Appeal: Africa needs 'civil society' as defence against tyranny
LONDON, DEC 31, 2002--When people in the West talk of "underdeveloped" countries, it is the basics they have in mind. Africans need clean water, more food and better health care. They also need a reliable income, the ability to borrow to invest, a sounder overall economy – things we know are more difficult to provide.

But what requires a greater leap of imagination is to see that for Africa to develop properly it must nurture "civil society" bodies to act as natural checks and balances on government.