Before becoming president in June 1999, Mbeki and his South African colleagues in government and the African National Congress worked on articulating a vision of an African Renaissance, that is African political, economic and social renewal. But they did not stop there; for Mbeki and others, the vision had to be translated into concrete policies and plans of action. This would be done by turning a 'new Agenda for African Recovery' on the basis of 'genuine partnership' into concrete plans of action. Such an agenda, policies and plans of action had to generate new forms of cooperation and articulate mutual interests between Africa and the developed world. The New Partnership for Africa's Development (NEPAD) is a concrete manifestation of this 'new agenda'. NEPAD has its origin in this new Agenda for African Development.
The attitude of Africa's multilateral regional and sub-regional organisations had to be turned around so that they could support such a new agenda. But a plan based on a South African hegemonic diktat would clearly fail. NEPAD therefore recognised the need for partnerships amongst key African states. For example, in July 1999, the OAU summit in Algeria, as well as the OAU Extraordinary summit held in Sirte, Libya during September 1999, mandated three countries - Algeria in its capacity as chair of the OAU, South Africa in its capacity as chair of the Non-aligned Movement (NAM), and Nigeria in its capacity as the chair of the Group-of-77 within the UN - to engage the developed countries on the 'total cancellation of Africa's external debt' and promote efforts to close the digital divide between the continent and those industrialised countries. One year later, during the 2000 OAU summit in Togo, these three countries received a broader mandate to engage the developed North with a view to developing a constructive partnership for the regeneration of the Continent. Following from this, the three Presidents raised the issue of a partnership with the leaders of the G-8 at their summit in Japan during July 2000. The work of developing a Millennium Africa Recovery Plan (MAP) then began in earnest as an extensive program on bilateral and multilateral engagement started. A presentation on MAP was made to the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland in January 2001.
While these countries worked on MAP, Senegalese president Abdulaye Wade and other francophone African countries worked on the OMEGA Plan, essentially an infrastructural
development plani. The OMEGA Plan was first presented at the Franco-Africa Summit in Yaounde, Cameroon in January 2001. It was also presented at the OAU Extraordinary Summit in Sirte.
However, concerned about a possible clash between francophone and anglophone states that would reinforce a false political divide, the MAP leaders mandated South African President Thabo Mbeki to interact with his Senegalese counterpart in order to bring about a merger between MAP and OMEGA. Just before the 2001 OAU summit Lusaka, Zambia, Wade visited South Africa, and the two leaders and their respective teams finalised plans and successfully merged MAP and OMEGA and named the integrated plan the
New African Initiative (NAI)ii. The Lusaka summit endorsed NAI and mandated the leaders to fine-tune the new plan into a partnership between Africa and the industrialised powers of the world.
In October 2001, African leaders met in Abuja, Nigeria and launched NEPADiii The NEPAD represents a vision by those African states, which signed on, together with the OAU, to reposition Africa globally, eradicate poverty and to place the continent on the road to sustainable development. It is premised on the attainment of peace and stability through sound governance based on democratic values and principles.
As stated above the overall purpose of NEPAD is to give practical effect to the African Renaissance vision. NEPAD is a comprehensive plan to foster 'genuine partnership' between Africa and the industrialised powers, based on mutual interest and benefit, shared commitment and binding agreement, under African leadership. It is premised on the idea of a pact, a trade-off: that in exchange for Africa's governing elites holding each other politically and economically accountable, the industrialised powers of the world will supplement Africa's peacemaking and peacekeeping efforts, and their attempts to eradicate poverty, by renewing their commitments to greater flows in official development assistance (ODA), debt relief, enhanced flows in private capital (foreign direct investment), and investing in infrastructure, information technology, human resource development - notably in education and health - and providing greater market access for Africa's trading goods to the North. In short, NEPAD is premised on the attaining of peace and stability in Africa through sound governance, based on democratic principles and values. This is to be reinforced by new commitments by Northern powers in the form of financial assistance and enhancing the continents capacities to consolidate peace and democracy. Yet, in proposing the new partnership, NEPAD recognises that Africa holds the key to its own development.
The logic of NEPAD is thus to make a clear link between development and stability. NEPAD singles out three prerequisites for social and economic regeneration, poverty alleviation and empowerment: 1. Peace and Security; 2. Democracy and Political Governance; and 3. Economic and Corporate Governance. This is clearly illustrated by the dictum: 'no peace without development; no development without peace'.
NEPAD goes further and asserts that, of crucial importance to Africa and the rest of the world is the establishment and protection of a political order and system of governance that are:
- Legitimate and enjoy the support and loyalty of the African people;
- Strong enough to advance the interests of African people;
- Able to address the fundamental development interests of African people; and
- Able to engage effectively with various global processes that characterise the world economy.
NEPAD acknowledges that in those regions and countries marred by armed conflict, the overwhelming priorities are to achieve peace, to disarm and demobilise combatants, and to resettle refugees. Africa's capacity to prevent, mediate and resolve conflicts on the continent must strengthen, including, including the capacity to deploy African peacekeeping forces when necessary.
