----- Original Message ----- From: APIC <[log in to unmask]> To: <[log in to unmask]> Sent: Tuesday, October 12, 1999 10:12 AM Subject: Africa: African Development Forum > Africa: African Development Forum > Date distributed (ymd): 991012 > Document reposted by APIC > > +++++++++++++++++++++Document Profile+++++++++++++++++++++ > > Region: Continent-Wide > Issue Areas: +economy/development+ > Summary Contents: > > This posting contains a speech in South Africa to the African > Renaissance Insitute by Economic Commission for Africa > Executive Secretary Dr. K. Y. Amoako, discussing the African > Development Forum that will take place in Addis Ababa on > October 24-29, 1999. > > For more information on the forum and archives of the on-line > discussion that preceded the forum, see: > http://www.un.org/depts/eca/adf or > http://www.bellanet.org/adf > > President Thabo Mbeki's speech on the same occasion is in a > separate posting also sent out today. > > +++++++++++++++++end profile++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ > > The African Development Forum - > Dialogue for the African Renaissance > > Address by > > Dr. K.Y. Amoako, > Executive Secretary of the Economic Commission for Africa > > On the occasion of the inauguration of the African Renaissance > Institute > > Pretoria, South Africa > Monday 11 October 1999 > > For more information: > Peter K.A. da Costa > Senior Communication Adviser > Economic Commission for Africa (ECA) > United Nations > P.O. Box 3001 (official mail) > Addis Ababa, Ethiopia > Tel: +251-1-51 58 26 > Cell: +251-9-20 17 94 > Fax: +251-1-51 03 65 > E-Mail: [log in to unmask]; [log in to unmask] > Web: http://www.un.org/depts/eca > > Your Excellency Mr. Thabo Mbeki, President of the Republic of > South Africa > > Your Excellencies, Former African Heads of State and > Government > > Your Excellency Dr. Salim Ahmed Salim, Secretary-General of > the Organization of African Unity > > Ambassador Kapembe Nsingo, Executive President of the African > Renaissance Institute > > Distinguished Guests > > Ladies and Gentlemen > > I am pleased to be with you here in Pretoria today, on this > important occasion of the inauguration of the African > Renaissance Institute. It is an honour for me personally, and > for the Economic Commission for Africa (ECA), to address this > gathering. I would like to thank the Institute for inviting me > to speak. This is a most timely initiative, and one that > resonates well with our shared vision of a better future for > Africa's peoples as articulated by President Thabo Mbeki. I > would like to pay tribute for his leadership and for the > eloquence with which he has promoted this vision. > > Chairperson > > You have asked me to speak on the subject: "The African > Development Forum - Dialogue for the African Renaissance". As > I will relate to you shortly, the African Development Forum, > or ADF process, has been initiated by the Economic Commission > for Africa (ECA) and its partners as a means of fostering > home-grown and African-owned solutions to our development > challenges. We see the ADF as an important tool for concretely > moving forward with the vision of an African renaissance. But > before going into detail about the ADF, let me first say a few > words about the socio-economic dimensions of our renaissance > challenge. > > Mr. President, in Sun City in 1995, you stated -- and you have > repeated here today -- that the new century must be Africa's > century. Indeed, how can we claim the 21st Century for > Africa's children? To do so will require that we meet certain > key goals within the next three decades: > > - Today, four out of 10 Africans live below the poverty line, > on barely one dollar a day. The goal must be to eradicate > absolute poverty from the continent. > > - Today, at least 30 percent of Africans have no access to > medical services, while more than 40 percent of the population > lack access to safe water. The goal must be to ensure > healthcare for all, as well as universal access to water and > sanitation. > > - Today, one out of every four African children does not go to > school. Sixteen countries have enrolment rates of less than > 60%. The goal must be to ensure that every African child has > access to quality education. > > - Today, 14 of the 20 lowest ranked countries in terms of the > gender development index are in Africa. The goal must be to > address gender disparities by removing the constraints that > impede women from reaching their full potential. > > - Today, Africans can only expect to live for 51 years, an > average which is declining because of the HIV/AIDS pandemic. > The goal must be to raise Africa's life expectancy, to bring > it in line with that of the developed countries. > > - Today, high population growth rates have led to rapid > environmental deterioration and undermined agricultural > productivity. The goal must be to achieve a harmonious balance > between population growth and food production, and better > stewardship of the environment. > > - Today, more than 20 percent of Sub-Saharan Africa's > population is affected by civil war. The goal must be to > ensure durable peace and sustainable development by addressing > the root causes of conflict, including poverty and deep-seated > inequalities. > > - Today, with 53 countries demarcated by 165 borders, Africa > is the most divided continent. The goal must be to promote > regional cooperation and integration, and to make the African > Economic Community a reality. > > - Today, Africa is the most marginalized continent in terms of > its global finance and trade. The goal must be to enhance > Africa's international competitiveness so that we can become > an equal player on the global scene. > > Chairperson > > This renaissance is not a mirage. Indeed, the groundwork for > change has been partly laid. There is a wide recognition of > the