Governance- Made in Africa

European Policy Centre Governance- Made in Africa EPC Issue Paper No. 38 25 July 2005 EPC Issue Papers represent the views of the authors and not necessarily those of the EPC. 1 European Policy Centre Table of Contents Governance - Made in Africa conference summary report 3 by James Mackie Governance - Made in Africa conference programme 11 Africa at the crossroads 14 by Fraser Cameron and Julien Bouzon Annex I: The Blair Commission on Africa (Executive Summary) 28 Annex II: European Union-African Union Ministerial Meeting Final Communiqué 34 Annex III: G8 conclusions on Africa and development 43 2 European Policy Centre European Policy Centre Konrad Adenauer Stiftung Hanns Seidel Stiftung Commonwealth Policy Studies Unit Conference Brussels, 12 July 2005 Governance – Made in Africa Summary Report by James Mackie, ECDPM, Maastricht Introduction This wide-ranging conference, held in the aftermath of the G8 Summit which headlined the need for international support for Africa, was addressed by a broad range of African political leaders and leading experts on development issues. As well as discussion on the international support to Africa, conference sessions addressed a range of specific issues: health and education, conflict resolution and the role of business. One session focused specifically on the New Partnership for Africa’s Development (NEPAD) experience and the role of the EU in support of Africa. The key twin messages to emerge from the conference, presaged in its title, were the vital importance of African leadership in the international effort to support the continent and the need to focus on good governance as the foundation on which to build effective development. African ownership was thus at the centre of the debate and all speakers recognised the major steps forward already achieved over the past few years with NEPAD and the African Union (AU). Participants also acknowledged that with the build up to the G8, Live Aid, the Blair Commission Report, the UN preparations for the Millennium Development Goals stocktaking and the Africa Union Sirte Summit, the international community and Africa had a unique, once-in-a-life-time opportunity. Africa was back on the international agenda and it was vital to build on this momentum. Governance Throughout the day, both speakers and participants stressed the 3 European Policy Centre importance of governance, and governance by Africans for Africans, as the key foundation stone on which to rebuild the continent. They also agreed that the new African institutions - NEPAD, the APRM (African Peer Review Mechanism) and the AU - represented a very significant new departure which offered a unique opportunity to make progress on advancing good governance in Africa, and that the international community had to support them. Peer group pressure was identified as one of the most promising drivers of change in governance practice. This was the concept at the root of the APRM and was also the secret of much of the Commonwealth’s success. The latter’s ‘clubby atmosphere’ enabled it to say things to its members which they would never accept from a bilateral donor or even a multilateral institution. The APRM was described as the means to operationalise NEPAD’s vision. Its message to African states was that if they supported NEPAD, they should demonstrate this through the peer review. (An essential element of the APRM concept is that joining the scheme is voluntary). Myles Wickstead, of the Blair Commission for Africa, whose Report ‘Our Common Interest’ also saw governance as the key issue, quoted the South African minister Trevor Manuel as saying: “If I was a donor, I would not give a cent to a country that had not signed up to the APRM; moreover if I was an investor I would not invest in any country that had not signed up.” So far, 23 out of 54 African nations have joined the APRM, but this was a serious step which should not be undertaken lightly. Thus, some governments which appreciated the importance of the APRM and supported its objectives were preparing themselves carefully before joining. In one country - Ghana - the mechanism had already brought about visible changes: almost every government institution which featured in the recent draft APRM report was now out explaining itself to the public, and the press had started a lively debate on governance in the country. On Zimbabwe, it was noted that African leaders still had some way to go before they felt they could criticise a fellow leader like Robert Mugabe, especially with so much colonial baggage linked to the issue. African civil society was, however, becoming progressively more vocal in its criticism and it was only a question of time before leaders would feel the political pressure to take a tougher stance. In the meantime, many Africans felt the most useful action they could take was to support the forces of change in Zimbabwe. 4 European Policy Centre Several European participants commented on the vital importance of the APRM and suggested that in the new international arena, only those governments capable of opening up to dialogue would survive. Good governance had different meanings at different moments in history and people needed to understand the way the concept was understood in the post-Cold War era. NEPAD itself could be understood as an initiative to change the nature and manner of leadership in Africa. This was its key promise to many middle- class people in Africa who were increasingly frustrated with the stagnation, lack of progress and lack of services in Africa. NEPAD was the vehicle they could use to affect change. The initiative had survived a period of ‘NEPAD-bashing’, and it was now increasingly recognised that there was no alternative and that supporting it was vital. It was also recognised that the historic opportunity for Africa which 2005 represented, and the fact that everyone acknowledged that the leadership for solving Africa’s problems had to come from Africa itself, placed a heavy burden on the shoulders of all Africans. Many Africans were questioning what this really meant for them and how best to rise to the challenge. International support There was widespread agreement that international support should focus on initiatives emerging from Africa itself. African ownership was fundamental and while aid was important, it was first necessary to tackle internal problems and the political will was needed to do this. There were an increasing number of countries in Africa where people were taking their future in their own hands and this needed to be supported. Some participants argued that attaching conditions to aid had to be accepted as the norm and there had to be a minimum consensus on aims, objectives and policies. Indeed, one speaker argued that increases in Official Development Aid (ODA) had to be selective and focused on countries that had already accepted the APRM, with amounts linked specifically to the cost of achieving the Millennium Development Goals (MDG). Others urged caution and suggested that it was important not to desert failing states completely precisely because it was often in those countries that the poor needed aid most. Moreover, if support to recalcitrant governments was stopped, the international community would lose any leverage it might have had with them. On the other hand, they agreed that good performance should indeed be rewarded and encouraged with increased allocations of aid. 5 European Policy Centre If donors did attach human rights or good governance conditions to aid, they also needed to look at their own behaviour and ensure that it matched up to these high standards. Donor states should also confront corruption and act in a transparent manner. Helping African states to repatriate funds placed in European banks by despotic leaders could be extremely valuable. Finally, it was pointed out that some increasingly important donors, such as the Chinese, were not imposing human rights conditions and the practice therefore had its limits. Europe’s role Turning to Europe, Stefano Manservisi, Director-General of DG Development, European Commission, emphasised that the EU had a record of nearly 50 years of supporting Africa and this had always rested on principles of dialogue and respect. The EU was now actively developing its relationship with the AU, a key institution with which it believed it could develop a dynamic and productive partnership. Mr Manservisi identified three key strands in the Africa policy which the Commission is currently developing, with support for good governance at the top of the agenda; creating the conditions for growth second (including developing infrastructure to interconnect Africa); and supporting social cohesion third (e.g. investing in health and education, including HIV/AIDS, education for girls and higher education). The Commission was also increasingly turning to new aid modalities, in particular sectoral support programmes and direct budget support. This was partly a way to respect African ownership and align Commission cooperation with government priorities, and partly out of a recognition that this was the best way to handle increased volumes of aid. Obviously, such approaches depended on good governance, which was why the Commission put this at the top of its agenda. In subsequent contributions from the panels and the floor, it was suggested that UN agencies, and particularly those with their own programmes on the ground, would be another useful vehicle to channel the increasing volumes of aid announced at the G8. Donors must, at all costs, harmonise their approaches and drastically reduce the number of aid missions to Africa and the multiplication of aid programmes. The EU had a special responsibility in this regard, as much of the promised increase would come from the Union. It also had a better vehicle for internal coordination than most donors. The Commonwealth (albeit a small agency) could also have a useful impact if its aid was well targeted and used as a facilitating and enabling tool.

Load more