NEPAD Secretariat and AfDB discuss closer collaboration

A delegation from the NEPAD Secretariat led by the Deputy CEO, Dr. Hesphina Rukato met with directors of the NEPAD Regional Integration and Trade, Governance and Infrastructure departments, Coordinator of the Infrastructure Consortium for Africa, and representatives of the agro-industry and private sector, resource mobilisation and partnerships departments of the African Development Bank (AfDB) in Tunis, on 3 July 2008 to explore possibilities for strengthening relations between the Secretariat and the AfDB, which is the lead agency on the NEPAD programme for infrastructure development.

The meeting discussed staffing support for the NEPAD Secretariat, especially recruitment to the Spatial Development Programme (SDP) — one of the programmes adopted by NEPAD ; the status of the medium to long-term strategic framework (MLTSF) ; resource mobilisation ; implementation of the NEPAD database on trade ; the need to update the Africa action plan ; agriculture, market access and private sector development ; communication and information.

Speaking during the opening session, the newly appointed director of the NEPAD Regional Integration and Trade department (ONRI), Dr. Philibert Afrika, reiterated the Bank’s determination to support NEPAD. “The ADB is here to support NEPAD”, he said.

He welcomed dialogue as an innovative way of engaging with the NEPAD Secretariat and called for a comprehensive assessment of the needs of the Secretariat so the Bank could respond adequately.

Department representatives made short presentations on their activities related to the Africa Action Plan, the delivery of NEPAD initiatives and Bank-financed projects, including ongoing initiatives on climate change, on fertilizer financing in some member countries, and actions to introduce renewable energy and to fight deforestation.

They also described strategic meetings held with the NEPAD Business Foundation to identify and engage credible companies toward greater investment in markets.

The meeting emphasised the need to reinforce collaboration between the Bank and the Secretariat, highlighted the role of the NEPAD Secretariat as facilitator and coordinator of programmes at the political level and acknowledged the need for greater cooperation between the NEPAD Secretariat, the African Union and the AfDB.

Dr. Rukato reaffirmed that the Secretariat would coordinate efforts with partners in ensuring that policies and agreements made on resource mobilisation and other advocacy areas are implemented.

Both parties also agreed to request the UN Economic Commission for Africa, the AfDB and NEPAD Secretariat to thoroughly review the Africa Action Plan and make it more realistic before it is presented at the Africa Partnership Forum meeting in October 2008. Source : NEPAD, july 11, 2008

G8 leaders zero in on food security in Africa

Under immense pressure to do something about the rising food prices, leaders of the world’s richest nations concluded their three-day annual summit on 9 July 2008 by renewing their commitment to boosting food security in Africa.

Leaders of the Group of Eight (G8), which includes the United States, the United Kingdom, France, Canada, Germany, Italy, Russia and Japan, met in Toyako, Japan, to discuss a range of subjects, including the impact of high food prices.

Seven African leaders joined them on the first day to express their concern that the UN’s Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) were not going to be achieved if the prices of oil and commodity products carry on rising.

The African leaders – from Algeria, Ethiopia, Ghana, Nigeria, Senegal, South Africa and Tanzania – included the chairman of the NEPAD Heads of State and Government Implementation Committee (HSGIC), Meles Zenawi, Prime Minister of Ethiopia.

Launched in 2000, the MDGs consist of eight key goals including the eradication of poverty and hunger and improving education and healthcare in Africa by 2015. However, the G8 nations have been lagging behind in their commitments to boost aid to Africa by $25 billion by 2010 and yet food and oil prices are on the rise.

The prices of basic foodstuff such as bread, rice, milk and meat have nearly doubled in three years and African governments and development agencies are raising fears about increases in malnutrition and hunger.

In fact in May this year NEPAD held a meeting in Pretoria, South Africa, on how African governments could respond to the high food prices. At the meeting officials from African governments, the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO), the World Food Programme (WFP), the World Bank and agricultural research institutions called for accelerated investments in agriculture.

The G8’s renewed commitment On the second day of the summit, the G8 leaders agreed to continue delivery of a range of initiatives aimed at boosting food security.

In a press statement, they said : “We have taken additional steps to assist those suffering from food insecurity or hunger, and today renew our commitment to address this multifaceted and structural crisis”.

