Africa ‘far off’ its UN goals

LONDON – Africa is far from meeting its United Nations’ Millennium Development Goals but the boom in trade with China is some cause for optimism, the head of the continent’s development bank told Reuters in an interview.

Although a commodity and oil boom has led to a surge in trade between Africa and China and India and given African businesses more confidence in their future, those gains are not yet being felt more broadly. Donald Kaberuka, President of the African Development Bank, said he expects only five out of 53 countries to meet just five of the goals by the 2015 deadline if present trends continue.”We are far behind on the other MDGs, including reducing the number of poor people by half.Yet conditions are in place in Africa to be able to make this last push to 2015,” said Kaberuka who was in London to meet UK officials.”I have been saying to the international community, fulfil your promises on trade, the doubling of aid and I’m saying to my own African people keep making progress on governance, fighting corruption, regional integration, infrastructure and we have the chance of doing what India and China have done in the last two decades.”He said he didn’t want to say which five countries are likely to hit five of the goals, saying the bank was still assessing the quality of the statistical evidence.Keberuka said trade with China and India have contributed approximately two percentage points of GDP to Africa over the past two to three years.Since 1998 trade between China and Africa has risen to US$40 billion from US$5,5 billion, exports from Africa have risen to US$22 billion from US$1,5 billion and imports from China climbed to US$18 billion from US$4 billion, he said.”What is important for Africa now is to be able to take advantage of this growth and opportunities offered by China,…in other words don’t just export minerals but build up linkages,” he said.Total foreign direct investment inflows into Africa surged to US$31 billion in 2005, 78 per cent up on 2004, the 2006 United Nation’s World Investment Report said.China is Africa’s third largest trade partner, after the United States and France.The UK is now fourth.Kaberuka believes universal primary education and promoting gender equality in schools are the two goals most likely to be achieved by most countries.The MDGs aim to halve extreme poverty, provide basic education and halt the spread of AIDs by 2015.The Group of Eight, the world’s largest industrialised nations, pledged in 2005 at Gleneagles, Scotland to more than double aid to Africa by 2010 and promised to work to end rich countries’ farm export subsidies that undercut Africa’s agricultural products.”If the international community can make progress for this short period of time, double aid to Africa, open markets, we can have a strong chance of getting to the MDGs.At the moment we are not making progress on Doha,” Kaberuka said.The Doha Round of world trade talks broke down in July amid acrimony over farm subsidies and tariffs.”Maybe we underestimated the ambitiousness of the Doha round.Maybe we didn’t take into full consideration the changing structure of the world economy.But frankly I don’t think we have a choice.We have to make progress in (the) Doha (round),” he said.The bank is now focusing its emphasis on water projects, infrastructure building and good governance.It recently adopted measures to boost local currency lending in order to develop local markets and support small and medium-sized businesses.Earlier this month the bank issued an historic Ghanaian cedis Eurobond worth the equivalent of $45 million.Kaberuka said he was very much in favour of supporting big infrastructure projects such as a proposed gas line from Nigeria to Europe through the Sahara.”I can confirm to you we are very much interested in these kind of regional projects,” he said, adding “We could help them with some studies, we could be part of the syndicate, it depends on what they want us to do.””We’ll see what the market can raise, but we are prepared to participate in this project.It depends on the structure of the financing,” he said.Nampa-ReutersDonald Kaberuka, President of the African Development Bank, said he expects only five out of 53 countries to meet just five of the goals by the 2015 deadline if present trends continue.”We are far behind on the other MDGs, including reducing the number of poor people by half.Yet conditions are in place in Africa to be able to make this last push to 2015,” said Kaberuka who was in London to meet UK officials.”I have been saying to the international community, fulfil your promises on trade, the doubling of aid and I’m saying to my own African people keep making progress on governance, fighting corruption, regional integration, infrastructure and we have the chance of doing what India and China have done in the last two decades.”He said he didn’t want to say which five countries are likely to hit five of the goals, saying the bank was still assessing the quality of the statistical evidence.Keberuka said trade with China and India have contributed approximately two percentage points of GDP to Africa over the past two to three years.Since 1998 trade between China and Africa has risen to US$40 billion from US$5,5 billion, exports from Africa have risen to US$22 billion from US$1,5 billion and imports from China climbed to US$18 billion from US$4 billion, he said.”What is important for Africa now is to be able to take advantage of this growth and opportunities offered by China,…in other words don’t just export minerals but build up linkages,” he said.Total foreign direct investment inflows into Africa surged to US$31 billion in 2005, 78 per cent up on 2004, the 2006 United Nation’s World Investment Report said.China is Africa’s third largest trade partner, after the United States and France.The UK is now fourth.Kaberuka believes universal primary education and promoting gender equality in schools are the two goals most likely to be achieved by most countries.The MDGs aim to halve extreme poverty, provide basic education and halt the spread of AIDs by 2015.The Group of Eight, the world’s largest industrialised nations, pledged in 2005 at Gleneagles, Scotland to more than double aid to Africa by 2010 and promised to work to end rich countries’ farm export subsidies that undercut Africa’s agricultural products.”If the international community can make progress for this short period of time, double aid to Africa, open markets, we can have a strong chance of getting to the MDGs.At the moment we are not making progress on Doha,” Kaberuka said.The Doha Round of world trade talks broke down in July amid acrimony over farm subsidies and tariffs.”Maybe we underestimated the ambitiousness of the Doha round.Maybe we didn’t take into full consideration the changing structure of the world economy.But frankly I don’t think we have a choice.We have to make progress in (the) Doha (round),” he said.The bank is now focusing its emphasis on water projects, infrastructure building and good governance.It recently adopted measures to boost local currency lending in order to develop local markets and support small and medium-sized businesses.Earlier this month the bank issued an historic Ghanaian cedis Eurobond worth the equivalent of $45 million.Kaberuka said he was very much in favour of supporting big infrastructure projects such as a proposed gas line from Nigeria to Europe through the Sahara.”I can confirm to you we are very much interested in these kind of regional projects,” he said, adding “We could help them with some studies, we could be part of the syndicate, it depends on what they want us to do.””We’ll see what the market can raise, but we are prepared to participate in this project.It depends on the structure of the financing,” he said.Nampa-Reuters