problems we face, and a greater consensus within Africa on > the overall direction for the future. As a result of the new > thinking, recent years have seen tangible progress made by > many countries in reforming their economies, and in putting in > place the requisite enabling environment to bring about > equitable growth and poverty reduction. This has resulted in > very encouraging growth rates over the last five years -- > Africa's best economic performance since the late 1970s. > > Yet these accomplishments cannot be assumed to mean that the > aggregate African economy has crossed the critical threshold > to self-sustaining poverty reduction. To make our vision a > reality, we need to recognize that poverty is > multidimensional, and that its reduction is a long-term effort > requiring sustained capacities in the delivery of essential > social services. Macroeconomic stability and structural > reforms are also essential to move to a higher path of > sustained growth. Broad based participation of civil society > and strengthened governance, including improved budgetary > management and public accountability, are equally important to > the implementation of an effective anti-poverty strategy. > > Harnessing our storehouse of intellectual talent and > expertise, be it on the continent or in the Diaspora, is > critical to meeting these challenges. President Mbeki put it > eloquently when he said at Midrand in August 1998 that > "Africa's renewal demands that her intelligentsia must immerse > itself in the titanic and all-round struggle to end poverty, > disease and backwardness". > > So what strategies should we employ to enhance the role of > research in promoting African development? What if we were to > create a network of networks, which links regional research > institutions and universities as a means of strengthening > quality, cost-effectiveness and inter-disciplinary knowledge, > through broad information sharing between knowledge-producing > centers? What if we set out strategies to strengthen > mechanisms through which analytical work from African research > networks and universities impacts on public policy decisions > and activities of civil society? And what if we could > simultaneously identify strategic studies needed to address > urgent development issues? > > At the Economic Commission for Africa, working with a number > of partner organizations, we are helping to network African > centers of expertise. This involves building a web of > professional networks and centers of excellence to strengthen > the impact and cost-effectiveness of knowledge-producing > research networks and universities. > > In seeking to harness Africa's talent to design innovative > solutions to our development problems, we at the ECA are > mindful of the fact that no single institution can act in > isolation. Indeed, we consider partnerships to be critical to > achieving optimal impact in the region. It is in this spirit > of partnership that we reach out to the African Renaissance > Institute. We welcome the Institute's noble goals, and we > share its objectives. As such, we pledge to work closely with > the Institute in tapping the wealth of expertise that our > continent holds. We look forward to developing concrete > modalities to drive this nascent partnership forward. > > Chairperson > > ECA's partnership approach is enhanced by its dual role as the > regional arm of the United Nations in Africa, and at the same > time an important member of the African institutional > landscape, in concert with the Organization of African Unity > and the African Development Bank. This allows us to convene a > wide cross-section of Africans and their partners to share > perspectives on key development issues, and to forge common > African positions. We have used this convening power to good > effect in recent years. We have brought together African > policy makers and private sector actors across the world > around the issues of investment; we have rallied African > finance and planning ministers around the question of debt; > and we have provided the largest mainstream forum yet to > mobilize action on empowering Africa's women. > > We are using this convening power as a key advocacy mechanism > to strengthen interaction between public policy > decision-makers and research networks and institutions, > creating feedback loops between research, teaching, policy > application and civic interests. This will enhance the > understanding of African issues and promote African content of > knowledge and demand-driven research of practical relevance. > > Our advocacy is underpinned by rigorous policy analysis and > research into some of the key development issues. For > example, in our latest Economic Report on Africa, we have > developed a set of new indices to assess the policy outcomes > and economic performance of individual African countries. The > indices also rank countries on the basis on their progress in > meeting the long-term development objectives of poverty > reduction, and measure the consistency of short-run policy > actions with stated long-term goals. > > Chairperson > > This brings me quickly to the theme of my address today, "the > African Development Forum: A Dialogue for the Renaissance". I > want to share with you this new process and how it can > galvanize Africa's intellectual talent to promote an > African-driven development agenda, and achieve a consensus on > the priorities and strategies to meet specific goals. The ADF > will present governments, civil society and other key > stakeholders of Africa's development with the results of > current research and analysis on these important development > goals. > > The ADF is not an isolated event. Rather, it is a process that > includes concrete mechanisms designed to ensure follow-up and > to monitor the status of implementation of agreed actions at > country level