BY  Prof. KINFE ABRAHAM                                          Back

PRESIDENT OF THE EIIPD AND  DISTINGUISHED PROFESSOR OF INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS

*The paper by Dr. Kinfe Abraham, President of the EIIPD and Distinguished Professor of International Affairs, was presented at the NEPAD South African Institute of Strategic Studies held in Pretoria, the Chinese Institute of Contemporary International Relations, and the Chinese Institute of Afro-Asian Studies (Beijing). 

Contents

The New Partnership for Africa's Development NEPAD

Historical Context of NEPAD

The Performance of Post -Colonial Africa  

The Concept of NEPAD 

The Birth of NEPAD

The Meaning of NEPAD 

Principles and Objectives of NEPAD 

 Priority areas of NEPAD 

NEPAD Outcomes

Issues of concern about NEPAD

Positive Pointers About NEPAD 

Criticism of NEPAD

The New Partnership for Africa's Development NEPAD

The OAU incorporated economic cooperation as one of its principal objectives at the summits of 1970, 1973, 1977 and 1979, step by step, formulated guidelines for paving the way for the ultimate goal of establishing an African economic community. This economic community was envisaged to be realized through the standard phases of preferential trade arrangement, free trade area, customs union, common market and economic union.¹

PART ONE

Historical Context of NEPAD  

The efforts highlighted in the above excerpt culminated in the Lagos Plan of Action of April 1980, which enjoined all African states to establish sub-regional economic blocs with the ultimate aim of establishing an African Economic Union by the year 2000. Nevertheless, this was revised because of the ambitious nature of the plan. 

The focus on economic integration endeavors was essentially in line with the political objective of the OAU, which aims  to realize the dream of continental unity.  This was the vision of the early Pan-Africanists such as Dr. Kwami Nkrumah, who saw "political sovereignty" automatically leading to "economic kingdom".  

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The Performance of Post -Colonial Africa  

After four decades of independence and development efforts most African countries are poorer today than they were in the early 60’s.  Development assistance mainly from the West has not produced the desired change in the quality of lives of Africans.  Some of the reasons for this are bad governance, corruption, debt burden, decline in Official Development Assistance (ODA) and Foreign Direct Investment (FDI).   

The above predicament of the African peoples has forced African leaders to take a new and critical look at the development scene of the continent.  One of the approaches suggested is that it is better to focus on a new partnership with the industrialized countries based on enhanced trade and economic partnership which promote foreign direct investment.   

Hence, the New Partnership for Africa’s Development (NEPAD) was suggested as a way of pooling resources from the rich industrialized countries and the African states themselves.² Some have viewed NEPAD as a mini-Marshall plan. Nevertheless, NEPAD is conceptually different from the old-Marshall plan.  This is so because  the financial resources which will be generated for it will come both from the rich countries and the African states themselves.      

The initial total amount, which NEPAD aims to generate on an annual basis, is USD 64 billion.  But, as donors discreetly whisper to one another this is considered far too high to generate under the current economic situation.                                                                                    

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The Concept of NEPAD 

The question that is frequently asked is: what is NEPAD?  NEPAD is a holistic, integrated sustainable development initiative for the economic and social revival of Africa.  It is a pledge by African leaders, based on a common vision and a firm and shared conviction, that they have a pressing duty to the African people to eradicate poverty and to place their countries, both individually and collectively, on a path of sustainable growth and development simultaneously. NEPAD aims to help Africa participate actively in the world economy and body politic.³   

NEPAD is also anchored on the determination of Africans to extricate themselves and the continent from the pincer-grip of underdevelopment and exclusion in a globalised world.  It is predicated on a call for a new relationship of ‘constructive partnership‘ between Africa and the international community.  Its ultimate aim is to narrow and eventually overcome the development gap between the poor African states and the rich industrialized countries. 

“The NEPAD partnership is based on the realization of common interests, obligations, commitments, and benefits”⁴ leading to equality.  

NEPAD involves obligations both from the rich and poor countries.  It is premised on the assumption that African states would make commitments to “good governance, democracy and human rights.”5 At the same time African states are expected to make concerted efforts to prevent and resolve situations of conflict and instability on the continent.  Further, they are expected to create conditions conducive for “investment, growth and development in critical sectors,”6 which are outlined in the NEPAD Programme of Action, whose priority include: infrastructure, education, health, agriculture and ICT.  

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The Birth of NEPAD 

The New Partnership for Africa’s Development was born on October 23, 2001, in Abuja, Nigeria^.5   

The basic document of NEPAD derives from an earlier document called “The New African Initiative (NAI)”.   

