SPEECH BY MINISTER GERALDINE FRASER-MOLEKETI ON THE SPEAKERS DEBATE: AFRICAN UNITY

National Assembly, Parliament 25th May 2001

Madam Speaker, a key challenge for me this morning is to deal with the high level of "Afro-pessimism" both on and outside the Africa continent. For many of the former, South Africa was not part of Africa. A critical starting point in overcoming the "Afro-pessimism" in this country is to embrace our Africaness, and globally to embrace the Millennium African Programme (MAP).

"To decolonize our minds we must not see our own experiences as little islands that are not connected with other processes."
Ngugi Wa Thiong'o

South Africa’s peaceful political transition has been hailed as a miracle. With much still to achieve, we cannot deny that we are inextricably linked to the challenges that face Africa. We are connected in identity, time and space with Africa – we are Africans.

Africa today, is a product of

Centuries of slavery which constituted a massive export of cheap labour and loss of human capital;
Colonialism which sought to lower the cost of labour and raw materials through direct political intervention and reducing the productive capacity by forcing the production of cash crops and products for the colonizing countries; and
A post-colonial period in which the vicious cycle continued, as more resources were needed to finance the new state machinery and pressing social needs.

The stark reality is that despite our enormous riches and potential, Africa has the greatest number of poor countries – 33 out of 48. Sub-Saharan Africa is the worlds poorest region, with about half its population earning less than one US dollar a day.

Economic growth rates for the continent, foreign direct investment and exports have declined substantially (its share of world markets are now less than half the 1970 level). High levels of external debt and debt servicing costs are affecting numerous African countries, and at the same time ODA has declined substantially – one-fifth its 1992 levels in real terms.

Our President most aptly summarised at the Third African Renaissance Festival:

"The reality that has accumulated over many centuries is that Africa is defined as, of necessity, the marginalised. This determination leads to actions that result in the further marginalisation of the Continent. The more this succeeds, the more difficult it becomes to reverse this process of marginalisation. This difficulty includes the generation of significant resources from the Continent itself to reverse this process.

To bring this human tragedy to its end, it is necessary that the peoples of Africa gain the conviction that they are not, and must not be wards of benevolent guardians, but instruments of their own sustained upliftment."

As Africans, we must embrace the new Vision for Africa:

Free of poverty and excessive inequality;
Africa in which human rights, peace, stability and democracy thrives;
Free from environmental degradation; and
An Africa thriving with innovative human excellence, adequate infrastructure and sustainable economic activity.

This is the vision of the Millennium African Recovery Programme, announced by Presidents Mbeki, Boutlefika and Obassanjo. Africa Day should be an occasion in which we commit ourselves as African Leaders and Africans "to eradicate poverty and place our countries on a path of sustainable growth and development…." The Millennium Africa Programme is based on a partnership approach and outlines a concrete programme that is multi-faceted. The key areas of the programme include:

Creating peace, security, democratic and good governance with the capacity to deliver and direct sustainable economic activity;
Investing in Africa’s People through an integrated and comprehensive human development strategy;
Diversification of Africa’s Production and Exports through expanding industrialization in sectors with competitive advantage, beneficiation, and promoting tourism growth;
Increasing investment in information and communication technology in order to reduce the digital divide and ensure that Africa can participate effectively in the new global information economy;
Investing in the development of adequate infrastructure to support the recovery programme, particularly in transport, social infrastructure, and energy sectors; and
Developing innovative financing mechanisms to mobilise capital (within and outside the continent) at reasonable costs.

The programme focuses on creating the conditions for increased investment, not aid, in Africa. Additionally, the partnership principle of the MAP is based on the express objective to develop the capacity of the weaker States on the continent to meet the MAP objectives. The programme is a realistic one, and one in which Africa will continue to face a number of challenges during its implementation. Most importantly the Programme begins to chart a path for the 21st Century – the century of Africa’s renewal.

Most of what has been stated thus far points to the fact that extraordinary measures will have to be taken to build the institutional capacity of African countries to effectively participate MAP. Such capacity cannot be developed in isolation, it has to be forged through transcontinental and international partnerships.

At the beginning of this new millennium, the signs are encouraging. The OAU Summit’s decision to usher in the African Union on May 26, 2001 is a significant initiative. This provides an excellent opportunity, as an African Union, for socio-economic regeneration and liberation from poverty and human rights abuses.

CAFRAD a pan-African network of Public Sector ministers have taken a major step towards building a more professional Public Service across Africa. In its statement I quote:

The Windhoek Declaration – Implementation of the Charter for the Public Service in Africa provides an additional opportunity to create awareness of the document among civil servants, in particular, and the public in general. The Charter’s adoption is an important stage in the overall campaign by African Governments to restore prestige and dignity to the public service, reinforce integrity in public life, and raise performance levels and competence in government at large.

Determined as they are to strengthen public services, as a prerequisite for building the capacity of the Continent to face the multi-faceted challenges of globalization, and to thereby bring about meaningful development in Africa, African Governments are serious about the Charter’s implementation. On its part, CAFRAD is committed to providing necessary support to this noble undertaking.

Let this Day be a moment of reflection on the issues affecting our Public Services: consideration of the working conditions of men and women who devote their life to serve the public; facilitation of positive interest by citizens in the work of public administration; rewarding good initiatives; promotion of professionalism and so on.

The World Bank, United Nations Economic Commission for Africa and International Finance Corporation leaders are optimistic about the new African initiatives. "Tangible and encouraging progress has been made by many countries in reforming their economies, and putting in place the right policies and structures to ensure equitable growth and reduce poverty" (KY Amoako, Executive Secretary of UNECA).

In a presentation entitled Investing in Africa Tei Mante of the International Finance Corporation is equally optimistic about Africa.

"A political transition has been taking place with democratization and political liberalization. The majority of countries in the region have legalized opposition and held elections. The press is freer and there is increasing transparency in public life."

There are also renewed efforts to address the major social and environmental concerns across the continent. In Southern Africa, our government has initiated trans-national programmes aimed at maximizing the sub-regions resource potential. This includes the Maputo corridor, the Lesotho Highlands Water project, the trans-national peace parks, as well as negotiations with Mozambique governments to purchase natural gas, etc. Regional trade agreements, and an integrated economic cooperation are continuously discussed in SADC and other regional forums. South Africa’s mediation efforts to end the conflicts in the region are further examples of our participation in efforts towards the African Renaissance.

Despite these efforts, there are a number of considerable challenges that lie ahead. These include:

the economic shocks faced by emerging markets and reduced flows of Foreign Direct Investment;
immense level of poverty on the continent;
considerable number of deaths through malnutrition, water-borne diseases, respiratory infections and the HIV/AIDS epidemic,
inadequate social infrastructure to provide access to clean drinking water,
high levels of rural poverty,
rapidly increasing urbanization that is unplanned giving rise to high density informal settlements rife with poverty, crime and conflict, and
extensive environmental degradation.

The fate of Africa rests with nobody except ourselves. As Africans we must harness our creative talents, resources and use our comparative advantage strategically for our own development. In conclusion, Africa Day should be an occasion to develop African Partnerships to compliment our individual efforts and reinvigorate our collective commitment towards the achieving the vision outlined in the Millennium Africa Programme.