5 February 2008
London — Former Mozambican president Joaquim Chissano has delivered a report on the future of Africa that calls for reform and growth of the African Development Bank (ADB) so that it can become the continent's economic motor to drive economic integration.
The ADB report, entitled "Investing in Africa's Future", was written by a high level panel chaired by Chissano, and by the former Prime Minister of Canada Paul Martin, which was established in 2006 as an independent advisory body to the ADB President.
According to Chissano, "with its young and growing population and vast natural resource wealth, Africa could become a global economic success and a land of great promise for millions".
"The continent has enormous potential to succeed", the report says, "but this potential has existed for generations. We are all sadly familiar with the story that is Africa: persistent poverty, ongoing conflict, lack of economic union, unacceptable corruption, and the scourge of AIDS have all conspired to rob its people of the future so many others in the rest of the world take for granted".
Nonetheless, the report takes an optimistic tone, stating, "Africa is on the move. Policy changes and improved governance and management have led to the highest rates of sustained growth since the days of independence. The proportion of the population in extreme poverty is no longer increasing; democratic change is becoming the norm".
The High Level Panel, it says, "believes that Africa has its best chance in a generation to make rapid progress-an opportunity that must be seized".
The panel expects that by 2030 the continent will be as populous as China and India are today. The report expects that Africa "should be a stable, integrated, and more prosperous continent taking its proper place in the global community". However, it warns that "this outcome is not inevitable. To succeed, Africa will have to overcome poverty, disease, climate change, failing and fragile states, corruption, poor governance, and small, unproductive, uncompetitive economies. If the continent fails, another generation of Africans will be trapped in poverty with few opportunities to escape".
The report found that, to reduce poverty, Africa needs sustained and shared growth, driven by the private sector, with a more equal distribution of opportunities. It calls for much greater integration on the grounds that operating as 53 fragmented economies, Africa will never be able to trade competitively. Underpinning this integration would be capable states, offering good and accountable governance.
According to the authors, Africa will need strong, committed leadership, unrelenting national and regional efforts, and sustained support from the international community.
Whilst the report recognises the important role of the African Union, it looks to the ADB to become the continent's economic motor to drive economic integration.
On the Bank's future role, the report states "it must be much more than a conduit for aid. It must have the right instruments. It must be an essential part of the African architecture, together with the African Union. It must support African-led strategies, taking a longer-term view of what works, providing knowledge and advisory services as well as finance for productive investments. And it must provide an African perspective, generating knowledge in Africa, for Africans, responding to African concerns".
Among the key areas the ADB should focus on, the report argues, is building capable states with effective and accountable institutions. Engaging in fragile and post-conflict states is seen as an imperative, not an option. The panel members state that Bank should strengthen institutions responsible for financial management and the use of public resources - and the oversight bodies and systems that hold them to account.
The report also calls for the integration of the Bank and the African Development Fund. The Bank provides financing through two distinct facilities: the ADB and the ADF. Whilst the ADB lends at near-commercial interest rates, the ADF is concessional. The report found that whilst the ADB has excess capacity, the ADF has excess demand. Indeed, only 15 countries are eligible to borrow from the ADB.
On the issue of continental leadership, the report states that "the ADB should become the recognized authority on African development, the hub of a network for African policy and research, building understanding of what works in Africa and why".
The ADB, it continues, "must become more self-confident, able to act as a credible and respected voice for Africa and within Africa".
The report also calls on the ADB to support African nations in their increasingly complex relationship with aid donors, who "put immense pressure on many African countries that do not have institutional capability to manage donor relationships, putting the country-led model under threat".
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