The NAI was a result of a merger of two parent documents called The Millennium Partnership for the African Recovery Programme (MAP) spearheaded by South Africa's Thabo Mbeki, together with Nigerian leader Olusegun Obasanjo and Algerian President Abdelaziz Bouteflika, and the “Omega Plan^", which was the brainchild of Senegalese President Abdoulaye Wade.⁶ 

The Omega Plan, drawn up and heavily promoted by President Abdoulaye Wade, focuses particularly on the need for huge infrastructural programmes in Africa funded by Western capital.⁷ 

The Implementation Committee of Heads of State, chaired by President Obasanjo of Nigeria, adopted the revised NEPAD document (October 2001 edition) as the original text “embodying the philosophy, priorities and implementation modalities of the Initiative.” ⁸ 

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The Meaning of NEPAD 

As alluded to earlier, NEPAD is a holistic, comprehensive and integrated strategic framework for the socio-economic development of Africa. The NEPAD document provides a vision for Africa, a statement of the problems facing the continent and a Programme of Action to deal with these problems in order to realize the vision.⁹ 

As noted earlier, NEPAD has been described as a "Marshall Plan for Africa".  It strives to attract the level of investment and support poured into post-war Western Europe. But its salient points are its emphasis on African ownership of Africa's problems and solutions. 

The project commits African countries to set up and police standards of good governance across the continent, to respect human rights and work for peace and poverty reduction.   In return for this, African governments expect enhanced partnership through increased aid, private investment and the reduction of trade barriers by the rich countries. 

The primary objective of NEPAD is to eradicate poverty in Africa and place the continent on the road of sustainable development. It also aims to bring Africa to the global market place. ¹⁰ 

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Principles and Objectives of NEPAD 

The overarching principles of NEPAD, inter alia,  aim to: 

1. promote accelerated growth and sustainable development;

2. eradicate widespread and severe poverty; and

3. halt the marginalisation of Africa in the globalization process¹¹ 

The issues raised above can further be broken down into the themes taken up below:

1. strengthening mechanisms for conflict prevention, management and resolution at the sub-regional and continental levels and ensuring that these mechanisms are used to restore and maintain peace;

2. promoting and protecting democracy and human rights in the individual countries and the continent and developing clear standards of accountability, transparency and participatory governance at the national and sub-national levels;

3. restoring and maintaining macroeconomic stability, especially by developing appropriate standards and targets for fiscal and monetary policies; introducing appropriate institutional frameworks to achieve the above;

4. instituting legal and regulatory frameworks for financial markets and auditing of private companies and the public sector;

5. revitalizing and extending the provision of educational, technical training and health services, with high priority given to tackling HIV/AIDS, malaria and other communicable diseases;

6. promoting the role of women in social and economic development by reinforcing their capacity in the domains of education and training via the development of revenue generating activities and the facilitation of access to credit and by ensuring their participation in the political and economic life of their societies;

7. building the capacity of states in Africa to set and enforce the legal framework, as well as maintain law and order;

8. promoting the development of infrastructure, agriculture and diversifying it to include agro-industries and manufacturing to serve both domestic and export markets”; and

9. creating conditions that make the African continent a preferred destination both for domestic and foreign investors.¹² 

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  Priority areas of NEPAD 

The priority areas of NEPAD, inter alia, include the following pivotal issues: 

1. Peace and Security - Conflict, Prevention, Management and resolution;

2. Political Governance and Democracy;

3. Economic and Corporate Governance including Banking and Financial Standards;

4. Human Resource Development- Education and Health;

5.  Regional Infrastructure Development including Information and Communications Technology (ICT), Energy, Transport, Water and Sanitation;

6.   Regional Cooperation and Integration;

7. Agriculture and Environment;

8.  Market Access and Export Diversification; and

9.  Enhancement of Capital Flows.¹³

NEPAD Outcomes 

As a result of its overarching vision, principles and its specified goals NEPAD is then expected to lead to the following outcomes:

1.  economic growth and development and increased employment;

2. reduction of poverty and inequality;

3. diversification of productive activities, enhanced international competitiveness and increased exports; and

4. accelerated African economic and eventual political integration.¹⁴

Issues of concern about NEPAD

While the rationale for NEPAD briefly given above is valid and convincing, the following important questions are raised in the context of discussions on NEPAD: 

1.       One problem raised is the commitment of donors to allocate significant resources outside international assistance (ODA) for which there are budgetary provisions. 

2.       Another problem is that NEPAD might compromise the ODA which has become an integral part of the budgetary provision of many African states.  Hence some African leaders might be worried about lending their full support to NEPAD on the grounds of fear that NEPAD might replace the regular development aid.

3.       Yet another problem relates to the issue of generating matching financial resources by the developing African countries themselves.  This challenge is formidable, as it would require generating more financial resources through tax reforms and the structural renewal of the administration and revenue collection of many African states.  Tax reform in itself is likely to be received with raised eyebrows as it will involve introducing new tax levies. Besides, some governments might be reluctant to do this specially as the level of existing taxation is high and the state of impoverishment is intense.  Hence, NEPAD has to be introduced programmatically  and popularized for its long term benefits.  One powerful argument for this is that tax in many developing African state is an evenly distributed.  A second valid argument is that NEPAD is hoped to extricate Africa gradually from excessive dependence on development aid. 

