The New Partnership for African Development (Nepad) aims to replace dependency with mutually beneficial partnership
| Supporters of President Obasanjo rallied after creditor nations granted debt relief to Nigeria. |
 |
frica is the only continent to have grown poorer in the past 25 years. Its share of world trade has halved in a generation, and it receives less than 1 per cent of direct foreign investment.
Recent events such as the G8 summit at Gleneagles and Live 8 have focused attention on what the world can do for Africa, while Britain, Nigeria’s former colonial master, has taken the lead in persuading the wealthy countries of the world that the time has come to provide serious support.
At the same time, however, African leaders like Nigeria’s President Obasanjo and South Africa’s Thabo Mbeki are spearheading a collective initiative for African nations to help themselves through the New Partnership for African Development (Nepad).
Isaac Aluko-Olokun, President Obasanjo’s Senior Special Assistant on Nepad, emphasises there are no illusions that the African Union project can provide a quick fix for Africa’s problems. “When the leaders met recently they agreed it was going to be a 20-year programme or more, so one has to keep that in perspective,” he says. “It is a long-term proposition.” Nevertheless, real progress is being made and the initiative is being taken seriously by the developed countries. “Collectively, the G8 countries account for 75 per cent of all the official development assistance to Africa,” says Mr Aluko-Olokun. “We are now having a structured dialogue with them and that has never happened before.” Nepad’s agenda rests on three basic principles – ownership, responsibility and partnership. It aims to create an investor-friendly environment that emphasises good economic and political governance, a credible policy framework and the highest possible standards of regulation.
The objective is to change the relationship with the developed nations, replacing dependency status with ‘enhanced partnership’. “We have always had a relationship with the outside world but that came more or less with dependency status. This time around, the relationship is defined differently. It is partnership built on mutual respect and mutual benefits, clearly defined obligations. “On the African side this involves obligations with regard to good governance, peace and security and the rule of law. On the side of the partners, they will define their own obligations too, to help us to resolve the problems of debt, trade, AIDS, tuberculosis and other pandemic diseases.”
Fola Adeola, a member of the Commission for Africa established by Tony Blair, which urged a doubling of aid to the continent, says that in the long run rich nations like Britain stand to benefit from the development of African countries such as Nigeria. “An economically empowered 150 million people is a big market, so whatever the developed world puts in now would only be an investment,” he observes.
|
|
||||
|
|
||||
|
|
||||
|
|
The private sector has a vital role to play in the realisation of Nepad’s vision
Nigeria is one of several countries that have taken the lead in volunteering for systematic examination under the African Peer Review Mechanism (APRM), established to ensure that the policies and practices of participating states conform to the agreed political, economic and corporate values, codes and standards. “The essence of the whole thing is peer-learning and willingness to adopt the best practices,” explains Mr Aluko-Olokun, who is APRM’s National Coordinator. Nigeria has contributed $1 million (£560,000) towards the effective functioning of the mechanism. Twelve of the African countries whose debts have been written off are members of the APRM and the number signed up to the process has been increasing.
A vital role in realising Nepad’s vision will be played by the private sector. Goodie Ibru, Chairman of the Nepad Business Group Nigera (NBG) says that one of the stumbling blocks for previous economic programmes for Africa has been implementation. “One of the problems in the past was the fact that governments tried to implement these programmes. This time, the private sector is going to be in the vanguard.” NBG is working closely with the African Development Bank (ADB), which has a role as a facilitator in most of the programmes of Nepad. “Of course, one of the biggest challenges facing Africa and African economic development is access to medium- and long-term funding,” says Mr Ibru. “That is one area in which ADB can assist.”
Mohammed Hayatu-Deen, Chairman of the Nigerian Economic Summit Group (NESG), also stresses the vital role of the private sector: “We have made substantial reforms since 1999 to reduce the centralised control of the government and facilitate economic growth through privatisation in a wide range of sectors such as industry, banking, petroleum, insurance, hospitality, industry.”
Mr Hayatu-Deen sees economic integration as another crucial element in achieving Nepad’s goals. Convergence policies have been established for every country in West Africa as the area moves towards becoming a single monetary zone on the way to the creation of a single regional market. He stresses the importance of removing trade and investment barriers between African states. “One of the most important things we need to do as an economic bloc is to ensure that we get the economy right. Once you open up the continent and have the roads, air and marine routes in good order, investment will flow into and through it. This entails major infrastructure projects.”
Tel: +44 20 76296213, Fax: +44 20 74953707 - [email protected]