S van der Merwe: Nepad Projects Conference

8 October 2007

Minister of Trade and Industry, Mr Mandisi Mpahlwa
Programme director, Dr Hesphina Rukato
Dr Khosa
Mr Mucavele
Distinguished delegates
Ladies and gentlemen:

It is my honour to give the introduction to this conference. This meeting is
long overdue and I hope that the planned engagements over the next two days
will reveal how much progress has been made. I also hope that the outcomes of
this conference will clearly highlight to us where the gaps are and further
contribute to the finalisation of the Nepad Implementation Strategy for South
Africa (Nissa). The Nissa will serve as a road map, working in partnership with
the private sector and civil society to realise the developmental objectives of
both our country and continent.

As you are aware, South Africa has, in collaboration with key African
countries, been at the forefront in developing the New Partnership for Africa's
Development (Nepad) as Africa's premier development programme; in mobilising
international, continental and regional support for Nepad; and in supporting
the Nepad structures and processes.

The adoption of Nepad by the African Union in 2001 was the affirmation by
Africa of a shared vision, conviction and a pledge by the continent and its
leaders to place African countries, both individually and collectively, on a
path of sustainable economic growth and development and thus halt the
marginalisation of Africa in the globalisation process.

Outline of Presentation

In introducing the Nepad Implementation Strategy for South Africa or NISSA
for short, I will briefly outline six areas of work in the process of
developing the strategy.

I will in the first instance, highlight the how we have gone about
incorporating Nepad programmes into South Africa's foreign policy, focusing on
international, continental and regional partnerships.

Secondly, I will highlight the role of national governments in the
implementation of Nepad within their own countries, and the critical importance
of the private sector as partners in the process.

The third highlight will be on the development of the Nepad Implementation
Strategy for South Africa (Nissa).

Fourthly, the introduction will attempt to define what constitutes a Nepad
Project.

Fifthly, the development of Nepad Implementation Strategies as well as
linking Nepad to Local Economic Development will be highlighted.

Lastly, the appropriate linkages between Nepad and implementing South
Africa's African Peer Review Mechanism (APRM) Programme of Action will be
made.

Implementation of Nepad in South African foreign policy

International

While Nepad is foremost a partnership between and amongst Africans, it also
seeks to accelerate sustainable development in Africa through partnerships with
other countries of the South, and to forge a new partnership with the developed
North that changes the unequal relationship with Africa. To this end, Nepad
serves as the implementing vehicle for the international commitments in support
of Africa's development, for example, the Millennium Declaration, the Monterrey
Consensus, the Johannesburg Plan of Action (WSSD), United Nations Declarations
in support of Nepad, the G-8 Africa Action Plan, the European Union Strategy
for Africa, the New Africa-Asia Strategic Partnership (NAASP), the Tokyo
International Conference for African Development (TICAD), and the Forum for
China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC).

The convening of this conference is thus also an opportunity to reflect on
the progress that has been made in redefining international partnerships with
Africa and in moving from a donor-recipient relationship to a partnership in
the true sense of the word.

Continental

In order for Nepad to maximise its effectiveness and impact continentally,
it needs to be integrated into the African Union. This will send out a strong
international signal that Nepad is the endorsed socio-economic programme of the
African Union (AU). It will further strengthen the mandate and Programmes of
Action of the AU. It will also ensure that the appropriate synergies and
linkages between the AU, the Regional Economic Communities (RECs) and national
governments are made. South Africa fully supports Nepad integration into the
AU.

The issue of the integration of Nepad into AU structures and processes was
first articulated in the Maputo Declaration of 2003. During the AU Summit in
Accra in July this year, the integration of the Nepad Secretariat into the AU
Commission, with the concurrent establishment of a Nepad Planning and
Coordination Authority was the main subject of discussion.

In proposing a way forward on the integration issue, President Mbeki
highlighted the importance of the Nepad Brainstorming Summit to be held in
order to discuss the recommendations on the integration of Nepad into the AU
structure and process.

