A NEW PLAN FOR AFRICA
Wednesday, July 24, 2002 Susan V. Thompson, ed. Read online or subscribe at: http://www.9-11peace.org/bulletin.php3
CONTENTS 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. Introduction: Africa's Salvation, or More of the Same? One Link The Problems Facing Africa The New Partnership for Africa's Development (NEPAD) Criticisms of the NEPAD Alternatives
7. Get Involved 8. About the Bulletin
INTRODUCTION: AFRICA'S SALVATION, OR MORE OF THE SAME? The NEPAD (New Partnership for Africa's Development) is the G8's solution to Africa's poverty. It was the main focus of the recent G8 summit in Kananaskis, Canada, where the G8 leaders created an action plan to begin to put the NEPAD into effect. It was the first time that members of the non-G8 countries were even allowed to attend a G8 summit, and officially, the NEPAD is being touted as an African solution to an African problem. There is no question that there is an urgent need to address the problem of Africa's poverty; nor can it be disputed that global attention to Africa's difficulties is both welcome and essential. But many people are voicing doubts that the NEPAD will deliver on its promises; after all, similar programs have had little success in the past. Some critics question the basic assumptions of the NEPAD: that foreign investment is the only hope for Africa, that structural adjustment policies benefit Africa, and that opening to Western trade and investment is the price Africa must pay for more international assistance. There are also those who feel that African leaders will be unable to maintain their commitments to the ideals of NEPAD, such as just governance. Dictatorships and corruption are still the norm, and the situation in Zimbabwe has escaped most international criticism. While the
objectives of the NEPAD are honorable, it remains to be seen whether that is enough to help Africa. Since we feel that it is only through an informed assistance that the West will be able to truly help, it is our intent to cover all of these perspectives at least briefly in this bulletin, along with providing the actual documents of the NEPAD so that you can judge for yourself. Next week: The Kurds
ONE LINK This is an excellent, brief, and readable overview of the NEPAD, its goals, and the major criticisms of it from The Socialist Worker. Very valuable whether or not you personally adhere to the ideals of socialism. http://www3.sympatico.ca/sworker/381-01-NEPAD.html
THE PROBLEMS FACING AFRICA Map of Africa. http://www.africaguide.com/afmap.htm This is a page of statistics and facts about Africa from the official website of the G8 summit, which highlights the problems of poverty, war, etc. http://www.g8.gc.ca/kan_docs/afrfact-e.asp
Poverty
A report says that water is the key to ending poverty in Africa. http://www.9-11peace.org/r2.php3?r=79 The health of a country's economy is generally measured in terms of the GDP. However, this interesting article points out that this method may not actually provide an accurate portrait of the massive poverty in Africa. http://www.afbis.com/analysis/poverty-measure.htm
Africa's Debt
33 of the 41 countries identified by the World Bank as "Heavily Indebted Poor Countries" (HIPC) are in Africa. This excellent background article by the Africa Policy Information Center explains Africa's debt, including its causes, consequences, and the possibility of
cancelling it. http://www.afbis.com/analysis/debt.htm Structural adjustment policies (SAPs) are a major cause of poverty in Africa and around the world. Under SAPs, debt repayment is organized in such a way that social spending and development are cut back, with debt repayment becoming the priority. Meanwhile, rather than helping reduce a country's debt, SAPs actually tend to increase it. This informational page on structural adjustment policies explains how they work in easily understandable terms, clearly demonstrating how SAPs, one of the hallmarks of so-called "free trade", are actually helping the rich countries get richer while the poor ones descend further into poverty and debt. http://www.globalissues.org/TradeRelated/SAP.asp
HIV/AIDS
A UN report has concluded that over 40 million people in the world have HIV/AIDS. The disease "threatens to wipe out a generation in sub-Saharan Africa. In Botswana, AIDS has dropped the life expectancy to below 40 for the first time since 1950." http://cbc.ca/stories/2002/07/02/aids_un020702 Millions of children in Africa, Asia, and Latin America have been orphaned by HIV/AIDS, and according to experts, the numbers will continue to increase. http://cbc.ca/stories/2002/07/11/aids_orphan020711 In this article written before the June G8 summit, Dr. Chinua Akukwe, former Vice Chairman of Washington's National Council for International Health (NCIH), explains the devastating impact of HIV/AIDS in Africa, and concludes that in order to be effective NEPAD would have to make the HIV/AIDS epidemic a priority. "With 28 million Africans living with HIV/AIDS and more than 20 million already dead, the number one development emergency in Africa deserves priority attention in NEPAD, the touted vehicle for the continent's accelerated development." http://www.gamji.com/NEWS1309.htm
War
The light weapons trade fuels civil wars in Africa. Includes a map and statistics. http://www.9-11peace.org/r2.php3?r=80 More than a half million people in Central Africa and the Horn of Africa became refugees in 2001. These refugees were fleeing violence and war. http://www.refugees.org/news/press_releases/2001/100301.cfm
For more on war in Africa, please see our previous bulletin on the subject. http://www.9-11peace.org/bulletin35.php3
