Addis Ababa — Speakers set the scene for the first African Development Forum by highlighting domestic private sector, science and technology, good governance and key requirements for a progressing Africa
Addis Ababa, 24 October 1999 (ECA) - Speakers at the opening of the first African Development Forum (ADF) have emphasized the need for a new paradigm for the continent's development based on a vibrant domestic private sector, a strong state, cutting edge policy analysis, and good governance.
Delivering the opening statement at the Forum, Ethiopian Prime Minister Meles Zenawi noted that the ongoing process of globalization would be a major determinant of the destinies of African countries. In that context, he warned: "If present conditions remain unaltered and the trend we see were to continue, then being more enmeshed within the globalized economy would only mean that by force of circumstances, Africa would be made to stay on the margins of the global economy...". Adding that such an eventuality would lead to the growth of such extra- legal business activities as drug trafficking, he said the challenge of Africa should also be viewed as the challenge of members of the global village in general.
More than 600 experts from governments, the private sector, civil society, bilateral and multilateral organizations from both within and outside the continent are meeting here from 24 - 28 October under the theme "The Challenge to Africa of Globalization and the Information Age".
The ADF marks the beginning of a process-oriented initiative led by the Economic Commission for Africa (ECA) to position an African-driven development agenda that reflects a consensus among major partners and that leads to specific programmes for implementation at the country level. ADF is born out of the conviction that Africa cannot achieve sustainable development unless the policies, strategies and actions are designed, managed and owned by Africans themselves.
Prime Minister Meles offered two proposals that would enable Africa to benefit from the globalized economy. First, it had to develop a vibrant domestic private sector as a practical necessity. It appeared obvious, he stated, that "unless the domestic private sector leads the way with enthusiasm and confidence, it is unlikely for foreign investment to take part in our economies with any degree of effectiveness" Second, political stability and the rule of law could not be fostered without a clear role for a strong, robust state - a role which is not incompatible with the need for states to be legitimate and democratic.
The Ethiopian leader then criticized the orthodoxy of the economic prescriptions of the international financial institutions, whose economic models had the effect of "weakening the state and of ensuring its emasculation". A radical change in Africa's development paradigm was needed as a condition for meaningful growth and development in the continent. This would necessitate "an overhaul of relations between the international financial institutions and the donor community on the one hand and Africa on the other".
In his opening remarks, UN Under-Secretary-General and ECA Executive Secretary K.Y, Amoako stressed that the most important issues facing Africa required a more ambitious approach to the policy process. Stressing the need for enhanced policy analysis and application in Africa, Mr. Amoako called for alliances and networking, as "no policy centre is big enough to know the whole picture" Policy experience must be shared, across sectors and across the boundaries of academia and policy circles. Successful experience must be marketed. And Africa must have "its own answers, its own policy dynamics... just as is the case of every other region".
Policy analysis, noted Mr. Amoako, was a "growing business", involving leaders in all sectors. As such, the ADF represented "the diverse, rapidly growing policy community of Africa". The ADF, a mechanism with distinct style and operations, was "...an [ambitious] attempt... to organize the African policy community, working in alliance, starting with the national experience and ending with national actions, and, over time, covering some of the most fundamental challenges facing Africa's policy makers."
Dr. Salim Ahmed Salim, Secretary-General of the Organization for African Unity (OAU), emphasized the linkage between governance and sustainable economic development. "Good governance and democracy or the respect for human rights cannot thrive on empty stomachs," he stressed. "...Democracy must deliver on bread and butter issues, otherwise democratic transitions will be reversed and the continent will slide back into situations where the politics of poverty gives rise to the poverty of politics...". While linkages between good governance and sustainable economic development might not necessarily be perfect guarantees for sustaining democracy and a culture of political tolerance, they were nevertheless "important thresholds in creating acceptable African norms and behaviour".
Ahmed Bahgat, Vice President (Finance and Planning) of the African Development Bank (ADB) delivered a statement on behalf of ADB President Omar Kabbaj, which focused on the prospects that information technology afforded African development, and the role of the Bank in enabling Africa's entry into the global information society.
Also attending the Forum was Ms. Louise Frechette, Deputy Secretary- General of the United Nations. In her brief remarks, and speaking on the last UN Day of the 20th century, Ms. Frechette noted that at a time when the world's population was about to reach 6 billion, nearly half of that number would enter the new millennium in abject poverty. Violence, brutality and discrimination as well as negative climactic change were also threats to survival. In this context, the challenge was to make the next century "more secure, more equitable and more human". Towards this end, the process of strengthening the United Nations needed to continue.
Ms. Frechette is due to deliver a keynote address on the theme of the conference at the first plenary of the Forum tomorrow morning (Monday 24 October). Also scheduled to speak at the plenary are Mr. Amoako, Noah Samara, CEO of WorldSpace Corporation, Leonard Robinson, President of the National Summit on Africa.
The issue of globalization and the information age has been chosen for the inaugural ADF because of the importance of defining African- owned and African-led strategies to engage with the global information economy. ECA has long advocated a development-serving information superhighway in the context of the African Information Society Initiative (AISI), which it is implementing along with a wide range of partners.
The Forum will address four substantive themes:
- Strengthening Africa's information infrastructure - Africa and the information economy - Information and communication technologies for improved governance - Democratizing access to the information society
Expected concrete outcomes from the Forum include:
- Up-to-date National Information and Communication Infrastructure (NICI) plans - Enhanced synergy among the stakeholders who design and/or implement country work programmes; - Development of concrete follow-up action plans for the Post-Forum Summit Dialogue, NICI and regional levels, for ICT partners, and for ECA; - Preparation of the African position for major global decision-making forums, including the GK II conference (Malaysia, March 2000) and the ITU World conference on the Information Society.
For more information on the Forum or to interview participants, please contact: Peter da Costa Senior Communication Adviser Economic Commission for Africa P.O. Box 3001 Addis Ababa Ethiopia Tel: +251-1-51 58 26 Fax: +251-1-51 03 65 Cell: +251-9-20 17 94 E-mail: dacosta@un.org or ecainfo@un.org Web: http://www.un.org/depts/eca