Regional

At the regional level, the Southern African Development Community (SADC)
Regional Indicative Strategic Development Plan (RISDP) has been the SADC
region's response to implementation of Nepad Programmes. Activities in terms of
the Nepad sectoral programmes have been built into each of the sectors of the
SADC work programme under the Regional Indicative Strategic Development Plan
(RISDP).

Furthermore, the SADC and Nepad Secretariats had both appointed focal points
to expedite cooperation and information-sharing between the two
institutions.

National

Role of national Governments in implementation of Nepad

In terms of country-level ownership of its economic development, national
governments play a central role in the implementation of Nepad. The Nepad
Secretariat identifies the critically important functions of national
governments as:

* internalising Nepad values and principles, with an emphasis on ownership
of the development process and increased self-reliance
* deepening engagement with the private sector and civil society with respect
to Nepad programmes
* accelerating the adoption of Nepad programmes as frameworks and guidelines
for national development plans, such as Poverty Reduction Strategies.
* ensuring compliance with major African Union and Regional Economic Community
(REC) resolutions linked to the implementation of Nepad programmes and
* ensuring that the country takes advantage of international support mobilised
for growth and development, e.g. through the G8 Africa Action Plan.

In preparing South Africa's national implementation strategy, we have taken
all these elements into cognisance.

Development of the Nepad Implementation Strategy for South Africa

Within South Africa, we believe it is crucial that the linkages to Nepad be
established at the national level to ensure that it is made relevant and has a
positive impact on the quality of life of all South Africans. The challenge is
to establish a close interface between the top-down approach of Nepad at the
international, continental, and SADC regional levels on the one hand, and the
bottom-up approach of South Africa's national rural and urban development
strategies.

To this end, the Nissa, which is in the process of finalisation, will serve
as the framework for South Africa's engagement with the Nepad process, guiding
and coordinating the work and defining the roles of all stakeholders in terms
of their engagement with Nepad at all levels.

The strategy ought to have a positive impact on the lives of ordinary
citizens as an interlocking set of programmes and projects, aimed at reducing
poverty and improving the lives of all our people.

Definition of a Nepad Project

To roll out the Nissa effectively, it is equally important for all concerned
to have common working definition of what constitutes a Nepad project. This is
important as there has been much misunderstanding as to what constitutes a
Nepad project and whether it has made any impact in achieving its stated
objectives. The determination of the success factors of Nepad is thus dependent
on an understanding in the first instance as to what constitutes such a
project.

A national Nepad project is defined as a flagship project that supports the
goals, principles and vision of Nepad. It must focus on development and impact
positively on people on the ground. It also has to have the potential to be
expanded into a regional and/or continental project and must be formally
accredited and presented as a Nepad project to make it visible and relevant to
South Africans. Finally, it must be captured on a central database and driven
and monitored on an ongoing basis.

This workshop provides all relevant stakeholders the opportunity to review
what has been so far considered Nepad projects and their impact on development.
It should perhaps also address the challenges pertaining to the project
approach to development and I suspect part of this lies in whether there is
indeed any relation between the so-called Nepad project and the national
development plan.

You will recall that the promoters of Nepad themselves acknowledged in
the
framework document that they appreciate the dangers of the project approach to
development but still went on to adopt this approach because of their promise
to "strengthen country and regional development programmes, but they will also
go a long way in kick-starting the regeneration of the continent."

Development of Nepad implementation strategies

If we look at the trend on the continent, it is clear that over the past
four years, Nepad projects have developed around critical sectors. These
include:

* the Comprehensive African Agriculture Development Programme
* the Short-Term Action Plan for Infrastructure Development
* the Science and Technology Consolidated Action Plan
* the Environment Plan
* the AU/Nepad Health Strategy
* the Education Action Plan
* the Tourism Action Plan
* standards and guidelines for the African Peer Review Mechanism
* facilitation of some of the AU's peace-support operations and
* the Africa Productive Capacity Initiative.

Linkage of Nepad to Local Economic Development

As you are all aware, the South African government during 2006 launched the
Accelerated and Shared Growth Initiative for South Africa (more popularly known
as AsgiSA). While this initiative is essentially a South African programme,
there is a need to consider it within the broader regional context.

