A NEW GLOBAL PARTNERSHIP

 
Africa recognizes the centuries-old historical injustice and the need to correct it. The central injunction of the new partnership is, however, for combined efforts to improve the quality of life of Africa’s people as rapidly as possible. In this, there are share responsibilities and mutual benefits for Africa and its partners.

The global technological revolution needs an expanding base of resources, a widening sphere of markets, new frontiers of scientific endeavour, the collective capacity of human wisdom, and a well-managed ecological system. We are aware that much of Africa’s mineral and other material resources are critical inputs into production processes in developed countries.

In addition to its indispensable resource base, Africa offers a vast and growing market for producers worldwide. A developing Africa, with increased numbers of employed and skilled workers and a burgeoning middle class, would constitute an expanding market for the world’s manufactured products, intermediate goods and services.

At the same time, Africa provides a great opportunity for investment. The New Partnership for Africa’s Development creates opportunities for joint international efforts in the development of infrastructure, especially in ICT and transportation.

Africa also provides prospects for creative partnerships between the public and private sectors in beneficiation, agro-industries, tourism, human resource development and in addressing the challenges of urban renewal and rural development.

Furthermore, Africa’s biodiversity . including its rich flora and fauna and the rainforests . is an important global resource in combating the environmental degradation posed by the depletion of the ozone layer and climate change, as well as the pollution of air and water by industrial emissions and toxic effluents.

The expansion of educational and other opportunities in Africa would enhance the continent’s contribution to world science, technology and culture, to the benefit of all humankind. After all, modern science recognizes Africa as the cradle of humanity. Fossils, artifacts, artistic works and versions of ancient human settlements are to be found throughout Africa, providing material evidence of the emergence of Homo sapiens and the progression of humankind.

As part of the process of reconstructing the identity and self-confidence of the peoples of Africa, it is necessary that this be understood and valued by Africans themselves. In the same vein, Africa’s status as the birthplace of humanity should be cherished by the whole world as the origin of all its peoples.

Africa’s rich cultural legacy is reflected in its artifacts of the past, its literature, philosophies, art and music. These should serve both as a means of consolidating the pride of Africans in their own humanity and of confirming the common humanity of the peoples of the world.

The New Partnership for Africa’s Development has, as one of its foundations, the expansion of democratic frontiers and the deepening of the culture of human rights. A democratic Africa will become one of the pillars of world democracy, human rights and tolerance. The resources of the world currently dedicated to resolving civil and interstate conflict could therefore be freed for more rewarding endeavours.

The converse of such an initiative, that is the collapse of more African states, poses a threat not only to Africans, but also to global peace and security. For industrialized countries, development in Africa will reduce the levels of global social exclusion and mitigate a major potential source of global social instability.

Africa is committed to the development and strengthening of South-South partnerships.

Establishing a New Relationship with Industrialized Countries and Multilateral Organizations
A critical dimension of Africans taking responsibility for the continent’s destiny is the need to negotiate a new relationship with their development partners. The manner in which development assistance is delivered in itself creates serious problems for developing countries. The need to negotiate with, and account separately to, donors supporting the same sector or programme is both cumbersome and inefficient. Also, the tying of development assistance generates further inefficiencies. The appeal is for a new relationship that takes the country programmes as a point of departure. The new relationship should set out mutually agreed performance targets and standards for both donor and recipient. Many cases clearly show that the failure of projects is not caused only by the poor performance of recipients, but also by bad advice given by donors.

The various partnerships between Africa and the industrialized countries on the one hand, and multilateral institutions on the other, will be maintained. The partnerships in question include, among others, the UN’s New Agenda for the Development of Africa in the 1990s; the Africa-Europe Summit’s Cairo Plan of Action; the World Bank-led Strategic Partnership with Africa; the IMF-led PRSPs; the Japan-led Tokyo Agenda for Action; the AGOA of the United States; and the ECA-led Global Compact with Africa. The objective is to rationalize these partnerships and to ensure that real benefits flow from them.

The African leaders envisage the following responsibilities and obligations of the developed countries and multilateral institutions:
. To materially support mechanisms for and processes of conflict prevention, management and resolution in Africa, as well as peacekeeping initiatives;
. To accelerate debt reduction for heavily indebted African countries, in conjunction with more effective poverty reduction programmes, of which the Strategic Partnership with Africa and the PRSP initiatives are an important starting point;
. To improve debt relief strategies for middle-income countries;
. To reverse the decline in ODA flows to Africa and to meet the target level of ODA flows equivalent to 0.7 per cent of each developed country’s gross national product (GNP) within an agreed period. Increased aid flows will be used to complement funds released by debt reduction for accelerating the fight against poverty;
. To translate into concrete commitments the international strategies adopted in the fields of education and health;
. To facilitate the development of a partnership between countries, international pharmaceutical corporations and civil society organizations to urgently secure access to existing drugs for Africans suffering from infectious diseases;
. To admit goods into markets of developed countries through bilateral initiatives, and to negotiate more equitable terms of trade for African countries within the WTO multilateral framework;
. To work with African leaders to encourage investment in Africa by the private sector in developed countries, including the establishment of insurance schemes and financial instruments that will help lower risk premiums on investments in Africa;
. To raise consumer protection standards for exports from developed countries to developing countries, as applicable to the domestic markets in developed countries;
. To ensure that the World Bank and other multilateral development finance institutions participate as investors in the key economic infrastructure projects, in order to facilitate and secure private sector participation;
. To provide technical support to accelerate the implementation of the programme of action, including strengthening Africa’s capacity for planning and development management, financial and infrastructure regulation, accounting and auditing, and the development, construction and management of infrastructure;
. To support governance reforms of multilateral financial institutions to better cater for the needs and concerns of countries in Africa;
. To set up coordinated mechanisms for combating corruption effectively, as well as committing themselves to the return of monies (proceeds) of such practices to Africa.