NEPAD recognises that if peace and security is to lead to sustained growth and development, it is of the utmost urgency that the capacity of the state in Africa to fulfil its responsibilities be strengthened. These responsibilities include poverty eradication and development, entrenching democracy, human rights and respect for the rule of law, creating a conducive environment for private sector mobilisation, and responding appropriately to the process of globalisation.
Only if the state is equipped with the capacity to deliver, can it provide an unambiguous and tangible indication that good governance offers a better alternative to the practices of the past. It is therefore vital for the industrialised powers to realise that a new partnership between themselves and African multilateral institutions on the one hand, and African states on the other, are vital to bring about peace, democracy and development in Africa.
The Governing Structure of NEPAD is composed of an Implementation Committee of Heads of State and Government; a Steering Committee and a Secretariat. President Obasanjo has been elected Chairman of the Implementation Committee, and presidents Bouteflika and Wade as his deputy chairmen. The Midrand headquarters of the Development Bank of Southern Africa (DBSA) was chosen as the location of the NEPAD Secretariat.
NEPAD members have worked on elaborating Action Plans for five sectors:
- The Peace, Security, Democracy and Political Governance Initiatives;
- The Economic and Corporate Governance Initiative;
- Bridging the Infrastructure Gap;
- The Human Resource Development Initiative, especially Education and Health; and
- The Market Access Initiative.
These efforts include the establishment of political and economic Good Governance Peer Review Mechanisms, those sets of norms,
values and criteria by which African elites commit to hold each other accountableiv. Both Peer Review Mechanisms stress the need to generate the necessary political will to keep the core values, commitments and obligations of NEPAD and other legal instruments. The mechanisms pledge to empower people and institutions within civil society to ensure an active and independent civil society that can hold government accountable; to adhere to the principles of constitutional democracy, the rule of law and the strict separation of powers; to promote political representivity; ensuring the periodic democratic renewal of leadership; ensuring impartial, transparent and credible electoral administration and oversight systems; ensuring the effective participation of women, minorities and disadvantaged groups in political and economic processes; combat and eradicate corruption.
For example, the initial drafts of the Political and Good Governance Peer Review Mechanismv
stress the importance of 'political will' to keep to core values, commitments and obligations on democracy, human rights and good governance. It recognises the need to `empower people and institutions of civil society' so as to ensure an active and independent civil society that can hold government accountable to the people'. It stresses the need to 'adhere to principles of a constitutional democracy, the rule of law and the strict separation of powers, including the protection of the independence of the judiciary'.
It hopes to ensure 'the periodic democratic renewal of leadership, in line with the principle that leaders should be subjected to fixed terms in office'. It is committed to the 'freedom of expression, inclusive of a guaranteed free media'.
Importantly for those who work in electoral administration, the Peer Review Process commits those signed-up members to ensuring 'impartial, transparent and credible electoral administration and oversight systems'. It promotes a 'dedicated, honest and efficient civil service', and wishes to 'establish oversight institutions providing necessary surveillance, and to ensure transparency and accountability by all layers of government'. It is also strongly in favour of creation and strengthening of 'institutional capacity to ensure the proper functioning of democratic institutions and instruments'.
The Economic and Corporate Governance Peer Review Mechanismvi on its part goes beyond just neo-liberal economic and fiscal dictates. It recognises that good political good governance is a prerequisite for good economic and corporate good governance. It says the ability of the state to deliver on its promises is key. The peer review singles out a number of areas in need of institutional reform. These include: administrative and civil service; strengthening parliamentary oversight; promoting participatory decision-making; adopting effective measures to combat corruption and embezzlement; and undertaking judicial reforms. It states that the key factors which enhances good governance of economies are transparency, accountability, an enabling environment for private sector development and growth, and institutional capacity and effectiveness.
NEPAD's convergence with SADC and ECOWAS restructuring, to mention two sub-regional examples, is allowing for it to influence and become incorporated into the new emerging SADC framework at the same time that Pretoria is about to host the launch of the AU. These convergences place South Africa in an advantageous strategic position to manage the development of synergies between these different initiatives which, in turn, provide the UN an excellent opportunity to reinforce this process starting with SADC restructuring and South Africa's role involvement in those changes.
Footnote:
- see The OMEGA Plan, Dakar, Senegal, February 2001
- See The New African Initiative (NAI), a Merger of the Millennium African Recovery Program (MAP) and the OMEGA Plan, Pretoria, South Africa, July 2001.
- See Organisation of African Unity (OAU), The New Partnership for Africa's Development (NEPAD), October 2001.
- See Communiquй issued at the end of the Second Meeting of the Heads of State and Government Implementation Committee of the NEPAD, Abuja, 26 March 2002.
- See Draft document 'NEPAD: Democracy and Political Governance Initiative', Pretoria, South Africa, February 2002.
- See Economic Commission for Africa, 'Draft Codes and Standards for Economic and Corporate Governance in Africa: Summary of Key Issues and Declaration of Principles', Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, March 2002.
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