In order to realise maximum impact and to address the development
discrepancies that exist between South Africa and the bordering member states
of SADC, it is essential that a close alignment be sought between the outward
dimension of AsgiSA and the inward implementation of SADC programmes (in
particular the Regional Indicative Strategic Development Plan (RISDP). The
obvious focus in terms of this alignment would be the context of spatial
development initiatives, such as development corridors, growth triangles,
growth centres and Tran frontier conservation areas.

Apart from AsgiSA, several other national development strategies should also
be brought into this equation. These include the National Framework for Local
Economic Development, the White Paper on Local Government, Micro Economic
Reform Strategy, the National Spatial Development Perspective, the Extended
Public Works Programme, the Municipal Infrastructure Grant, the Integrated
Manufacturing Strategy, the Urban Renewal Programme and the Integrated
Sustainable Rural Development Programme.

The National Framework for Local Economic Development should be considered
as the ideal platform for the development and implementation of Nepad and SADC
programmes within South Africa. According to a guideline prepared by the World
Bank, local economic development is the process by which public, business and
non-governmental sector partners work collectively to create better conditions
for economic growth and employment generation. The aim is to improve the
quality of life for all.

In this process of finding an alignment between the local economic
development programmes and the regional development programmes, it is clear
that the private sector can play a valuable role in bridging the gap between
national and regional programmes. An example of such an activity is to
facilitate South African support to SADC within cross-border initiatives,
through the identification, planning and implementation of local economic
development programmes in collaboration with neighbouring countries.

Roll-out of South Africa's APRM programme of action

A major opportunity in terms of the implementation of Nepad is provided by
the roll-out of South Africa's recent African Peer Review programme of action.
The programme of action serves as a country's response to the issues identified
in the APRM Country Report. It should form a comprehensive and coherent package
to address the specific challenges identified in the Country Report. It should
have the overall effect of improving governance and deepening democracy. It
needs clear objectives, actions, results and indicators. It also needs clear
timeframes, financial plans, and responsibilities.

Finally, it should include collaborative activities that are implemented on
a partnership basis.

South Africa's programme of action is focused on four thematic areas as
follows:

Democracy and Political Governance: (human rights awareness; access to
justice and public participation; crime and violence generally and in
particular against women and children; and corruption in public, private and
civil society institutions in society)

Economic Governance and Management: (popular participation in policymaking;
skills and capacity development; blockages to service delivery; unemployment;
and lack of deeper economic integration within SADC)

Corporate Governance: (company legislation reform; the effectiveness of key
institutions; consumer rights; and shareholder and stakeholder activism)

Socio-Economic Development ( poverty; access to rural land and an increased
pace of land reform; the quality, access and outcomes of the educational system
at all levels; combating HIV and AIDS, tuberculosis (TB), malaria and other
communicable diseases; and access by all to basic rights and services,
especially women, children and people with disabilities)

The interactive sessions that will take place tomorrow will elaborate on
these areas of engagement.

Conclusion

In conclusion, it should be stated that, as a long-term development
programme, critical success factors for Nepad include the following:

Enhanced political leadership; ownership by people of Africa; strengthening
institutional human and financial capacity of national, regional and
continental development institutions; and increased support by the
international community.

In looking forward therefore, it is crucial that:
* we should strengthen our efforts to accelerate the implementation of Nepad
programmes, maintaining both an internal and an external focus
* the linkages to Nepad be established at the national level to ensure that
Nepad is made relevant and has a positive impact on the quality of life of all
South Africans and
* a close interface be defined and maintained between Nepad and the SADC RISDP,
considering the latter as the regional face of Nepad.

I trust that this conference will enable us to work together, government and
the private sector in implementing successful programmes to realise our
collective development goals.

I thank you.

Enquiries:
Ronnie Mamoepa
Cell: 082 990 4853

Issued by: Department of Foreign Affairs
8 October 2007
Source: Department of Foreign Affairs (http://www.dfa.gov.za)