'Bold action' needed to realize African plan

Annan urges greater African and donor support for NEPAD

With the active engagement of both Africa and its external supporters, the New Partnership for Africa's Development (NEPAD) is building an "incipient momentum," UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan reports. Despite this promising start, "bold actions are required on the part of all stakeholders" to overcome the serious challenges and constraints that may impede NEPAD's effective implementation.

The New Partnership, the broad strategy of African leaders for their continent's development, emphasizes that economic and social development, peace and democracy are all essential for Africa's advancement. Since its adoption more than two years ago, NEPAD has been welcomed by the Group of Eight industrialized countries and was endorsed in November 2002 by the UN General Assembly as the main framework for international cooperation with Africa. Mr. Annan's 7 August report to the General Assembly is his first on progress in implementing the New Partnership.

Photo : ©UN / M. Poire

African responsibility

Africa's ownership and leadership of NEPAD represents "an important and welcome reassertion of the principle of responsibility for its development," Mr. Annan says. Accordingly, the first part of his report highlights the actions that Africa itself has taken to advance NEPAD's ambitious goals.

On the political front, one of the most "innovative" achievements has been the creation of the African Peer Review Mechanism. It is a voluntary process by which participating countries agree to monitor, review and learn from each other's experiences in promoting good political and corporate governance, sound economic management and respect for human rights. As of July, 16 African countries had acceded to the Mechanism and a panel of eminent persons has been appointed to run it. It is expected that reviews of four participating countries will begin before the end of the year.

Steps also are being taken on a number of NEPAD's economic and social priorities, including:

-- The elaboration of a comprehensive African agricultural development plan, which will form the basis for concrete projects in specific countries and regions.

-- The preparation of a NEPAD health programme, which reaffirms African countries' commitment to allocate at least 15 per cent of their budgets to health and calls on Africa's external partners to contribute $22 bn annually.

-- A NEPAD education programme that "fast tracks" expansion of primary education.

-- Measures to develop Africa's roads, railways and energy and communications networks; promote tourism and industrialization; and protect the environment.

Mr. Annan, however, also cites some constraints within Africa to the implementation of the New Partnership. These include weak links between African regional economic groupings and the NEPAD Implementation Committee, limited institutional capacities to plan and implement development programmes, insufficient efforts to popularize NEPAD within Africa and inadequate funding by African governments.

International support

Official development assistance to Africa had declined throughout the 1990s, falling from a total of $26.6 bn in 1990 to $16.4 bn in 2000. Since then, it has begun to recover, rising to $17.8 bn in 2001 and $18.6 bn the following year. But, Mr. Annan adds, even those higher aid levels will not be enough for Africa to meet the Millennium Development Goals.

By April 2003, seven African countries had significant portions of their external debts cancelled under the Heavily Indebted Poor Countries initiative (HIPC), and another 15 were beginning to receive interim assistance. A cumulative total of $32.3 bn has been committed to these countries. However, there have been delays in reaching full cancellation for a number of countries, while some of those that already benefited from cancellation "have witnessed deterioration in their debt indicators," Mr. Annan reports. This was largely because of a decline in their export earnings, due to volatile commodity prices.

There has been some limited progress in international policy on trade, Mr. Annan reports. Nevertheless, there has been "lack of progress" on issues of particular concern to Africa within the World Trade Organization, including market access and Northern agricultural subsidies. Total aid to Africa, the Secretary-General observes, "is modest in comparison with the huge agricultural subsidies paid to farmers in the developed countries." Those subsidies, he explains, "depress commodity prices, hindering Africa's ability to increase exports and escape from poverty and dependence on aid."

Coordination

Mr. Annan also highlights examples of the UN system's support for the New Partnership. These include the UN Development Programme's financial assistance to the NEPAD Secretariat, the Economic Commission for Africa's work on codes and standards for the African Peer Review Mechanism and the World Food Programme's school-feeding programmes in 35 African countries.

In May 2003, the new Office of the Special Adviser for Africa was officially established at UN headquarters in New York, with the responsibility for coordinating global advocacy in support of NEPAD and helping promote a coordinated system-wide response. Mr. Annan notes that bringing greater coherence and coordination to the work of the various UN agencies remains "by far the most important challenge" constraining the organization's support for the New Partnership.

Mr. Annan concludes with a number of recommendations. African countries will need to take further steps to integrate NEPAD priorities into their development plans, and to ensure adequate funding for them. The continent's partners, meanwhile, should "strive to achieve coherence and complementarity in their trade and aid policies," so that one does not undercut the other. The private sector and civil society also should be encouraged to adopt a "proactive orientation" towards the New Partnership, with African governments expected to do more to facilitate their involvement.

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