Why Africa still needs aid  By By Bob Geldof
POSTED: 4:14 PM PDT April 5, 2013  (CNN) -  With the U.K.
becoming the first G-8 country to spend 0.7 percent of its gross
national income on overseas aid, the government's recent budget
was an exciting moment for the international development
community.  But with extreme poverty falling all around Africa,
and the continent's mineral resources providing more revenue now
than international aid, some observers are asking whether
international aid is out of date.  Africa needs trade, not aid,
they say. In truth, however, they still need both.  Africa has
the world's fastest growing population, expanding by more than
20 million every year, and must create jobs fast to keep its
unemployment rate from rising. Some analysts highlight the
Middle East, where failure to generate enough jobs for young,
urbanized populations had catastrophic consequences for
political and economic stability.  Trade -- in its broadest
sense -- will create the jobs that Africa so badly needs. So