9 - 15 August 2001
Issue No.546
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Al-Ahram Weekly Online 9 - 15 August 2001 Issue No.546 |
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Mapping out Africa's destiny
In an exclusive interview with Al-Ahram Weekly, South Africa's minister of trade and industry, Alec Erwin, spoke to Gamal Nkrumah about Africa's new drive against underdevelopment and marginalisation from the global economy
"The world economy cannot be stable if a whole continent is slipping backwards," South Africa's Minister of Trade and Industry Alec Erwin told Al- Ahram Weekly. Erwin, on a visit to Cairo last week to attend a preparatory meeting of African ministers of economy, trade and industry for the fourth World Trade Organisation (WTO) Ministerial Conference scheduled to be convened in November in Doha, Qatar, spotlighted South Africa's spearheading role in defining Africa's economic and political agenda.
"Africa itself must define its priorities and, more decisively, take responsibility for its own development and destiny," the minister said. Erwin extrapolated on the merger of the Millennium Partnership for the African Recovery Programme (MAP) of South Africa and Senegal's OMEGA Plan into a new African initiative for economic and social salvation. "We did a lot of thinking and analysis. First we examined why earlier pan- African initiatives failed. Good intentions alone will not carry the day. We have to grapple with our past," Erwin said.
South Africa's economy has come a long way from the days of apartheid, he said. "We've achieved profound structural change and moved on from protected subsidisation and distortion. Today we have a highly competitive economy, we've removed all subsidies. One of the most important changes in our economy over the last five years is that our capacity to export has improved significantly. There has been a dramatic growth of trade with the rest of Africa. Average tariff levels are less than 10 per cent and falling," he added.
Erwin conceded, however, that much still needed to be done. "The state we inherited was designed to cater for and support whites only. We have a lot of work to do." Moreover, economic liberalisation could be a painful process which often rode roughshod over poor people's social rights.
"We've lost many of the old jobs, and we're not creating enough new ones," he said. Jobs are, however, increasing in the export sector, and the structure of industry itself is changing. In the past, for example, the clothing industry was concentrated in large factories. Today, smaller units are proving to be more effective and efficient. Another sector which is growing in leaps and bounds is IT. South Africa is well positioned to disseminate the new technologies to the rest of the continent and assist its technologically-disadvantaged neighbours.
A top priority for Africans is debt relief. Debt servicing is crippling many African economies and slowing down or terminating vital social welfare, health and education programmes across the continent. Debt servicing represents a drain on the continent's resources. "There can be no development while Africa's resources are leaving the continent at current rates," Erwin pointed out.
Peace was another prerequisite for development. The minister applauded the growing determination in Africa to resolve the continent's raging conflicts. Still, Africa's fledgling efforts must be given more bite. "The MAP approach, the essence of what we try to forge, is to create more effective Organisation of African Unity and African Unity structures with regards to peace and security. To intervene if certain parameters are broken. To improve the mechanism of conflict resolution and peace- keeping," he stressed.
Coordination on a continental scale was next in importance to peace and stability. "The second aspect of MAP is that we should be working together more closely to improve micro-economic performance for us to participate more effectively in the global economy," Erwin said.
Democracy did not lag far behind as the third MAP priority. "From an economic point of view, if we don't have democracy and the respect of human rights and civil liberties, we don't have sound economic growth, social justice and prosperity," he added.
South Africa is taking the lead in propelling the pace of democratisation forward in the continent. The country has embarked on a radical programme of instituting democracy and ensuring social justice in a country ravaged by the evil effects of apartheid.
"The red card system must be strictly applied if some countries fail to democratise. A number of leverages must be put in place to strengthen the system. There are crucial countries which must set the example and vision and define the pace of political process," Erwin said. South Africa, with its anti-apartheid struggle behind it and its economic potential before it, is an obvious trendsetter.
There is no room in the emerging Africa for countries which refuse to catch up. "Throughout Africa, people are beginning to ask: why is our president stepping out of line? Why is our country lagging behind?" the minister said. "These queries are signs of a budding democracy which must blossom into healthy and vibrant democracies."
However, Erwin cautioned against stymieing grassroots and non-governmental participation. "This new African initiative will fail if it remains at the level of leaders. We need openness. Today, many non-governmental organisations (NGOs) are fighting against governments for their very survival. If we want civil society to grow, the NGOs themselves must be represented in the decision-making process."
But he warned against simply duplicating the means and methods of northern NGOs. "We cannot automatically replicate NGO structures in the industrially-advanced north, which are raised in a discourse of affluence. Rather, [southern NGOs] must be based on a deep understanding of what needs to be done."
Erwin did not discount or dismiss the part played by the state. "If we stress the role of the state it is because of its critical importance as a precondition for change. The responsibilities of elected government are substantial -- improving health, housing, transport, education and communication. We need think tanks. We need to link our intellectual resources in Africa. What is proposed in MAP is that government engage with civil society -- with labour, business, and the intellectuals."
Above all, in the words of South African President Thabo Mbeki, democratic governments in both north and south must play a role in "evolving the social norms that militate against a perverted anti-social individualism."
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