Issue No. 591
International
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20 - 26 June 2002 Issue No. 591 International |
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A word with Kufuor
Ghanaian President John Agyekum Kufuor was one of the 80 heads of state and government who represented his country at the latest World Food Summit. He shared some thoughts on the summit and commented on the New Partnership for Africa's Development (NEPAD).
Given that most industrialised nations were represented by their ministers of agriculture while most African states were represented by heads of state and government, what did Ghana and other developing countries gain by attending the summit?
I believe that the important thing about the summit is that all countries, including the industrialised ones, were represented, whether by heads of state or ministers, and that we were generally in agreement that we must unite in our fight to end hunger beginning by halving the number of hungry people by the year 2015. The level of representation is of secondary importance. What is significant is that the whole world admitted that doing more, to eradicate hunger and poverty, is crucial and that the measures taken so far have not been adequate.
I am sure that you have also heard our criticism of the protectionist policies imposed by the industrialised world which result in our agricultural products not being able to gain access to their markets. Perhaps that is a criticism to which many would not have wanted to be directly exposed.
All in all, Ghana is going away from this conference satisfied that the world is at one on the issue of the need to eradicate hunger.
As a strong proponent of the NEPAD process which, among other things, puts great emphasis on foreign direct investments, is there no danger that increased FDIs in Africa will mean losing control of domestic assets to foreign corporations and banks, which would create a situation of more credit and more debts?
I don't think that this is the idea of NEPAD. NEPAD rather seeks to enable Africans to take charge of their destiny in terms of social and economic management of their affairs. What we hope is that the partnership that Africa will forge with the developed world will advance, to enable Africa to move ahead. NEPAD's message is that Africa is taking the initiative in managing its own affairs more effectively and not seeking more dependency through aid or concessions. With this initiative, Africa is announcing that it has come of age. And with this new spirit, I think the risk of anyone taking us for a ride is minimal.
Why has NEPAD not been popularised enough? The process has been criticised because grassroots, non-governmental organisations were not consulted over the constituent ideas of this new partnership. A lot of people know of NEPAD but we do not actually understand it.
The whole idea came about only a couple of years ago. It started off with South Africa, Algeria and Nigeria at the presidential level with what they called the Millennium Plan for African Development. Around the same time, the president of Senegal, Abdoulaye Wade, put forward a similar plan. Both plans essentially call for Africa to assume full responsibility for its social and economic development in the new millennium.
The predecessor to the African Union (AU), the Organisation of African Unity (OAU), convened and looked at the two plans. It decided to merge them and that is how NEPAD emerged. So, in a sense, it is a relatively new idea that was formed at the highest level, hence the impression that NEPAD is not a grassroots initiative.
NEPAD was adopted around the same time that Africa was in the process of transition from the OAU to AU. However, African heads of state soon realised that for this great initiative to succeed, it should involve the people, the private sector and the media. And already this need is recognised and facilitated.
Armed with the NEPAD concept and through ECOWAS we have now identified some projects which will benefit our region. ECO Marine is one such project that will create new shipping routes through partnership with big shipping companies, to make the movement of goods between African countries more efficient. ECO Air is another project that will link the African region through new air routes.
The whole idea, despite being relatively new, is gaining ground steadily and moving very fast.
With regard to the ministerial meeting in Rome, held alongside the FAO-organised World Food Summit, the media, which so far have only been observers, and the private sector, have a greater role to play.
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