WHAT IS NEPAD?

The New Partnership for Africa’s Development (NEPAD) is a VISION and STRATEGIC FRAMEWORK FOR AFRICA’s RENEWAL .

WHAT ARE THE ORIGINS OF NEPAD?

The NEPAD strategic framework document arises from a mandate given to the five initiating Heads of State (Algeria, Egypt, Nigeria, Senegal, South Africa) by the Organisation of African Unity (OAU) to develop an integrated socio-economic development framework for Africa. The 37th Summit of the OAU in July 2001 formally adopted the strategic framework document.

WHAT IS THE NEED FOR NEPAD?

NEPAD is designed to address the current challenges facing the African continent. Issues such as the escalating poverty levels, underdevelopment and the continued marginalisation of Africa needed a new radical intervention, spearheaded by African leaders, to develop a new Vision that would guarantee Africa’s Renewal.

WHAT ARE THE NEPAD PRIMARY OBJECTIVES?

• To eradicate poverty;
• To place African countries, both individually and collectively, on a path of sustainable growth and development;
• To halt the marginalisation of Africa in the globalisation process and
• enhance its full and beneficial integration into the global economy;
• To accelerate the empowerment of women
  

WHAT ARE THE PRINCIPLES OF NEPAD?

• Good governance as a basic requirement for peace, security and sustainable political and socio-economic development
• African ownership and leadership, as well as broad and deep participation by all sectors of society;
• Anchoring the development of Africa on its resources and resourcefulness of its people;
• Partnership between and amongst African peoples;
• Acceleration of regional and continental integration;
• Building the competitiveness of African countries and the continent;
• Forging a new international partnership that changes the unequal relationship between Africa and the developed world; and
• Ensuring that all Partnerships with NEPAD are linked to the Millenium Development Goals and other agreed development goals and targets.
  

WHAT IS THE NEPAD PROGRAMME OF ACTION?

The NEPAD Programme of Action is a holistic, comprehensive and integrated sustainable development initiative for the revival of Africa, guided by the aforementioned objectives, principles and strategic focus.

WHAT ARE THE NEPAD PRIORITIES?

a. Establishing the Conditions for Sustainable Development by ensuring

• Peace and security;
• Democracy and good, political, economic and corporate governance;
• Regional co-operation and integration;
• Capacity building.

b. Policy reforms and increased investment in the following priority sectors-

• Agriculture;
• Human development with a focus on health, education, science and technology and skills development;
• Building and improving infrastructure, including Information and Communication Technology (ICT), Energy, Transport, Water and Sanitation;
• Promoting diversification of production and exports, particularly with respect to agro-industries, manufacturing, mining, mineral beneficiation and tourism;
• Accelerating intra-African trade and improving access to markets of developed countries;
• The environment.

c. Mobilising Resources by -

• Increasing domestic savings and investments;
• Improving management of public revenue and expenditure;
• Improving Africa’s share in global trade;
• Attracting foreign direct investment; and
• Increasing capital flows through further debt reduction and increase ODA flows.
  

WHAT ARE THE IMMEDIATE DESIRED OUTCOMES OF NEPAD?

• Africa becomes more effective in conflict prevention and the establishment of enduring peace on the continent;
• Africa adopts and implements principles of democracy and good political economic and corporate governance, and the protection of human rights becomes further entrenched in every African country;
• Africa develops and implements effective poverty eradication programmes and accelerates the pace of achieving set African development goals, particularly human development;
• Africa achieves increased levels of domestic savings, as well as investments, both domestic and foreign;
• Increased levels of ODA to the continent are achieved and its effective utilisation maximised;
• Africa achieves desired capacity for policy development, coordination and negotiation in the international arena, to ensure its beneficial engagement in the global economy, especially on trade and market access issues
• Regional integration is further accelerated and higher levels of sustainable economic growth in Africa is achieved;
• Genuine partnerships are established between Africa and the developed countries based on mutual respect and accountability.
  
  

WHAT DOES THE STRUCTURE FOR IMPLEMENTING NEPAD LOOK LIKE

NEPAD is a programme of the African Union designed to meet its development objectives. The highest authority of the NEPAD implementation process is the Heads of State and Government Summit of the African Union, formerly known as the OAU.

The Heads of State and Government Implementation Committee (HSIC) comprises 3 states per AU region as mandated by the OAU Summit of July 2001 and ratified by the AU Summit of July 2002. The HSIC reports to the AU Summit on an annual basis.

The Steering Committee of NEPAD comprises the Personal Representatives of the NEPAD Heads of State and Government. This Committee oversees projects and programme development.
The NEPAD Secretariat coordinates implementation of projects and programmes approved by the HSIC.

HOW DOES A COUNTRY PARTICIPATE IN NEPAD?

The base vision and policy framework document of October 2001,which first defined the NEPAD vision, does not attempt to dictate how the various African countries should organize themselves to participate in the initiative. It does not, however, lay out a challenge and an appeal to all Africans to rise up to the challenge “to become aware of the seriousness of the situation and the need to mobilize themselves in order to put an end to further marginalization of the continent and ensure its development by bridging the gap with developed countries.”

The document urges African people to mobilize themselves in support of the implementation of this initiative by setting up, at all levels, structures for organization, mobilization and action.
The government of Kenya responded to this challenge by establishing a national NEPAD steering committee (NSC)comprising a combination of senior government officials, prominent captains of industry, and distinguished leaders from the civil society and academia. NSC serves as:

• A broad based, inclusive platform for debating and setting national priorities within NEPAD framework;
• A vehicle for promoting genuine partnership between the government and the private sector and civil society;
• A mechanism for constructive engagement with development partners, especially in the harmonization of aid flows and procedures;
• A prominent platform for coordinating Kenya’s participation in the African Peer Review Mechanism (APRM)
• The Kenyan NSC provides oversight to a national NEPAD Secretariat that was established to implement its decisions and to serve as the national focal point for NEPAD in Kenya.