|
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The African Opinion Leader Survey on Nepad and AU-2002
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7. NEPAD: A Genuine African Program?
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While its proponents have hailed NEPAD as an authentically African concept, its detractors have been quick to point out its seemingly obvious and overemphasized attempts to address conditionalities set by international donors. On the one hand, the architects of NEPAD pride themselves on the principles that NEPAD was designed by Africans for Africans. On the other hand, detractors of the policy argue that a set of conditionalities imposed by Western donors might thwart the principles associated with African ownership and control. Although President Mbeki and others assert that principles of good governance are implicit in Africa’s development strategy and that such conditions are not externally imposed, the NEPAD strategy has been referred to as a “slick begging bowl”, which could hamper the strategy’s image. The question of ownership and control over the process has, therefore, been an issue that its architects have been at pains to clarify to those who regard it as a poorly masked response to a World Bank wish list.
To what extent do the African elite feel that the NEPAD initiative was designed by Africans for Africans, and do they believe that the commitment of the developed countries is crucial to the success of the NEPAD policy? In the current survey we asked our elite respondents to indicate the extent to which they agreed with the statement that “NEPAD is not perceived as a genuine African program.” The data displayed in
Table 6, suggest that the majority of Zimbabwean and Ugandan elites are in agreement with this statement. This was not the case in South Africa, Nigeria, Senegal and Kenya, where the majority of respondents disagreed with the statement. In this instance Algerian elites displayed a largely neutral stance.
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Table 6: NEPAD is not perceived as a genuine African program
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|
|
|
Agree
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Neutral
|
Disagree
|
Mean
|
Std. Dev.
|
|
South Africa
|
23.7
|
20.4
|
55.9
|
3.38
|
1.01971
|
|
Nigeria
|
30.0
|
25.4
|
44.7
|
3.16
|
1.02529
|
|
Senegal
|
35.3
|
11.3
|
53.4
|
3.19
|
1.07415
|
|
Algeria
|
30.8
|
40.2
|
29.1
|
2.94
|
0.91247
|
|
Kenya
|
30.0
|
29.2
|
40.8
|
3.13
|
1.10715.
|
|
Uganda
|
46.4
|
24.7
|
28.9
|
2.75
|
1.05110
|
|
Zimbabwe
|
58.3
|
16.5
|
25.2
|
2.57
|
1.10369
|
Another criticism pertaining to the representivity of NEPAD is based on the notion that its modus operandi is geared towards the aspirations of leaders in the founding countries (Thabo Mbeki of South Africa, Olusegun Obasanjo of Nigeria, Abdoulaye Wade of Senegal and Abdelaziz Bouteflika of Algeria). This, the holders of the view argue, effectively excludes the sentiments of countries that have not been involved in the drafting process and may in the longer term contribute to feelings of alienation towards the policy.
To test this suggestion, respondents were asked to indicate the extent to which they agreed with the statement that “NEPAD does not embody the economic aspirations of all Africans.” According to
Table 7, the majority of respondents in South Africa, Nigeria and Kenya disagreed with the statement, thereby reflecting a great deal of confidence in the capacity of the NEPAD policy to reflect the economic needs expressed by the majority of Africans. The majority of elites in Algeria, Senegal, Uganda and Zimbabwe, however, agreed with the statement, thereby expressing doubt in the capability of the NEPAD policy to address the economic needs of the African population. There are indeed significant and interesting differences in the response patterns between the different countries.
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Table 7: NEPAD does not embody the economic aspirations of all Africans
|
|
|
|
|
Agree
|
Neutral
|
Disagree
|
Mean
|
Std. Dev.
|
|
South Africa
|
39.9
|
19.1
|
47.0
|
3.14
|
1.13864
|
|
Nigeria
|
26.2
|
24.6
|
49.2
|
3.24
|
1.04773
|
|
Senegal
|
44.8
|
12.7
|
42.5
|
2.92
|
1.13090
|
|
Algeria
|
49.5
|
35.0
|
15.2
|
2.50
|
1.01390
|
|
Kenya
|
29.2
|
35.8
|
35.0
|
3.00
|
1.10765
|
|
Uganda
|
40.2
|
20.6
|
39.2
|
2.96
|
1.09846
|
|
Zimbabwe
|
41.3
|
19.6
|
39.1
|
2.96
|
1.14541
|
|