and regional level also. We consider networks of > African researchers as key in the preparation of the technical > and policy position papers around each year's theme. > > The ADF process and the priorities identified in each year's > theme need the highest possible political support. We have > seen many efforts fail in the past because they did not have > the full backing of Africa's leadership, and we were very > mindful of this when we set about to design the ADF process. > We shall seek counsel and guidance from a forum of the Heads > of State and Government. > > Chairperson > > This year's ADF, the inaugural Forum that we hope will become > a seminal moment in the African development calendar, is being > convened in Addis Ababa from 24 to 28 October 1999. The theme, > "The Challenge to Africa of Globalisation and the Information > Age" has been chosen as a millennium issue, a renaissance > issue if you like, because of the importance of defining > African-owned and African-led strategies to engage with the > global information economy. Indeed, it is a theme that > President Mbeki has articulated as one of the pillars of the > renaissance. The ECA has long advocated the importance of such > strategies in the context of the African Information Society > Initiative (AISI), which we are implementing along with a wide > range of partners. > > With its large rural population Africa represents the largest > untapped market for new communications services. It also > represents a major challenge to innovators who must identify > and adapt products that will help Africa leapfrog some of its > most fundamental development challenges. > > When we speak of leapfrogging, we envisage information > technology solutions that will save lives by bringing medical > knowledge and diagnosis to areas that are cut off from access > to conventional health services; we are looking at distance > education applications that will create virtual classrooms, > thereby improving the access of young Africans to the > knowledge that they so badly need to become agents of > development; we foresee initiatives that will link our > entrepreneurs with local, regional and global markets; we see > prospects for improved governance, through enhanced access to > communication and African media content. > > Examples of these sectoral applications are already available > in many African countries. This first Forum will showcase some > of these best practices and concrete examples. Profiles have > been prepared on the status of information technology in all > African countries, along with in-depth National Information > and Communication Infrastructure plans for some 20 countries > in Africa. > > As a key feature of the Forum, a panel of leading African > policy researchers and analysts will examine the implications > for their work of the emergence of the new technologies. They > will also examine how applications can be tailored to enhance > their own research. > > Your Excellencies > > Distinguished Guests > > South Africa is a leader in this field in the continent and > the leadership of this country has fully embraced information > technology as a driving force for development. As such, we > have very much to learn from you. I am pleased to say that in > preparation for the first ADF, we have been working very > closely with the government of South Africa. I wish to take > this occasion to extend my sincere gratitude to our South > African partners for being so committed to the success of ADF. > In particular, we are most grateful for the interest that > President Mbeki has shown in the ADF process, for his > commitment to its goals, and for his wise counsel. > > In closing, Mr. President, I wish to recall the story of the > residents of the town of Dead Man's Creek in Mississippi. As > told by you, every evening at 9pm, after watching the many > images of wars, starvation, malnutrition, refugees, corruption > and other African horrors on their TV screens, the residents > of that town found it very difficult to reconcile such images > with the vision of an African renaissance. They therefore > concluded, amid much laughter, that African leaders like > yourself who speak of an African renaissance must either be > great comedians or, at the very least, must have a good sense > of humour. > > Mr. President, I recently drove through Dead Man's Creek. The > bad news is that they are still laughing at us. But the good > news is that this laughter will stop one day soon. Why? > Because you have succeeded in turning us all into rebels for > the renaissance -- to use your phrase. With such leadership, > with such a shared vision, and with a wealth of natural and > human resources, Africa will claim the 21st century. Thank > you. > > ************************************************************ > This material is being reposted for wider distribution by the > Africa Policy Information Center (APIC). APIC's primary > objective is to widen the policy debate in the United States > around African issues and the U.S. role in Africa, by > concentrating on providing accessible policy-relevant > information and analysis usable by a wide range of groups and > individuals. > > Auto-response addresses for more information (send any e-mail > message): [log in to unmask] (about the Africa Policy > Electronic Distribution List); [log in to unmask] (about APIC). > Documents previously distributed, as well as a wide range of > additional information, are also available on the Web at: > http://www.africapolicy.org > > To be added to or dropped from the distribution list write to > [log in to unmask] For more information about reposted material, > please contact directly the source mentioned in the posting. > > Africa Policy Information Center, > 110 Maryland Ave. NE, #509, Washington, DC 20002. > Phone: 202-546-7961. 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