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Tweede Kamer Der Staten-Generaal 2 Tweede Kamer der Staten-Generaal 2 Vergaderjaar 2000–2001 27 400 XIII Vaststelling van de begroting van de uitgaven en de ontvangsten van het Ministerie van Economische Zaken (XIII) voor het jaar 2001 Nr. 55 BRIEF VAN DE STAATSSECRETARIS VAN ECONOMISCHE ZAKEN Aan de Voorzitter van de Tweede Kamer der Staten-Generaal ’s-Gravenhage, 18 mei 2001 Hierbij treft u het verslag van mijn bezoek aan Nigeria en Ghana van 17 t/m 24 april 2001 aan. De Staatssecretaris van Economische Zaken, G. Ybema KST53160 ISSN 0921 - 7371 Sdu Uitgevers ’s-Gravenhage 2001 Tweede Kamer, vergaderjaar 2000–2001, 27 400 XIII, nr. 55 1 Samenvatting en conclusie Mijn bezoek aan Nigeria en Ghana past in het regeringsbeleid van verder- gaande aandacht voor Afrika. Het sluit aan bij mijn visie dat het bedrijfs- leven een belangrijke rol kan spelen bij de economische ontwikkeling van landen in Afrika. Nigeria en Ghana zijn mede bezocht vanwege de relatief sterke band die het Nederlandse bedrijfsleven reeds met deze landen heeft en de interesse die bij het Nederlandse bedrijfsleven voor beide landen bestaat. Beide landen bevinden zich bovendien in een cruciale politieke fase. In Nigeria tracht de regering o.l.v. President Obasanjo na jaren van militaire dictatuur de democratie stevig te verankeren. Daarvoor is het onder andere nodig om de in alle lagen van de maatschappij door- gedrongen corruptie terug te dringen. Ghana is een voorbeeld voor vele andere Afrikaanse landen door de democratische wijze waarop de macht kon worden overgedragen van de vorige machthebber Rawlings op de huidige President Kufuor. Voor beide landen geldt dat een gunstige econo- mische ontwikkeling nodig zal zijn om het politieke proces meer kansen te geven. Een stabiele ontwikkeling van deze landen is eveneens van groot belang voor de ontwikkeling van de rest van de West-Afrikaanse regio. Tijdens mijn bezoek werd eens te meer duidelijk dat beide landen een voortrekkersfunctie in de regio hebben, maar dat er nog veel dient te gebeuren om een verdere economische ontwikkeling te verwezenlijken. Ondanks de lastige economische fase waarin beide landen zich bevinden, ben ik van mening dat mijn bezoek zeer succesvol is geweest en bijdraagt aan een duurzame relatie. Allereerst maak ik dat op uit het animo dat ik bij het Nederlandse bedrijfsleven voor dit bezoek vond: in totaal namen 46 bedrijven en instanties deel aan het bezoek. De bevindingen van de bedrijfsdelegatie waren positiever ten aanzien van beide landen dan tevoren verwacht. Ten tweede oogstte mijn bezoek duidelijk waardering: in beide landen werd ik zeer warm en tot op het hoogste niveau ontvangen. Zowel Nigeria als Ghana zien de ontwikkeling van de particu- liere sector als motor van de economie en als een van de hoofdpijlers in hun beleid. Overdracht van buitenlandse expertise en kapitaal werden hierbij essentieel geacht. In mijn gesprekken zijn tevens onderwerpen als corruptie, transparant beleid, maatschappelijk verantwoord ondernemen, de nieuwe WTO Ronde in Qatar en de mogelijkheden en knelpunten van het Nederlandse bedrijfsleven ter sprake gebracht. In Nigeria heb ik het belang dat de Nederlandse overheid hecht aan een succesvol democratisch transitieproces onderstreept. Verschillende gesprekspartners gaven aan dit signaal op waarde te schatten. De deelne- mende en reeds lokaal gevestigde Nederlandse bedrijven in Nigeria gaven aan dat Nigeria een zeer bewerkelijke markt is, maar ook een markt met enorme potentie. Mijn bezoek aan Nigeria richtte zich derhalve meer op bestendiging van de economische relatie. Voor nieuwkomers ligt de focus vanuit mijn ministerie voor Nigeria vooral op het verstrekken van infor- matie en het helpen vinden van de juiste bedrijfscontacten. In Ghana heb ik de Nederlandse waardering uitgesproken over het demo- cratisch verloop van de verkiezingen van afgelopen december. Tevens stond mijn bezoek in het teken van de viering van de 300 jaar van diplo- matieke betrekkingen tussen Nederland en Ghana. De in dit kader geplande politieke bezoeken vanuit Nederland werden zeer hartelijk toegejuicht door Ghanese zijde. Hoewel de Nederlandse betrokkenheid met de slavernij een zwarte bladzijde is in onze geschiedenis met Ghana, beklemtoonden mijn Ghanese gesprekspartners dat de «geschiedenis nu eenmaal is zoals zij is en dat we de aandacht met name moeten richten op de gemeenschappelijke toekomst». Ik was onder de indruk van de kwali- teit en het ambitieniveau van mijn gesprekspartners; realisme en pragma- Tweede Kamer, vergaderjaar 2000–2001, 27 400 XIII, nr. 55 2 tisme zijn kernwoorden in hun beleid. In mijn gesprek met president Kufuor gaf hij aan dat Ghana handel en ontwikkeling nodig heeft. Dit is ook precies wat Nederland Ghana tot nu toe heeft geboden. Hierbij refereerde hij aan de