THE NEW POLITICAL WILL OF AFRICAN LEADERS

The New Partnership for Africa’s Development recognizes that there have been attempts in the past to set out continent-wide development programmes. For a variety of reasons, both internal and external, including questionable leadership and
ownership by Africans themselves, these have been less than successful. However, there is today a new set of circumstances, which lend themselves to integrated practical implementation.

The new phase of globalization coincided with the reshaping of international relations in the aftermath of the Cold War. This is associated with the emergence of new concepts of security and self-interest, which encompass the right to development and the eradication of poverty. Democracy and state legitimacy have been redefined to include accountable government, a culture of human rights and popular participation as central elements.

Significantly, the numbers of democratically elected leaders are on the increase. Through their actions, they have declared that the hopes of Africa’s peoples for a better life can no longer rest on the magnanimity of others.

Across the continent, democracy is spreading, backed by the African Union (AU), which has shown a new resolve to deal with conflicts and censure deviation from the norm. These efforts are reinforced by voices in civil society, including associations of women, youth and the independent media. In addition, African governments are much more resolute about regional and continental goals of economic cooperation and integration. This serves both to consolidate the gains of the economic turnaround and to reinforce the advantages of mutual interdependence.

The changed conditions in Africa have already been recognized by governments across the world. The United Nations Millennium Declaration, adopted in September
2000, confirms the global community’s readiness to support Africa’s efforts to address the continent’s underdevelopment and marginalization. The Declaration emphasizes support for the prevention of conflict and the establishment of conditions of stability and democracy on the continent, as well as for the key challenges of eradicating poverty and disease. The Declaration further points to the global community’s commitment to enhance resource flows to Africa, by improving aid, trade and debt relationships between Africa and the rest of the world, and by
increasing private capital flows to the continent. It is now important to translate these commitments into reality.

The New Partnership for Africa’s Development centres on African ownership and management. Through this programme, African leaders are setting an agenda for the
renewal of the continent. The agenda is based on national and regional priorities and development plans that must be prepared through participatory processes involving the people. We believe that while African leaders derive their mandates from their people, it is their role to articulate these plans and lead the processes of
implementation on behalf of their people.

The programme is a new framework of interaction with the rest of the world, including the industrialized countries and multilateral organizations. It is based on the agenda set by African peoples through their own initiatives and of their own volition, to shape their own destiny.

To achieve these objectives, African leaders will take joint responsibility for the
following:
. Strengthening mechanisms for conflict prevention, management and resolution at
the sub-regional and continental levels, and to ensure that these mechanisms are
used to restore and maintain peace;
. Promoting and protecting democracy and human rights in their respective countries
and regions, by developing clear standards of accountability, transparency and
participatory governance at the national and sub-national levels;
. Restoring and maintaining macroeconomic stability, especially by developing
appropriate standards and targets for fiscal and monetary policies, and introducing
appropriate institutional frameworks to achieve these standards;
. Instituting transparent legal and regulatory frameworks for financial markets and
the auditing of private companies and the public sector;
. Revitalizing and extending the provision of education, technical training and health
services, with high priority given to addressing the problem of HIV/AIDS, malaria
and other communicable diseases;
. Promoting the role of women in social and economic development by reinforcing
their capacity in the domains of education and training; by developing revenue generating a ctivities through facilitating access to credit; and by assuring their
participation in the political and economic life of African countries;
. Building the capacity of the states in Africa to set and enforce the legal framework,
and to maintain law and order;
. Promoting the development of infrastructure, agriculture and its diversification into agro-industries and manufacturing to serve both domestic and export markets.