From Africa Recovery, Vol.17 #1 (May 2003), page 9

From Davos to Brazil, Africa makes its case

Debt relief and poverty reduction high among the continent's priorities

Whether they were presidents or grassroots activists, the African representatives who took part in two major international conferences early this year argued that globalization should benefit their continent's economic and social advancement, not hinder it.

The two events could not have been more different, however. The 24-27 January World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, was an elite affair. Each year it attracts many of the world's top corporate executives and political leaders of the richest countries. By contrast, the World Social Forum, held around the same time in Porto Alegre, Brazil, since 2001, has often been called the "anti-Davos." It draws large numbers of social activists, trade unionists, community leaders and human rights advocates. Nearly 100,000 turned out for this year's forum, held 23-28 January.

At neither gathering was Africa prominent on the agenda. Debates about an impending war in Iraq and the uncertainties of the world economy tended to dominate. But the small numbers of African participants were nevertheless able to gain some hearing, especially on issues of debt, trade, aid and poverty reduction.

'Give globalization a human face'

Only three African presidents were invited to Davos. They all highlighted their desire for a fresh start through the New Partnership for Africa's Development (NEPAD), an African-led initiative that emphasizes Africans' own efforts, but also seeks improved partnership with the international community.

Tanzanian President Benjamin Mkapa emphasized that a fresh start would only be possible if the yoke of debt is lifted. "We are all in Africa so heavily indebted that no amount of trade can lift us out," he said. "Let us see if we can bring on an accelerated drive for bilateral debt relief, building bridges and national capacities."

President Paul Kagame of Rwanda called for a closer look at the effectiveness of aid and how trade can "help Africa deal with its problems of poverty." Combating AIDS and achieving peace and security also are essential for the continent's development, he said.

President Joaquim Alberto Chissano of Mozambique agreed. "Peace must be nourished, as we give globalization a human face." Although Mozambique has had high growth rates since the end of its long civil war in the early 1990s, he noted that "growth is not the same as development. We need to help our people first." He pointed to the need for more equitable international trade, so that African producers can earn more and African exports can gain greater access to world markets.

Mr. Halidou Ouédraogo, head of Burkina Faso's main rights group and president of the Inter-African Human Rights Union, said more African countries should follow the inspiring examples of the successful democratic transitions in South Africa and Kenya. According to Mr. Fackson U. Shamenda, honorary president of the Zambia Congress of Trade Unions, "We can, and should, be the first continent in the forefront to safeguard human rights."

New Berlin walls

Some of the developing world's concerns were raised in a keynote address by Mr. Luis Inácio "Lula" da Silva, a former trade union leader who won a sweeping victory in Brazil's October 2002 presidential election and took office just a few weeks before Davos. "More than 10 years ago the Berlin Wall fell," he said. "But other 'walls' remain. They separate those who eat from those who go hungry, those with jobs from those without, those who live in dignity from those who live in the streets or in miserable shanties, those who have access to education and the cultural riches of civilization from those who are mired in illiteracy and the most complete alienation."

He called on industrialized countries to stop protecting their markets from Southern exports and to help set up an international fund to combat global misery and hunger. Noting that Brazil has the second largest black population in the world, after Nigeria, he said that his country has "a special perspective on the African continent, with which we have deep ethnic and cultural ties."

President da Silva also highlighted Africa's plight at the World Social Forum in Porto Alegre. "African babies have the same right to eat as a blond, blue-eyed baby born in Scandinavia," he told the huge crowd.

'Our priority is the debt'

In proportion to participants from Latin America, not many African social activists were able to make it to Porto Alegre, however. Among those who did, Africa's large debt burden ranked high among the priorities. So did reparations from countries that had taken part in the slave trade and the colonial conquest of Africa, a demand that featured prominently at the 2001 "anti-racism" summit in Durban, South Africa.

Photo : ©Joan Baxter

"Our priority is the debt," stated Ms. Aminata Traoré, Mali's former culture minister. The debt "wipes out all our efforts for education, health and development, and for that reason it needs to be cancelled. Then we need reparations for five centuries of colonialism and slavery. On this basis a new cooperation with the North could help all of us on a road of real development."

Mr. Taoufik Ben Abdallah, of the Senegal-based Environment and Development Action-Third World, also stressed the importance of reparations for slavery and colonialism, which he termed the North's "historic debt" to Africa.

A few weeks earlier, more than 200 other African civil society representatives participated in an African Social Forum, held in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, 5-9 January. They emphasized the need for African civil society groups to organize better, so that they can play a more central role in future World Social Forums, including the next one in New Delhi, India.

In a consensus statement, the participants, who came from 40 African countries, also criticized "Africa's illegitimate external debt," rejected the privatization of basic social services, challenged the inequities of the world trading system, denounced "the continuing poor African leadership that thrives on tribal and ethnic divisions" and stressed the importance of African unity and social integration. They affirmed that "globalization from below, thought out, owned and implemented by people's organizations, is both necessary and possible."

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