Africa: Tanzania Minister Denies S.African Domination of Nepad

10 August 2002
allAfrica.com
interview By Ofeibea Quist-Arcton

Durban, South Africa — One of the decisions at the recent summit of the African Union (AU) in Durban, South Africa was that the regional implementation commissions of the New Partnership for Africa’s Development (Nepad) would be expanded. The current fifteen members - three for each of the five regions - is to be increased to four, bringing the total number of commission members to 20.

Another departure, that distinguishes the AU from its predecessor, the Organisation of African Unity (OAU), is the creation of a Peace and Security Council. This new AU institution should allow the organisation to intervene in conflicts all over the continent. The opposite was the case with the OAU, one of whose basic tenets was non-interference in the internal affairs of its member states.

Jakaya Kikwete is the Foreign Minister of Tanzania. He gave allAfrica.com’s Ofeibea Quist-Arcton, and a group of journalists in Durban, his thoughts on the change from the OAU to the African Union.

Do you feel the AU will be any better in combating corruption and resolving conflicts in Africa than was the OAU?

We are certainly forming a much stronger body with more teeth than the OAU, definitely.

Are you happy that East Africa is going to have one more country represented in the implementation commission of Nepad?

We have to have ownership. All regions of the continent have got to be represented. The decision to that effect is certainly welcome. You don’t need to have a situation where somebody feels left out. So it’s a good thing.

So you have no problem with South Africa’s leadership within Nepad and the feeling that perhaps South Africa is dominating other countries?

It is not true, because it is the leaders of Africa who decided that the committee is going to be South Africa, Nigeria, Algeria, Egypt and later they brought in Senegal. So, South Africa did not put themselves in. It was a decision. The first decision was to send President Mbeki and President Bouteflika to go to the G8 summit in Tokyo, Japan, to argue about Africa’s debt forgiveness.

They came back with a message that we should not continue to ask for debt forgiveness, but let’s look at programmes of development. In Sirte, this decision was taken. They added President Obasanjo to the committee. Later they brought in Egypt. We came to Lusaka, President Wade was added to the committee. So, what President Mbeki and the five members of the steering committee are doing, they are doing on behalf of the other members. They were put there, it was a committee that was put in place.

It was not that President Mbeki decided, "I’m going to be the committee, I’m going to be speaking on behalf of you and Nepad," no! This is a misconception which I really want the press to help us with, because you are the guys who are spreading a lot of these lies.

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