo, to evaluate progress.

Millions attended rock concerts around the world to press for action by the G8, which promised an extra $50 billion a year in total aid for all developing countries by 2010, including an expected $25 billion for Africa.

Archbishop of Cape Town Njongonkulu Ndungane, who set up the African Monitor watchdog which gets local communities to track the progress of aid pledges, told BBC radio the rhetoric was strong, but was not always matched by delivery.

"People are good at talking," he said. "What we are seeking to do is to ensure that there is translation from talk to action -- that the actual cash is delivered."

[Reuters]