POLITICS-AFRICA: South Africa Exerts its Muscles

By IPS Correspondents Reprint | | Print |

Anthony Stoppard

MAPUTO, Jul 8 2003 (IPS) - There is a behind-the-scenes tussle between South Africa and African Union for control of the New Partnership for Africa’s Development (NEPAD).

NEPAD is a programme to kick-start the economic development of Africa.

In a nutshell, it commits African governments to good governance in exchange for better trade and aid deals from the developed economies. Championed by South African President Thabo Mbeki, and his Nigerian counterpart, Olusegun Obasanjo, among others, the programme has won promises of support from the Group of Eight (G8) developed economies.

G8 comprises Japan, Italy, France, Germany, Britain, the United States, Canada and Russia.

Officially, NEPAD is an economic programme of the African Union, but it is being mainly driven by South Africa and Nigeria – the continent’s economic powerhouses.

The NEPAD secretariat, which has been working independently of the African Union, is based in South Africa. It is headed by Wiseman Nkuhlu, an economic adviser to President Mbeki.

But, ahead of the second Assembly of Heads of State and Government of the African Union, to be held in the Mozambican capital of Maputo, from Jul. 10 to Jul. 12, there are calls to have the NEPAD secretariat moved to Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, where the headquarters of the African Union are based.

A report on the best and fastest way to integrate the secretariat of NEPAD into the structures of the African Union is expected to be tabled at the Maputo meeting.

But, Mbeki seems determined to keep NEPAD in South Africa, for as long as possible. South Africa and Nigeria have used their international profiles as stable, free market democracies in Africa – to sell NEPAD as the development programme for the continent, to G8 members in a bid to win better trade and aid deals.

NEPAD is seeking 63 billion U.S. dollars a year mainly from western investors for Africa’s recovery.

Pointing out that economic development is an immediate priority for most African countries, Mbeki says: "To ensure that this work proceeds with the necessary speed, the NEPAD institutions set up by the Union will continue to function as they have done during the first year of the AU. The Union is keen that it should ensure that its headquarters is staffed and functions properly before it changes this arrangement, fully to integrate the work of NEPAD within its headquarters."

Jakkie Cilliers, of the South African Institute of Security Studies (ISS), says it is unlikely that the African Union will get its headquarters up and running effectively in the short term. As a result, the NEPAD secretariat is likely to remain in South Africa for the foreseeable future.

"South Africa is reluctant to relocate the NEPAD secretariat to Addis Ababa because this will reduce the momentum they have built up," says Cilliers, citing fears that if it moved to the Ethiopian capital it will become bogged down in AU bureaucracy.

Meanwhile, Nkuhlu has announced that the African Peer Review Mechanism is set to begin its work in Oct. The review is a mechanism through which African countries can monitor each other’s progress towards common standards of good governance to which they have voluntarily committed themselves.

It is an integral part of NEPAD and will be used to show that Africa is committed to improving its governance when the continent tries to negotiate better trade and aid deals with the advanced economies.

Ghana will be the first country to have its standards of governance reviewed. So far only 15 of the 53 members of the African Union have committed themselves to being reviewed.

The reviews will be undertaken by a panel of six prominent, independent Africans. The Southern African representatives on the panel are Graca Machel, the wife of former President Nelson Mandela, who is well-known for her relief and development work with children, and a former governor of the South African Reserve Bank, Chris Stals.

The panel will be supported by technical teams which will help assess the countries and, where necessary, help build their capacity to improve their standards of governance.