On 7 Jul 2002 at 23:56, Ams Jallow wrote:
> What a
> scheme! If we are not careful, Wade, Mbeki and Museveni [selected poster boys
> for NEPAD], will be laughing to bank, with their loot. Ams
>
Ams,
I am no economist but I think NEPAD is a great idea as far as I can read
from the various documents I have seen about the organisation so far. We
cannot accuse Wade, Mbeki and Obassango at this stage because I think
they have already shown the way that can lead to a better hope for Africa.
Some one has to start somewhere and that's what they have done.
I found the following introduction about NEPAD from the WWW and thought it
would be useful to this posting:
I. INTRODUCTION
1. This New Partnership for Africa’s Development is a pledge by African
leaders, based on a common vision and a firm and shared conviction, that
they have a pressing duty to eradicate poverty and to place their countries,
both individually and collectively, on a path of sustainable growth and
development, and at the same time to participate actively in the world
economy and body politic. The Programme is anchored on the determination
of Africans to extricate themselves and the continent from the malaise of
underdevelopment and exclusion in a globalising world.
2. The poverty and backwardness of Africa stand in stark contrast to the
prosperity of the developed world. The continued marginalisation of Africa
from the globalisation process and the social exclusion of the vast majority of
its peoples constitute a serious threat to global stability.
3. Historically accession to the institutions of the international community,
the credit and aid binomial has underlined the logic of African development.
Credit has led to the debt deadlock, which, from instalments to rescheduling,
still exists and hinders the growth of African countries. The limits of this
option have been reached. Concerning the other element of the binomial "aid
" we can also note the reduction of private aid and the upper limit of public
aid, which is below the target set in the 1970s.
4. In Africa, 340 million people, or half the population, live on less than US $1
per day. The mortality rate of children under 5 years of age is 140 per 1000,
and life expectancy at birth is only 54 years. Only 58 per cent of the
population have access to safe water. The rate of illiteracy for people over 15
is 41 per cent.
There are only 18 mainline telephones per 1000 people in Africa, compared
with 146 for the world as a whole and 567 for high-income countries.
5. The New Partnership for Africa’s Development calls for the reversal of this
abnormal situation by changing the relationship that underpins it. Africans are
appealing neither for the further entrenchment of dependency through aid, nor
for marginal concessions.
6. We are convinced that an historic opportunity presents itself to end the
scourge of underdevelopment that afflicts Africa. The resources, including
capital, technology and human skills, that are required to launch a global war
on poverty and underdevelopment exist in abundance, and are within our
reach. What is required to mobilise these resources and to use them
properly, is bold and imaginative leadership that is genuinely committed to a
sustained human development effort and poverty eradication, as well as a
new global partnership based on shared responsibility and mutual interest.
7. Across the continent, Africans declare that we will no longer allow
ourselves to be conditioned by circumstance. We will determine our own
destiny and call on the rest of the world to complement our efforts. There are
already signs of progress and hope. Democratic regimes that are committed
to the protection of human rights, people-centred development and market-
oriented economies are on the increase. African peoples have begun to
demonstrate their refusal to accept poor economic and political leadership.
These developments are, however, uneven and inadequate and need to be
further expedited.
8. The New Partnership for Africa’s Development is about consolidating and
accelerating these gains. It is a call for a new relationship of partnership
between Africa and the international community, especially the highly
industrialised countries, to overcome the development chasm that has
widened over centuries of unequal relations.
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