In the week that the G8 conference in Scotland and the Live 8 concerts brought the issues of Africa to the fore, the last Question Time of the series was a special African edition broadcast from Johannesburg.
The panel included British cabinet minister and former international development secretary Baroness Amos, Zimbabwean opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai, foreign minister of Somaliland Edna Ismail, anti-poverty campaigner Bianca Jagger, and South African political commentator Moeletsi Mbeki.
BARONESS AMOSTitle: British Government Minister
Career: Baroness Amos is leader of the House of Lords in the UK Parliament.
Formerly British international development secretary, Baroness Amos was deeply involved in the reconstruction of Iraq and canvassed African leaders in the run-up to the war.
In the late 1990s she was also an adviser in a private capacity to the post-apartheid South African Government on public service reform, human rights and employment equity.
 | Morgan Tsvangirai has written for Question Time about Africa's problems |
MORGAN TSVANGIRAITitle: Leader of Zimbabwe's Opposition MDC Party
Career: Morgan Tsvangirai is one of Zimbabwe's most important opposition political figures.
As leader of the Movement for Democratic Change (MDC), he has been called a traitor and faced treason charges several times.
Mr Tsvangirai met with South Africa's President Thabo Mbeki last weekend and called for African leaders to be at the forefront of criticising the situation in Zimbabwe.
EDNA ISMAILTitle: Foreign Minister, Somaliland
Career: Edna Ismail is foreign minister for Somaliland and is also a practising midwife.
She spends most of her time travelling abroad trying to convince foreign governments to recognise the breakaway republic of Somaliland from Somalia.
Edna Ismail�believes all African third world countries should follow Somaliliand's example by relying on their own resources rather than foreign aid, to be debt free from international communities.
BIANCA JAGGERTitle: Anti-poverty Campaigner
Career:
Bianca Jagger was in Edinburgh earlier in the week lobbying for fair trade for Africa ahead of the G8 summit.
Her anti-poverty and human-rights work has involved travelling with HIV/Aids sufferers in Africa, addressing the UN and US Congress, and lobbying the European parliament.
She has also been critical of Bono and Bob Geldof in the Make Poverty History campaign. Born in Nicaragua, she was married to the Rolling Stone singer Mick Jagger.
MOELETSI MBEKITitle: Deputy Chairman, South African Institute of International Affairs
Career: Moeletsi Mbeki is the brother of South Africa's President Thabo Mbeki.
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A political commentator and business entrepreneur, he frequently takes different political positions from his sibling. He is the deputy chairman of the South African Institute for International Affairs, an independent think tank based at the University of the Witwatersrand in Johannesburg.
BBC One's Question Time is broadcast on Thursdays at 2235 BST.
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