Washington, DC — A delegation of CFA led by the President/CEO, Melvin Foote met with the leadership of New Partnership for Africa's Development (NEPAD) in Midrand, South Africa and senior officials of South Africa's government, February 25 through March 1, 2003. The CFA's delegation included Dr. Chinua Akukwe, a member of CFA's Board of Directors and HIV/AIDS Specialist; Stanley Straughter, member of CFA's Board of Directors and long term disciple of Rev. Leon Sullivan and OIC, and; John Johnson, Director of National Programs, NAACP.
NEPAD is an African conceived and African led initiative to turbo-charge the continent's development in the 21st century. In leading the charge for Africa's development through NEPAD, African leaders unanimously pledged to run transparent governments, galvanize resources in the continent towards meeting identified development needs, and mobilize leaders of rich nations to channel more resources towards Africa's renaissance.
The key leaders of NEPAD are President Thabo Mbeki of South Africa; President Obasanjo of Nigeria; President Boutelfika of Algeria, and; President Wade of Senegal. NEPAD has received backing from G-8 leaders and the United Nations.
According to Melvin Foote " the visit was an outstanding success, and allowed the CFA delegation to hold detailed and frank discussion about NEPAD, United States, and the rest of the Western world." During the visit, the CFA delegation received extensive briefing from leading officials of NEPAD, including those responsible for key portfolios such as governance and peer review mechanisms, health/HIV/AIDS, human resources, infrastructure, regional integration, communications, outreach and marketing. During these briefings, the delegation sought clarification on NEPAD's strategies, operational philosophies and evaluation mechanisms. Professor Wiseman Nkuhlu, the Chairman of NEPAD Steering Committee/Secretariat and the Economic Adviser to President Thabo Mbeki, led his officials in responding to our inquiries and/or need for clarification.
A major outcome of this briefing was NEPAD's reaffirmation of its total commitment to HIV/AIDS remedial efforts in Africa, and the urgent need to radically overhaul health systems in Africa. Mr. Foote noted that "this briefing allowed a frank exchange of viewpoints and ideas around Africa's response to HIV/AIDS and the indispensable role of NEPAD in providing leadership in this critical area." In addition, Mr. Foote observed that the extensive NEPAD briefing "reassured the CFA's delegation of NEPAD's twin commitment to peer review as a foundation for better governance in Africa, and, the need to fight the HIV/AIDS epidemic with available resources in Africa and the West."
During the visit to South Africa, the CFA's delegation met the Deputy President of South Africa, Jacob Zuma, who expressed South Africa's continued commitment to address the HIV/AIDS epidemic among its citizens and the readiness of the Mbeki administration to collaborate with the US government and the international community in this regard. Deputy President Zuma also expressed his desire to see a closer relationship between Africans and those in Diaspora in the areas of economic development, infrastructure, health care and cultural exchanges. Mr. Zuma indicated that Africa's renaissance requires continuous engagement with its brothers and sisters living outside the continent.
The delegation also met with the honorable Minister of Foreign Affairs of South Africa, Dr. Nkosana Dhalimi-Zuma. The honorable Foreign Affairs minister expressed her sincere appreciation that CFA and its partners are taking special interest in NEPAD, an initiative the South Africa government considers critical to the future existence of Africa. Dr. Dhalimi-Zuma briefed the delegation on South Africa's effort to address the HIV/AIDS epidemic,and discussed in detail current government initiatives to provide comprehensive services to individuals living with HIV/AIDS and those at risk of future infection. The honorable minister also briefed the delegation on South Africa's role in ending conflicts in some parts of the Africa and the need for NEPAD to continue its current focus on peace and conflict resolution.
The delegation also paid courtesy visits to the ambassadors of Senegal and Nigeria to South Africa. These ambassadors are also members of NEPAD's steering committee. The ambassadors briefed the delegation on their governments involvement with NEPAD, including support at the highest political level. The ambassadors indicated that NEPAD is not a one-day wonder, and predicted its durability as the fulcrum of Africa's renaissance.
At the end of the visit, the CFA's delegation and the NEPAD Secretariat agreed to cooperate on key strategic and operational areas. At the core of this relationship is the role of CFA as the key entity to develop and nurture a constituency for NEPAD in the United States. In addition, CFA will be the representative of NEPAD to Africans in Diaspora and to advocacy organizations in the United States.
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Mr. Foote observed that "this cooperation could be the foundation of the long- awaited but often stillborn relationship between Africans living in the continent and those that willingly or unwillingly left the shores of the motherland, hundreds of years ago or as recent as five years ago." In addition, Mr. Foote foresees a long term relationship with NEPAD that will focus "laser- beam style on Africa's development." Mr. Foote believes that "we cannot allow Africa to go down from preventable diseases, lack of drinking water, poor sanitation, and draconian debts in the 21st century. For a continent with a least 30 million individuals living with HIV/AIDS, time is of the essence."
The CFA delegation remains encouraged by the determination, technical finesse, and commitment of Africans working in the NEPAD secretariat. South Africa's leaders are fully engaged with NEPAD and its activities. NEPAD is a bold initiative that requires Africans and the Western world led by the United States to step up to the plate and be counted. Any short-changing of the evolving partnership between Africa (NEPAD) and the West may have life and death implications in Africa. NEPAD deserves continuous and fruitful engagement by the United States government and the rest of the Western world.
