Zanethemba Mkalipi
Researcher (Idasa) Cape Town

The African development blueprint- Nepad is a concept that has captured the imagination of many people around the world. It has become a catch-phrase for journalists, politicians, academics and members of civil society organisations. The African development agenda expressed in Nepad is not a new phenomenon. It spreads the whole landscape of Africa's struggle for freedom. It was put forward in various forms by the likes of Nkwame Nkrumah, Jomo Kenyatta, Julius Nyerere to mention a few. In his "I am an African" speech of 1996 in the National Assembly Thabo Mbeki reiterated this concept of an African rebirth in a manner that placed it in the forefront of policy documents, political rally cries and scholarly enquiry. The new partnership for Africa's development (Nepad) is the latest stage of that pre-occupation by African leaders with the establishment of a democratic political system, the achievement of sustainable economic development and situation of Africa in the global political and economic system. Despite being rooted in different elements of earlier philosophical discourse, the political and economic context within which Nepad is taking place and the magnitude of challenges facing the continent seem to be new. The end of the Cold War in the late 1980s pulled down the proxy cover for leadership and administrative inadequacies in and around Africa. The blame for Africa's problems could no longer be placed at the door of industrialised world and global capital. There was now an acknowledgement that Africa needs to nurture the seeds of democracy and development by pioneering a new relationship between themselves and the rest of the world. This relationship should be driven by the desire to reinvent the continent and shake off the chains of poverty and underdevelopment that have affected the majority of its population for decades. What is Nepad Nepad is a vision and a strategic framework designed by African leaders to respond to globalisation and resultant marginalisation of the continent. The project is also aimed at overcoming the problems of weak state institutions that have characterised Africa since independence. Amongst the relationships that Nepad seeks to forge, is the relationship between African leaders and their people. Political pluralism, democracy and good governance are seen as the basic preconditions for development in the continent. Origins of Nepad Nepad is a merger of the Millennium Partnership for the African Recovery Programme and the Omega Plan. The merger was finalised on July 3 2001. Out of this merger the New African Initiative (NAI) was born and approved by the OAU Summit of Heads of State on 11 July 2001. The plan was endorsed by the leaders of the G8 countries on 20 July 2001 in Genoa, Italy. The policy framework was finalised by the Heads of State Implementation Committee (HSIC) on 23 October 2001, and Nepad was formed. Subsequent to this developments an unprecedented debate emerged amongst analysts, members of civil society and politicians around the significant role of the state and minimal consultation with civil society. Even though the role of civil society has since been slightly clarified, the recent developments in the Nepad debate have largely been formulated against the backdrop of the contention that the project needs to open up space for civil society. Primary Objectives The Nepad document defines its objectives by saying that it is aimed at meeting the Millennium Development Goals (MDG's) of reducing poverty in Africa by 50% by 2015 and to transform our societies in order to place them both individually and collectively on a path of sustainable growth and development. In addition to this Nepad also seeks to meet the following · Halt the marginalisation of Africa in the globalisation process ·objectives;   Fully integrate Africa in the world·Accelerate the empowerment of women and  economy. Principles of Nepad Nepad is a programme that is based on a desire to ensure that African problems are resolved in a manner consistent with the reality of socio-economic and socio-political conditions in the continent. It is in this regard that it is viewed as the programme owned and led by Africans. It seeks to ensure that Africa no longer relies on the generosity of the industrialised world, but anchors the its redevelopment on the resources and resourcefulness of the African people. To this effect it seeks to accelerate and deepen regional and continental economic integration. It is only through increased competitiveness that African countries would be able play a meaningful role in the world political and economic system. The building blocks of Nepad The building blocks of Nepad are spelled out in its various documents including the Declaration on Democracy, Political, Economic and Corporate Governance which was signed by Heads of State in July 2002, Durban. The following areas are put forward as the fundamental requirements for African recovery to gain momentum : Preconditions for development: 1. Peace, security, democracy and political governance 2. Economic and corporate governance, focussing on public finance management 3. Regional cooperation and integration. Priority sectors: 1. Infrastructure 2. Information and communications technology 