The G8 committed themselves to reversing the overall decline in aid and investment in the agricultural sector, and to achieving “significant increases in support of developing country initiatives, including in Africa, through full and effective implementation of the Comprehensive Africa Agriculture Development Programme (CAADP)”.

CAADP is a NEPAD-led initiative and framework to rationalise and revitalise African agriculture for economic growth and lasting poverty reduction.

In light of this support to Africa, Prof. Richard Mkandawire, head of CAADP at NEPAD said : “As we respond to the near term interventions we should not lose sight of the long-term CAADP growth agenda”.

Related efforts will also be aimed at supporting the promotion of agricultural research through the Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research, support for improvements in irrigation, the setting-up of food security early warning systems and funding for agricultural development.

The leaders of the G8 called on donors and agencies such as the WFP, the FAO and the UN to work closely together to meet the “remaining immediate humanitarian needs and to provide access to seeds and fertilizers for the upcoming planting season”.

Of particular relevance in terms of coordinating attempts aimed at boosting food security, the G8 called upon the UN’s High Level Task Force on the Global Food Crisis to work in partnership with other entities on implementing the regional and global action plans on food security. Source : NEPAD, july 11, 2008

Calendar of events

 July, TerrAfrica executive committee meeting co-ordinated by NEPAD Secretariat.
 15 - 17 July, Training on the job for young journalists from SADC English-speaking countries, Blantyre, Malawi.
 15 - 17 July, National stakeholder engagement workshop, Blantyre, Malawi.
 16 July, Steering Committee meeting for the Africa Infrastructure Development programme, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.
 17 - 18 July, Steering Committee meeting for the Africa Infrastructure Country Diagnostic Study, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.
 17 - 23 August, World Water Week, Stockholm, Sweden.
 31 August - 6 September, Conference and training seminar : micro, small and medium enterprise development, Dar es Salaam, Tanzania. Source : NEPAD, july 11, 2008

NEPAD-Spanish Fund : still waiting for documentation

The NEPAD Secretariat thanks all the organisations that have acknowledged receipt of funding from the NEPAD-Spanish Fund for the Empowerment of Women. As indicated in previous newsletters, the NEPAD Secretariat requests all beneficiaries to acknowledge receipt of funding as soon as it is reflected in their bank accounts. This exercise is crucial for auditing purposes.

The organisations to which funding has been disbursed but which is not yet reflected in their bank accounts are asked to remain patient as there are still some delays between disbursements and the arrival of the funding in the bank accounts of the beneficiaries.

The NEPAD Secretariat reminds all organisations that queries relating to disbursements should be addressed to Edwin Mununga, Financial Manager, NEPAD Secretariat at +27 (0)11 313 3467, or Kossi Toulassi, NEPAD-Spanish Fund Project Accountant, at +27 (0)11 313 3835.

The Secretariat would like to bring to the attention of those organisations that have not yet responded to requests for submission of documentation that this will only delay even further the disbursement of funds into their accounts. It also causes a problem for the Secretariat as the second call for proposals for funding cannot be made until the disbursement of the first call has been completed.

The Secretariat thanks all organisations and groups for their collaboration and continued interest in the NEPAD-Spanish Fund. Source : NEPAD, july 11, 2008

Ghana-NEPAD silver medal for the private sector

The Ghana-NEPAD award for country contribution – a silver medal for fostering intra-African trade – was presented recently by the Vice-President of Ghana, Alhaji Aliu Mahama, to the managing dIrector of Engen-Ghana, John Mensah-Bunsu. He commended the company “for its contribution to the Ghana economy in the context of NEPAD”.

The presentation of the award, which is conferred annually under the auspices of NEPAD and the Ghana Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Regional Cooperation, was made in Accra at the third Ghana-Africa business awards ceremony.

It was noted that the meeting of the NEPAD Heads of State and Government Implementation Committee (HSGIC) in Nairobi on 29 October 2003 “recognised the importance of the private sector in the overall development agenda for Africa, and emphasised the significance of the sector in the implementation of the NEPAD regional projects and programmes”.

In addition, the meeting of the HSGIC held in Algiers in November 2004 called for more and active participation of the private sector in the implementation of NEPAD projects, including the African development agenda.