4.       A fourth source of anxiety about NEPAD is that most Sub-Saharan African (SSA) states are mono-cultural economies that are dependent on a few primary products. Hence generating resources through enhanced export revenue might initially be an uphill tax.

5.       A fifth issue has to do with the level of indebtedness in which most sub-Saharan African states find themselves. The ratio of debt to GNP and export revenue for most sub-Saharan African states is very alarming.  Introducing more taxes while servicing debts might therefore be burdensome for many SSA states.  In fact, it might amount to a double or triple burden.  Hence a debt moratorium might be a precondition for making NEPAD work. This failing, a radical form of debt reduction along the lines of the HIPC initiative, but on a march higher scale would be necessary. 

Nevertheless, while the above issues have yet to be addressed in the context of NEPAD, it can also be an instrument and a context for some other pending issues.  For instance: 

1.       NEPAD can make it possible to introduce ways and means of compensating poor developing states for loss of revenue due to the new rules of WTO.  This is necessary because the removal of STABECS and SYSMEN from the Lome Convection in the new Cotonue Agreement which is guided by WTO rules is likely to have dire implications for most of the African, Pacific and Caribbean (ACP) states in which SSA countries have a significant representation.   

2.       Another issue relates to the question of the absorptive capacity of the African states of the new resources generated by NEPAD in a meaningful and efficient way, which can make a difference to the lives of ordinary Africans.  This, naturally, also involves the issue of setting priorities and mapping out appropriate strategies for the implementation process.  

3.       A problem related to the above has also to do with the issue of expertise required to expedite the implementation process.   Some technical assistance might be required for this.  But there is also the question of insuring that the technical assistance made available by the development partners is not too expensive.  The aim of this is to insure that the financial resources generated by NEPAD do not flow back to the rich countries making NEPAD less efficient in dealing with the acute problems of Africa.¹⁵ 

Nonetheless despite the above issues of anxiety, it is encouraging that NEPAD has some promising features.   

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Positive Pointers About NEPAD 

One of the most positive features of NEPAD is that it is developed, managed and owned by Africans. Furthermore it is: 

1.  a comprehensive and integrated development plan that addresses key social, economic and political priorities in a coherent and balanced manner;

2. a commitment that African leaders have made to the people of Africa and the international community to put Africa on a path of sustainable socio economic development.

Besides, NEPAD brings the concept of a new partnership (with mutual commitments, obligations, interests, contributions and benefits) with the rest of the world in order to accelerate the economic development of the continent.

NEPAD can also assist in the democratization of Africa via the "peer review mechanism". Furthermore, NEPAD is hoped to help Africa enter into commitments and obligations for the good of itself.  

As noted above, NEPAD could also stimulate Africa to generate resources domestically by broadening the tax base. 

Moreover, NEPAD could be used to improve articulation among economic sectors within countries and among members of the same economic bloc and Africa as a whole. 

The above can result in enhanced mobility of people and goods and services among African states. Further, NEPAD can be a vehicle for enhanced economic relations through the improvement of terms of trade. 

NEPAD can also serve as an instrument for creating global constituencies of solidarity which, in turn, can induce populations in the rich countries to see the lop-sided and uneven nature of the current global economic relationship.¹⁶ 

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Criticism of NEPAD 

Heretofore, we have looked at the weak and strong points of NEPAD. Clearly, the positive points of NEPAD outweigh the points of anxiety.  But, even the issues of anxiety have raised issues of concern without being necessarily negative.  Nevertheless, NEPAD is not without its critics.  Some of the criticisms are legitimate and redeemable while others might arise because of fear of the unknown.  A list of issues on which NEPAD has been openly questioned is given below:  

· The NEPAD initiative was rushed and not participatory, giving the impression that the drivers of the initiative seemed interested in getting the support of the G8 and the International financial institutions rather than ensuring an African ownership of the initiative;

·      The NEPAD document should have been drawn through a transparent, wider and participatory process;

· NEPAD proposes to continue using the old neo-liberal models of development and economic policy framework which entail aspects of structural adjustment policy packages that have failed Africa for long;

· The NEPAD plan does nothing to challenge the economic dominance of the northern hemisphere, as it allegedly accepts the prescriptions of the World Bank and IMF;

·  NEPAD will be unable to honor its own commitments on good governance and human rights;

·  The peer review mechanism will not be effective given the reluctance of the AU and African leaders to criticize and ostracize one another; and

·  NEPAD did not conduct sufficient consultations with the privet sector, trade unions and civil society organizations during the drawing up of the initiative. ¹⁷ 

Consultation with the African private sector would have particularly been of great value as this sector would have lent impetus to the efforts of NEPAD.