3. Human development and poverty reduction, focussing on health and education 4. Agriculture 5. Promoting diversification of production and exports, focussing on market access for African exports to industrialised countries. Mobilising resources: 1. Increasing domestic private savings 2. Improved management of public revenue and expenditure to raise public savings 3. Enhancing inflows of external resources via expanded debt relief, increased ODA flows as well as private flows. Nepad Peer Review Mechanism This is the most important aspect of Nepad as it deals with the process regarding how states will implement the objectives spelled out in the Declaration and what will happen in case of defaults. The Nepad Peer Review Mechanism, henceforth referred to as NPRM is an institutional design that will be in the interim be administered and co-ordinated by an Independent Personnel of Eminent Persons (IPEP). Its major task will be to review the adherence by member states with the principles spelled out in the Durban Declaration. Since its inception it has been the focus of African civil society and the G8 countries for various reasons. Civil society saw this institutional development in African politics as a tool that could be used to engage their governments around issues of accountability, transparency and good governance. The G8 countries on the other hand rightly or wrongly viewed the NPRM as positive development with regards to the entrenchment of democracy and good governance objectives of Nepad. Furthermore, NPRM serves as a guarantee that African states will monitor each other's performance and decide who qualifies for aid. The NPRM has become a centre of focus and controversy in that it is one of those areas that will determine whether there is indeed genuine commitment to change amongst African leaders. It has already created contention between amongst African leaders and their partners in the G8 regarding the location of the review of political governance. Few days prior the Abuja Summit in November 2002 there was a discussion regarding the possibility of having the review of political governance carried out under the auspices of the African Union. This sent shock waves throughout the developed countries of the G8 as earlier statements by African leaders and Mbeki the chairperson of the African Union did not suggest that this was going to be the case. However, it would seem that a compromise was arrived at during the Heads of States and Governments Committee meeting on the 3rd of November that in the interim all reviews will be carried out under Nepad and only later will they be absorbed by the relevant institutions of the African Union once it has completed its own transition. Leadership and Management of Nepad Nepad is not an organisation, but on the contrary it is a programme of the African Union. The highest authority of the Nepad implementation process is the Heads of State and Government Implementation Committee. The heads of States and Government Implementation Committee comprised of 3 state per African Union region, but that number has since been increased by one member per region . In addition to the HSIC Nepad has a Steering Committee which comprises of Personal Representatives of the Nepad Heads of States and Government. The duty of the committee is to instruct the Nepad Secretariat to co-ordinate and implement projects and processes that have been identified by the HSIC as being of priority (e.g. the development of benchmarks and indicators for the Nepad Peer Review Mechanism -NPRM). The Secretariat is thus the coordinating and the liaison arm of the Nepad Steering Committee. Relationship with the African Union Nepad is not a separated continental organisation, but a project of the African Union. The Implementation Committee which met in Abuja recently reports to the African Union Summit annually. The African Union Chair and Secretary General are ex-officio members of the Implementation Committee. The African Union Secretariat participates at Steering Committee meetings. It is important that this link between Nepad and the African Union becomes clear especially to members of organised civil society as it seems that Nepad is an interim arrangement and future lobbying and advocacy on continental issues will have to be directed to a much higher level (i.e. the various organs of the AU). Conclusion It would seem that Nepad is the only African initiative that has the potential to bring an end to the enduring socio-economic morass wreaking havoc in the continent. Despite the conceptual and operational limitations apparent at this stage, it appears that it cannot just be dismissed as a wish-list that will not achieve any of its stated objectives. It has so far placed the development of the African continent vigorously on the agenda. However, this does not mean that it should be accepted uncritically. Nepad is still in its embryonic stages and there is still a laborious journey to travel before the rebirth of the continent can be achieved. This places a challenge to governments, private sector and civil society to ensure that, that journey is travelled in a manner that will deliver on the poverty stricken masses whose expectation have already been elevated.

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