The role that trans-national corporations like Engen have played in contributing to Africa’s development has demonstrated that they have heeded the call.

“We’re enormously pleased with our achievement, and gratified to have the Ghanaian Government’s support,” said John Mensah-Bonsu.

Engen has interests in the Southern, West, and East African regions, operating in more than 15 countries. Source : NEPAD, july 11, 2008

SADC Marine Fisheries Ministers agree to fight illegal fishing

Illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing is a global issue with many harmful environmental, economic and social impacts. The need for strengthened fisheries governance at national and regional levels has been increasingly recognised by the international community as well as the NEPAD action plan for the development of African fisheries and aquaculture, as one of the main requirements if IUU fishing is to stop.

In response to this need, and as a follow-on action from the International High Seas Task Force, the UK Government has committed to support an African policy process to tackle IUU fishing.

As the first step in this process, Dr Abraham Iyambo, the Minister of Fisheries and Marine Resources in Namibia, has led the way on behalf of the coastal states of the Southern African Development Community (SADC) by gaining support from the UK to overcome IUU fishing in the region.

As part of the programme to support the policy process of implementing the SADC Protocol on Fisheries in relation to tackling illegal fishing, a ministerial conference took place in Windhoek, Namibia, from 2- 4 July 2008.

In a statement of commitment (SoC) at the conference, the SADC Ministers of Marine Fisheries declared the following as priority areas requiring urgent attention :

To improve regional cooperation with a view to eradicate IUU fishing ; To strengthen fisheries governance and legal frameworks to eliminate illegal fishing ; To develop a regional monitoring, control and surveillance (MCS) strategy and regional plan of action in relation to IUU fishing ; and To strengthen fisheries MCS capacity. To address these priorities, the Ministers agreed to :

Support each other in the development and implementation of national plans of action against IUU fishing as vital building blocks to enable each member state to participate in sub-regional, regional and Pan-African and international actions against illegal fishing ; Explore the possibility of a regional MCS support centre as a mechanism to facilitate cooperation as well as creating awareness in relation to IUU situation in the SADC region ;

Involve the entire chain of processors, traders, transporters and consumers in the undertaking to stop illegal fishing, in order to ensure that only fish that is legally harvested enters the value chain ; Establish a strong system of governance by allowing all stakeholders — including civil society and non-state organisations — to play a role in fighting illegal fishing ;

Up-scale the experiences from marine fisheries to the fight against illegal fishing in the freshwater (inland) fisheries of the SADC region. As the host of the Windhoek conference, Dr. Iyambo, called on SADC member states to increase intra-regional trade in fish and fishery products in order to grow the role of fisheries in regional economic integration.

The Deputy Minister of the South African Department of Environmental Affairs and Tourism, Rejoice Mabudafhasi, reiterated the “NEPAD principle that all African (fisheries) resources should be utilised for African development and benefit ; and therefore, our failure to combat IUU robs our coastal communities of their food security and opportunities for livelihood”.

The Minister of Livestock Development and Fisheries in Tanzania, John Magufuli called on the African Union to establish a Pan-African ministerial committee to deal with illegal fishing.

It is estimated that sub-Saharan Africa loses approximately US$1billion annually through fish stolen from its territorial waters.

During the meeting the representative of the Norwegian Agency for Development Cooperation, Mrs. Brit Fisknes, announced that the Government of Norway has committed US$9.5million for the Benguela Current Large Marine Ecosystem, a programme covering the Atlantic ocean shared by Angola, Namibia and South Africa.

Tim Bostock, representing the UK Department for International Development (DFID) confirmed the UK’s commitment to continue supporting African fisheries development through the NEPAD-CAADP framework as outlined in the NEPAD action plan for the development of African fisheries and aquaculture.

The meeting was attended by the Ministers of Fisheries from Mauritius (Dr. Arvin Boolell), Mozambique (Cadmiel Mutemba), Tanzania (John P. Magufuli), Zanzibar (Burhan Saadat Haji) ; Deputy Minister from South Africa (Rejoice Mabudafhasi), government representatives from Angola, the Democratic Republic of Congo, and Madagascar, as well as more than 100 government delegations, representatives of sub-regional and regional fisheries management organisations, civil society, non-governmental organisations, foundations and fishing/processing companies. Source : NEPAD, july 11, 2008

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