THE NEW PARTNERSHIP FOR AFRICA'S DEVELOPMENT (NEPAD) This is the full text of the New Partnership for Africa's Development (NEPAD). (PDF format) http://www.africainitiative.org/AA0010101.pdf At the G8 summit in June, the G8 leaders adopted the Africa Action Plan. This is the official overview of the events leading to the adoption of the plan, the results of the summit, and NEPAD. http://www.g8.gc.ca/summitafrica-e.asp Read the Africa Action Plan that was adopted by G8 leaders verbatim. http://www.g8.gc.ca/kan_docs/afraction-e.asp "There have been, according to one calculation, 18 African developmental initiatives over the past 20 years. What makes NEPAD different is its recognition of past failures, its ownership by Africans themselves and, critically, its timing in the wake of Sept 11. NEPAD's proponents recognize that failure would, at this stage, be more damaging had nothing been attempted. But its success could bring unparalleled benefit." This is an overview of the NEPAD from Time magazine's European edition. http://www.9-11peace.org/r2.php3?r=81
CRITICISMS OF THE NEPAD In this essay, the "much greater commitment to Africa from the leading developed nations" is heralded as a possible indicator that the NEPAD could have more success than previous plans for Africa. The author praises the fact that the NEPAD is "essentially an indigenous scheme, formulated by African leaders themselves, with the most crucial inputs coming from the presidents of Egypt, Ghana, Nigeria, Senegal and South Africa," a fact which indicates "a candid recognition that they must move beyond the reflex and highly seductive anti-western rhetoric - rooted in the mindset of permanent victimhood - towards a more active stance built on the idea of a constructive partnership with the developed world which Prime Minister Tony Blair has described." The concerns over the NEPAD that are voiced here have less to do with the actual plan itself and more to do with whether African leaders are capable of instituting it. Zimbabwe is used as an example of the failure of
African governments to maintain a commitment to the principles of the NEPAD. http://www.9-11peace.org/r2.php3?r=82 This is a far more detailed explanation of the position that African leaders' inaction over Zimbabwe has undermined the credibility of the NEPAD from Foreign Policy in Focus. http://www.fpif.org/outside/commentary/2002/0203nepad.html In contrast, George Monbiot of the Guardian charges that the NEPAD will fail precisely because it places the blame for Africa's problems on Africa, without addressing the real root of Africa's poverty: imperialism and globalization. "Nepad could be viewed as a white lie: the lies of the whites, repeated, with the best intentions, by the leaders of Africa. But development cannot be built on a lie, for development is a matter of reality. So while their plan has admitted them to the imperial court, it merely reinforces the dispensation that ensures Africa stays poor while the G8 stays rich." http://www.9-11peace.org/r2.php3?r=83 The Southern African Catholic Bishops Conference (SACBC) has criticized the NEPAD for the fact that it was created by African leaders with no consultation with the African people, and that its economic proposals are "dubious." "Nepad correctly states that current 'globalisation' policies fail to lift Africa out of socio-economic decline but then goes on to say that Africa therefore needs more of the same policies." http://www.web.net/~iccaf/debtsap/nepadbishops.htm Africa Action specifically criticized the US-based initiative promising $500 million to prevent the transmission of HIV/AIDS from mothers to children, saying "public relations gestures and budget shell games do not save lives." http://www.africaaction.org/docs02/g8-0206.htm Professor John Saul of York University states that "while written by African leaders, notably Mbeki, Obasanjo and Boutefika, NEPAD reads like it could just as easily have been written in the offices of the World Bank and the IMF -- after all, if you read it carefully, you will see that NEPAD is driven by two premises: that African economies and states must ADJUST their economies in order to provide the enabling conditions for their further penetration by global capital and that they must recast their political systems to conform more clearly to the liberal quasi-democratic structures of the West." http://www.web.ca/~iccaf/debtsap/nepadfowlerresponse.htm
ALTERNATIVES The most common answer to the problem of Africa's poverty is to forgive Africa's debts.
This is the main focus of the Jubilee Network. Jubilee is a reference to the Jubilee Year mentioned in Leviticus in the Bible, in which all debts were forgiven. Jubilee (USA) Network: http://www.9-11peace.org/r2.php3?r=84 Forgiving Africa's debt is also the focus of the "50 Years is Enough" campaign, which is focused on advocating that the US government work to lead the way in African debt forgiveness. http://www.50years.org/factsheets/africa.html Bayowa Adedeji is Director of Media and Publications for the Centre for Human Rights Research and Development (CHRRD) in Ibadan, Nigeria. Not only does he believe that debt relief is an important way to help Africa, he suggests that multinational companies give 10% of their profits to a Development Fund, that agricultural activities be subsidized, and that 30% of the $500 million Africa fund created by the Government of Canada should go directly to a coalition of African NGOs, which he believes will create more results than African government agencies, many of which have a history of corruption. http://www.9-11peace.org/r2.php3?r=85 Singer Bono from the band U2 has called on the West to help Africa by cancelling debts and providing aid. Bono toured Africa with the US Treasury Secretary. http://sg.news.yahoo.com/reuters/asia-107545.html
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