Members of the private sector, meeting at the African Private Sector Forum in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, on 22-23 January 2008, under the theme, “Africa’s Industrial Drive : The Private Sector and Corporate Citizenship” declared the sector’s commitment to working with the African Union and the UN Global Compact towards the accomplishment of their objectives.

In the declaration they made the following points :

In the area of corporate citizenship, we recognise the significance of good corporate governance, socially responsible business practices such as environmental protection and community development, transparency, the observance of laws, and rules and regulations by both the public and private sector to the acceleration of Africa’s industrial development.

In the area of public–private partnerships we reiterate our commitment to working closely together with the public sector in utilising our respective core competencies to form synergies and achieve results collectively. We support the reinforcement of capacity for good governance and transparency and strengthen mechanisms for fighting corruption.

In the area of regional integration in Africa, we commit ourselves to providing full support to Africa’s continental and sub-regional integration agendas, as these serve as a strong basis for the promotion of inter and intra-African trade and investment, poverty reduction and promotion of sustainable development, attainment of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) and the integration of Africa into the global economy.

Cognisant of the role of the private sector in bringing about growth and sustainable development on the continent, we commend the African Union and the UN Global Compact for this very important initiative and recommend that an effective mechanism be put in place to follow up the implementation of the agreed recommendations.

We, therefore, recommend the following :

The role of the private sector in supporting the promotion of regional integration in Africa

Align efforts towards regional integration in line with governments’ priorities ;

Support the implementation of macroeconomic frameworks to attain economic and sustainable development ;

Collaborate with the existing regional and sub-regional associations and national organs, in order to share best practice and speak with African government(s) with one voice on the subject of regional integration ;

Provide financial support to programmes, projects and institutions aimed at regional integration ;

Promote “Made in Africa” brands and market Africa as a destination of choice ;

Develop a business directory for the continent ;

Urge African Union and member states to implement existing recommendations/declarations ; and

Invest in key areas such as education, health, SMEs, ICT, infrastructure and research and development.

Accelerating Africa’s industrial development with corporate governance and corporate citizenship instruments

Adopt the UN Compact’s 10 principles as well as complying with local laws and contributing to the development of the local community, the protection of the environment and existing social structures ;

Introduce a peer review mechanism in the private sector similar to the African Peer Review Mechanism ; and

Promote “supply value chains” and sustainable business processes.

Achieving economic transformation in Africa

Take the initiative to form and engage in public-private partnerships and dialogue with governments, civil society and community-based organisations ;

Share ideas, knowledge, understanding, best practices regarding how to engage in partnerships and support their replication across the continent ; and

Establish an African private sector network to share experiences among economic actors. Source : NEPAD, february 1, 2008