Global Policy Forum

By Patrick Wachira

Poverty eradication prescriptions by the Bretton Woods institutions failed because they did not involve the stake-holders.

The immediate former Vice President, Prof George Saitoti, said development structures prescribed by the World Bank and International Monetary Fund (IMF) in the 1980s failed because they were imposed on Africans and not properly negotiated in a spirit of partnership. Such prescriptions, he said, were accepted without a sense of ownership and tended to expose more people to poverty instead of reducing poverty.

Saitoti also decried the reluctance of African governments to embrace reforms. He said that the role of the State in economic activity remained extensive despite mounting evidence that State intervention hindered growth. The reason for the reluctance, he said, was because reforms carry political liability. "Even in established demo-cracies, reforms, such as reduction of the civil service, can be a major electoral liability," he said.

He said the states must accelerate efforts to nurture durable democratic systems that would enhance entrepreneur-ship and wealth creation. He was speaking at the Landmark Hotel, Nairobi, where he delivered the keynote address during he Church World Service Initiative for Africa Conference. "It is important that Africans design and own policies that determine their destiny. In fact, the most important role of African social and human scientists must be to formulate home-grown policies," said Saitoti.

He also decried the spread of HIV/Aids in the continent. He said that about 21 countries in Africa had more than seven per cent of their adult population living with Aids. There are also more than eight million Aids orphans.

Saitoti said that another serious challenge that undermined development prospects in Africa were civil conflicts that diverted scarce financial and human resources to war activities. The conflicts, he said, disrupted social cohesion, displaced many people, hindered investment in human capital and caused many deaths. "The challenges confronting the continent must be met with rigorous action, economic and institutional reforms, in order to allow the region to take full advantage of the benefits of globalisation while minimising the risks," he added.

More than a third of the children in Africa were malnourished, he said adding that maternal mortality rates were also unacceptably high.

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