Global Policy Forum

By Charles Cobb Jr.

Partnership not judgement should be the U.S. response to Nepad - the New Economic Partnership for African Development - South Africa's Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs, Aziz Pahad, told the House Subcommittee on Africa Wednesday.

Pahad testified before the Subcommittee, that U.S. commitment to Nepad was apparently being withheld "under a system of collective punishment" because of Zimbabwe's turmoil and dissatisfaction with the response of African nations to it. "I know that the issue of Zimbabwe will be cited as a reason... for a 'wait and see' attitude," said Pahad, calling such an attitude "a grave error."

In opening the hearing, Subcommittee Chairman Ed Royce (R-CA) said that on Zimbabwe, African governments had missed an opportunity "to begin to hold one another accountable to standards of good government - to show that African governments value the rule of law and the other institutions being shredded in Zimbabwe."

African leaders have agreed to build a "peer review process" within Nepad that would make countries answerable to each other for the human rights abuses, corruption and mismanagement that have plagued many of the continent's nations.

"Nepad seems to have the plan to change... through its proposals for political reform, improvements in governance, and respect for human rights," said the Subcommittee's Ranking Member, Donald M. Payne (D-NJ). But while commitment to a peer review mechanism is important, added Payne, "since this mechanism is voluntary, it is important to have clear incentives for participation beyond winning the favor and support of the international community, as this has not proven itself a powerful motivator."

But Nepad "is premised on African states making commitments to good governance," insisted Pahad. "The present winds of change in Africa need to be supported and sustained. Nepad, as an evolving process not yet in operation, cannot be used to handle or be accountable for an existing crisis, Zimbabwe, for example," the Deputy Minister said.

The other question that loomed large in the hearing from witnesses, all of whom appeared favorably disposed toward the Nepad initiative, centered on the democracy and governance components of Nepad. Nepad is a "good start" said Africa Advocacy Director for Amnesty International USA, Adotei Akwei. But there is an "absence of specific details on the promotion, protection and enforcement of fundamental human rights."

Most critically, said Akwei, Civil Society was excluded during the development of Nepad. "The proposal was discussed more with Western donor government than with the very people Nepad is supposed to benefit - Africans." Akwei called for "consultation at all levels of society" with the aim of developing a plan for the inclusion of civil society in the Nepad process.

Nepad seems to be "a departure...from old strategies and methods," Academy for Educational Development Vice President, Vivian Lowery Derryck told the Subcommittee, adding the caution that since Nepad "is still being formed, any assessment is necessarily tentative."

Noting that Nepad has already outlined a half-dozen complex priorities, Derryck said the effort may be "too ambitious." The plan is also "unclear" as to how it will deal with major development issues, she said. "Take the World Bank's widely discussed Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper (PRSP) process; Critics from both donors and affected governments have debated the complexity and utility of the process. Will Nepad take a position on preparation of PSRPs or similar donor initiatives?" she asked.

Still, says Derryck, "Nepad is the last best hope for African development. Its unprecedented emphasis on African accountability and partnership among African states could signal a new era for African sustainable development."

Welcome words for Aziz Pahad during a hearing in which so much ambivalence was expressed about the plan. "Every effort will be made to ensure that there is engagement with the business community and civil society on the continent in order to deepen ownership and to ensure Nepad's long-term sustainability," he pledged.

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