NLG 122 miljoen steun die Nederland als eerste na de verkiezingen aan Ghana heeft geschonken en verwelkomde hij mijn bezoek als de eerste buitenlandse handelsmissie aan Ghana sinds zijn aantreden. Op basis van dit bezoek en mijn eerdere ervaringen in Tanzania en Oeganda in september 2000 concludeer ik dat Nederland en met name de particuliere sector, een duidelijke toegevoegde waarde heeft bij de ontwik- keling van Afrikaanse landen. Concrete mogelijkheden voor verdere economische samenwerking verdienen daarom actieve ondersteuning vanuit de Nederlandse overheid. VERSLAG I. Inleiding Bij mijn bezoek werd ik vergezeld door een omvangrijke bedrijven- delegatie. Voor het bezoek aan Nigeria hadden zich 26 bedrijven aange- meld, voor Ghana 36 bedrijven. De bedrijvendelegatie stond onder leiding van Jan Bernard Nolst Trenité, voorzitter van het Netherlands African Business Council (NABC) en bestond uit vertegenwoordigers uit de sectoren: landbouw, transport/infrastructuur, zakelijke dienstverlening en toerisme. II. Nigeria a. Programma Nigeria 17–20 april In het drie dagen durende programma in Nigeria heb ik Lagos, Abuja en de Niger Delta bezocht. In Lagos heb ik een seminar over Handel en Inves- teringen in Nigeria geopend, gesproken met vertegenwoordigers van Nederlandse lokale bedrijven en twee Nederlandse bedrijven bezocht, West African Milk Co-operation (WAMCO, dochter van Friesland Coberco Dairy Foods) en Atlantic Shrimper, een Nigeriaans-Nederlands vissamen- werking. Tevens heb ik een ontmoeting gehad met de gouverneur van Lagos State, Tinubu en die van Delta State, James Ibori. Het programma in Abuja bevatte gesprekken met vijf ministers minister Mustapha Bello (handel), Mallan Adamu Ciroma (financiën), Chief Ojo Maduekwe (trans- port), Adamu Bello (landbouw en plattelandsontwikkeling) en Minister Kema Chikwe (luchtvaart). President Obasanjo nodigde mij en de gehele delegatie uit voor een ontbijtgesprek bij hem thuis in de «Villa». Hier waren tevens zijn economisch adviseur, Philip Asiodu, en de Minister van Buitenlandse Zaken, Sule Lamido, aanwezig. Ook had ik een ontmoeting met de recent ingestelde Anti-Corruptie Commissie, onder leiding van rechter Mustapha Akanbi. De derde dag bracht ik een bezoek aan een van de hoofdkantoren van Shell in Port Harcourt in de Niger Delta. b. Economische situatie De regering van president Obasanjo staat duidelijk voor een zware taak om het land met 120 miljoen inwoners bijeen te houden. Zware knel- punten worden gevormd door politieke en religieuze tegenstellingen, corruptie, armoede en een verwaarloosde infrastructuur. De binnenko- mende oliedollars zijn niet gebruikt om de economische structuur te versterken. Eerder het tegendeel: de andere sectoren in de economie zijn verwaarloosd, zodat veel goederen moeten worden geïmporteerd. Deze Tweede Kamer, vergaderjaar 2000–2001, 27 400 XIII, nr. 55 3 «Nigerian disease» is vele malen erger dan de «Dutch disease» ooit was, zeker in combinatie met de corrupte en zichzelf verrijkende machthebbers van vorige regimes. Uit mijn gesprekken met de Minister van Financiën Adam Ciroma en Minister van Handel, Mustapha Bello, blijkt dat de over- heid zich voor wat betreft het economisch beleid vooral wil richten op armoedebestrijding en het bevorderen van de private sector. Verdere armoedebestrijding zal onder meer moeten plaats vinden door het ontwik- kelen van niet-lidgerelateerde sectoren als landbouw en infrastructuur. Momenteel is de oliesector de motor van de economie: 95% van Nigeria’s inkomsten is afkomstig van de verkoop van olie. Slechts onder een hoog blijvende olieprijs lijkt Nigeria de hoognodige ruimte te hebben om invulling te geven aan zijn huidige economisch beleid. De non-olie sector blijft echter stagneren als gevolg van gebrek aan noodzakelijke hervormingen. Het streven van de Nigeriaanse overheid is om een economische groei van 10% in 2003 te halen. Momenteel ligt deze rond de 3%. De voorspel- lingen zijn dat de economische groei naar 3,5% in 2001 en 3,9% in 2002 zal stijgen. Uit de verschillende gesprekken bleek dat Nigeria duidelijk content is met het recente akkoord van de Club van Parijs. Minister Ciroma bedankte via mij de Nederlandse overheid, die zich, volgens hem, op dit dossier altijd een vriend van Nigeria heeft getoond. Het IMF, dat zich de afgelopen maanden kritisch toont ten aanzien van het – gebrek aan – economisch beleid van Nigeria, had volgens Minister Ciroma twee weken geleden de artikel IV onderhandelingen besproken met Nigeria. Conclusie van het IMF was dat de overheid tot juni geen uitgaven meer mocht doen. De stroom van inkomsten uit oliewinning is ook hier al gauw een «devil in disguise» omdat het de noodzakelijke budgetdiscipline ondergraaft. c. bilaterale economische betrekkingen De bilaterale (economische) betrekkingen
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