Senegalese president disappointed by progress on Nepad

JOHANNESBURG – Senegalese President Abdoulaye Wade said on Friday he was disappointed at the lack of progress with the New Partnership for African Development plan and wondered whether he will see progress on the continent in his lifetime.

The plan, known as Nepad, is the African-designed development programme endorsed by the African Union for promoting development on the continent. It calls for Western governments to enter into partnerships with Africa in exchange for a pledge of good governance and fiscal responsibility.”I’m disappointed.I’m always in a hurry.People ask me what progress Nepad has made and I can speak to them only about good governance but I can’t explain any more,” Wade told a Nepad stakeholder meeting on Friday.South African President Thabo Mbeki told the two-day meeting that the delegates should not waste time talking about the challenges facing Africa but instead should focus on developing programs to push Nepad forward.”We need to ensure that programs we are creating are implemented,” said Mbeki.Wade said he hoped by the end of the two-day meeting there would be a plan to manage Nepad more effectively.”We have not had one (Nepad) project that has been realised.It is time to reflect and to go back to the authentic Nepad approach,” said Wade.However, the South African Press Association reported that Wiseman Nkhulu, the executive head of Nepad, said people should stop talking about and demanding Nepad projects.”Our purpose is to be a catalyst to get things moving,” said Nkhulu.”There is no such thing as a Nepad project.Ours is to energise and inspire.”He said the three-year-old programme had strengthened political leadership in resolving conflicts on the continent.And he said improved conflict resolution was the basis for socio-economic transformation.He said the heads of state meet about three times a year and the meetings play an important role in consolidating democracy.He said 24 countries have now signed up for the programme’s peer review mechanism in support of good governance.”You cannot move faster than we have in three years,” he said.Through Nepad, he said, investment in agriculture across the continent will increase to 10 percent of national budgets over the next five years.Nigerian President Olusegun Obasanjo told the meeting that underdevelopment and dependence remained at the core of Africa’s problems.He said the goals of the programme would never be reached unless corruption, waste and mismanagement overcome.”Corruption has been the bane of development and stability in Africa and unless we adopt all possible strategies to enhance transparency and accountability …our effort will be subverted,” said Obasanjo.Mbeki said the slow implementation of Nepad programmes could lead to Africans becoming impatient and disillusioned.”We have to succeed.It is not possible not to succeed,” said Mbeki.”If we lose this moment it will take many, many years to regenerate the enthusiasm needed to take the continent forward.”- Nampa-APIt calls for Western governments to enter into partnerships with Africa in exchange for a pledge of good governance and fiscal responsibility.”I’m disappointed.I’m always in a hurry.People ask me what progress Nepad has made and I can speak to them only about good governance but I can’t explain any more,” Wade told a Nepad stakeholder meeting on Friday.South African President Thabo Mbeki told the two-day meeting that the delegates should not waste time talking about the challenges facing Africa but instead should focus on developing programs to push Nepad forward.”We need to ensure that programs we are creating are implemented,” said Mbeki.Wade said he hoped by the end of the two-day meeting there would be a plan to manage Nepad more effectively.”We have not had one (Nepad) project that has been realised.It is time to reflect and to go back to the authentic Nepad approach,” said Wade.However, the South African Press Association reported that Wiseman Nkhulu, the executive head of Nepad, said people should stop talking about and demanding Nepad projects.”Our purpose is to be a catalyst to get things moving,” said Nkhulu.”There is no such thing as a Nepad project.Ours is to energise and inspire.”He said the three-year-old programme had strengthened political leadership in resolving conflicts on the continent.And he said improved conflict resolution was the basis for socio-economic transformation.He said the heads of state meet about three times a year and the meetings play an important role in consolidating democracy.He said 24 countries have now signed up for the programme’s peer review mechanism in support of good governance.”You cannot move faster than we have in three years,” he said.Through Nepad, he said, investment in agriculture across the continent will increase to 10 percent of national budgets over the next five years.Nigerian President Olusegun Obasanjo told the meeting that underdevelopment and dependence remained at the core of Africa’s problems.He said the goals of the programme would never be reached unless corruption, waste and mismanagement overcome.”Corruption has been the bane of development and stability in Africa and unless we adopt all possible strategies to enhance transparency and accountability …our effort will be subverted,” said Obasanjo.Mbeki said the slow implementation of Nepad programmes could lead to Africans becoming impatient and disillusioned.”We have to succeed.It is not possible not to succeed,” said Mbeki.”If we lose this moment it will take many, many years to regenerate the enthusiasm needed to take the continent forward.”- Nampa-AP