Former British prime minister Gordon Brown on Saturday said that Africa can lead the world to a new period of economic growth, in his first major speech since leaving Downing Street, according to dpa. Speaking in the Ugandan capital Kampala ahead of a summit of African leaders, Brown called for an "African century." "There is an alternative to a decade of low global growth which would fail to meet both the development needs of Africa and the growth needs of Europe and America," he said in a speech before the top-level African Union summit gets underway on Sunday. "To me the answer is obvious: as we struggle to find new sources of growth we must turn here, to Africa, to this continent of huge potential and talent," he added. Brown also dived into the growing debate about aid effectiveness in Africa, saying foreign financial support should promote business instead of replacing it. "I believe we need to focus ... on providing services for the poor, but on an investment climate for those who bring wealth," he said. "And not simply on how to support Africa's public sector, but on how to unleash its private sector." The former premier highlighted the massive potential for growth in Africa's IT sector, saying boosting the percentage of the population with access to the internet from the current 10 per cent would create opportunities in the service industry. The theme of the three-day summit is maternal health, infant and child health in Africa, but the issue of Somalia has dominated lower-level talks in the run-up to the main event and is likely to continue to intrude on other discussions. Somalia's Islamist insurgent group al-Shabaab, which claims links to al-Qaeda, launched its first attack on foreign soil in retaliation for the presence of Ugandan peacekeepers in Mogadishu. Twin suicide blasts in the Ugandan capital Kampala killed 76 people watching the World Cup final on July 11. Security has been stepped up for the summit after the bombings, particularly given al-Shabaab's threat to carry out more attacks. Peacekeepers from Uganda and Burundi are propping up Somalia's weak Western-backed government, while al-Shabaab and its allies control much of the chaotic Horn of Africa nation. Currently around 6,000 Ugandan and Burundian peacekeepers are protecting the government in Somalia. The planned strength of the force, which has long been under-manned as countries failed to meet their commitments, is 8,000 troops. However, Jean Ping, the chairman of the AU commission, told reporters in Kampala on Friday that Guinea and Djibouti were ready to send troops. Combined with recent pledges by East African regional grouping IGAD, the force would go beyond 10,000 troops. After the bombings, Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni said he wanted to raise the strength of the force to 20,000 and change the mandate to allow the peacekeepers to go after the insurgents. Museveni is likely peddle this idea at the heads-of-state summit, although there will be fewer leaders to lobby than he would have hoped. Sudanese president Omar al-Bashir, wanted by the International Criminal Court on charges of war crimes and genocide and Darfur, will not attend. Nor will Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak, nor President Joseph Kabila of the Democratic Republic of Congo.
