ECONOMY: African Leaders Committed to Home-grown Agenda

By Toye Olori Reprint | | Print |

Toye Olori

LAGOS, Mar 29 2002 (IPS) - African leaders, who met in the Nigerian capital Abuja this week to fashion out home-grown agenda for the continent, are set to follow Nigeria in ‘dumping’ the International Monetary Fund (IMF).

Nigeria, which opts for home grown economic programmes, suspended “certain aspects” of the IMF’s policies this month.

It hopes that the New Partnership for Africa’s Development (NEPAD) meeting, attended by heads of state, prime ministers and representatives from 15 African countries, would pursue indigenous development agenda, as against prescriptions foisted on Africa by Western institutions.

In an 11-page statement at the end of their meeting Tuesday, the leaders, hosted by Nigeria, said the indigenous agenda would be enhanced through a system of self-assessment that ensures that policies of African countries are based on best current knowledge.

NEPAD is spearheaded by a core group of five countries – Nigeria, South Africa, Algeria, Egypt, and Senegal and an Implementation Committee of 15 heads of state.

According to the NEPAD statement, the draft of good governance and democracy as well as African Peer Review Mechanisms, which form part of NEPAD’s strategic issues, were adopted at the Abuja meeting.

To ensure the support of Western investors, the African leaders agreed to subject themselves to a tough new code on democracy and good governance.

The draft declaration commits all African governments to adhere to the principles of democracy, the rule of law and the strict separation of powers, including the independence of the judiciary and of effective parliaments. It will also ensure governments adhere to freedom of expression and of the press.

“The adoption of the declaration on democracy and good governance and human rights is to ensure that Africa gets the support of the developed nations from where Africa expects investment inflow of more than 64 billion dollars yearly to tackle poverty in the continent,” said an analyst in Lagos.

Strategic issues and key development challenges identified by NEPAD as confronting African leaders include entrenchment of good governance, consolidation of democratic institutions and structures, restoration of peace, security and stability in the troubled regions of the continent.

Agriculture, according to the statement, is one priority sector in the draft action plans of NEPAD.

“Improvement in agricultural performance, for instance, is a prerequisite of economic development on the continent. The resulting increase in rural people’s purchasing power will also lead to higher effective demand for African industrial goods, which will constitute a significant source of economic growth,” according to Stanley Egbochukwu, a political analyst.

According to him, NEPAD provides a golden opportunity for developing a common agricultural policy across Africa.

He notes: “Given the political will demonstrated at the highest level, it can also provide the much-needed policy environment for strategic action-oriented approaches, while recognising the importance of continuous monitoring of the progress achieved at country-level”.

Nigeria’s President Obasanjo, who is chair of the committee, said at the opening of the summit in Abuja, “we must all ensure that Africa indeed claims the 21st century.”

The result of the deliberations will be presented for consideration at the first African Union summit in South Africa in July.

NEPAD is also considering a draft action plan for Africa to be presented to the G-8 leaders at their summit in Canada in June. Leaders of NEPAD were at last year’s summit of the world’s leading industrial nations in Italy.

G-8 comprises Italy, Japan, Canada, Britain, the United States, Germany, France and Russia.

Canadian Prime Minister Jean Chretien is due in Abuja on Apr 5 for a meeting with six African leaders before he hosts the G-8 leaders, according to Aluko-Olokun, who oversees NEPAD programme in Nigeria.

NEPAD emerged from the marrying of the Millennium Partnership for African Recovery Programme (MAP) developed by Presidents Olusegun Obasanjo of Nigeria, Thabo Mbeki of South Africa, Abdelaziz Bouteflika of Algeria and Hosni Mobarak of Egypt and the Omega Plan proposed by President Abdou Wade of Senegal.