Anti-poverty campaigners at a conference in Mali called on leaders of the G8 countries to honour aid pledges made to Africa -- but there was a call too for the continent to face up to its own problems.

Speaker after speaker stood up at what has been dubbed the poor people's summit to denounce the failure of the leaders of the eight most industrialised countries to honour pledges made at a previous G8 summit.

But at least one person said Africans themselves had to play their part by tackling corruption and "the Mugabes of Africa."

"Gentlemen of the G8, respect your commitments," said Bernard Ouedraogo, a campaigner from Burkina Faso, echoing the feelings of many activists attending the conference at Katibougou, near Bamako.

"I don't want to go into the figures, but remember the development aid announced -- where is it? It was just talk, just talk!" he added.

The G8 promised at the Gleneagles summit in 2005 in Scotland to boost aid to Africa by a further 25 billion dollars by 2010.

So far, however, the G8 has boosted development assistance to Africa by only three billion dollars, Oxfam's Asia and Europe director Oliver Buston said Monday in Japan.

The participants of the summit in Mali blasted the G8 countries for being "incapable of generosity."

"They are meeting Monday to talk about Africa, but we don't expect anything from these meetings. They cannot do anything and they will not do anything for this continent," anti-globalist Nouhoun Keita said.

The organiser of the Mali gathering, Barry Aminata Toure, of the Malian coalition on debt and development (CAD-Mali), noted that French President Nicolas Sarkozy had said the G8 should be opened to developing countries.

"It's none too soon," she retorted. "It's not on the eve of the summit, when the ministers of the rich countries have already settled all their dossiers, that they should be saying this."

What was needed was a world forum gathering countries from the north and the south, as well as activists from non-governmental organisations, civil society and other key players, she said.

But at least one speaker said Africa's leaders had to face up to its own responsibilities.

"You must not expect anything from the rich countries," said Oumar Diakite, a young speaker from Ivory Coast.

"It's up to us, first of all, to ensure the development of our countries."

That meant first of all fighting corruption in our countries but also by encouraging good public administration.

"Yes, it's true that we have to fight against global warming, soaring petrol prices, the food crisis," he concluded.

"But we also have to fight against the Mugabes of Africa."

Robert Mugabe's regime is at the centre of a growing international row over the controversial circumstances of his re-election in Zimbabwe.

The Group of Eight (G8) summit opened Monday in Toyako, Japan, bringing together the leaders of Britain, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Russia and the United States.

With the issue of food aid high on the agenda, they have also invited political leaders from Algeria, Ethiopia, Ghana, Nigeria, Senegal, South Africa, Tanzania and African Union Commission chief Jean Ping.

Already Monday, African leaders urged the G8 leaders to tackle spiking oil and food prices, warning that the crisis threatened to aggravate an already desperate situation on the continent.

British charity Oxfam accused world powers of backtracking on pledges to double aid for Africa by 2010, in a statement issued on the sidelines of the summit, which is set to last until Wednesday.