The New Paternalism for Africa (NEPAD)

By Tsegay Gebriye London UK

The Structural Adjustment Program (SAP) at the heart of the NEPAD plan is a prescription by IMF/World Bank as a catalyst for development that African leaders must follow to qualify for loan from these institutions. As is the case in Africa in general and Ethiopia in Particular, NEPAD is being imposed on the public by African heads of state without any consultation with the stakeholder as to what NEPAD is all about. 

In contrast, extensive consultations occurred with the World Bank, IMF, G-8, European Union, individual Northern heads of state and trans-national corporations and associated government leaders - the sponsors of NEPAD. The Ethiopian PM in his speech at the symposium organized by the African Development Bank (Contribution By H.E. Ato Meles Zenawi Prime Minister of the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia At A Symposium Organized By ADB Towards Realizing The Objectives Of NEPAD <http://www.waltainfo.com/Profile/InfoArticles/2002/May/article1.htm> ) has criticized western leaders for helping their own farmers. 

The criticism is obviously aimed at grabbing headline news and boosting ones profiles as a forward thinking leader. This has been achieved at the expense of the stakeholders who are kept in the dark as to what their leader is talking about. Yes, western papers have, as usual, paid lip service to the misguided African development initiative with headlines such as "Ethiopian leader attacks developed countries over farm subsidies ahead of visit by U.S. treasury secretary", "At African conference, Ethiopian prime minister slams rich nations for subsidizing own farmers", "Meles blasts western governments" etc. Ironically, the countries "attacked", "blasted" and "slammed" are the countries without whose support NEPAD couldn't exist. 

How Meles may select his words to score cheap and short-lived headlines, he and his counterparts know that western leaders will not jeopardise their political life by denying subsidy to their electorate. African leaders can afford to ignore their people and get way with it, but western leader can only ignore their people at their peril. One can't refute NEPAD's noble aims like so many failed initiatives before it, but its chosen strategy is contentious. 

Yash Tandon, Director of the International South Group Network, Zimbabwe, in his article entitled Director's Comment: NEPAD = SAP+GATS+DSB <http://www.web.net/~iccaf/debtsap/nepaddirector.htm> argues, "The sentiment behind NEPAD is noble. It is to put Africa on a "self-reliant" path to development where the processes are owned by Africans themselves. But, as they say, the road to hell is often paved with good intentions. The intentions notwithstanding the practical effect of NEPAD would be to surrender the human rights of the people of Africa (their rights to food, water, energy, etc.) to the whims of a volatile and untrustworthy global capital"(emphasis mine). 

Mr Tandon supports his assertion with the following vivid example, "the people of Soweto in South Africa need, among other things, access to drinkable water. There are two ways of going about it - the NEPAD-way, and the peoples'-way. In the NEPAD-way, you open this essential service of water provision to international competition; whoever is able to bring capital from outside can have control over the distribution of water, and must be able to charge "cost recovery" price to the water-users. 

If people cannot pay, then their water pipes must be closed until they are able to pay. In the process, the Government of South African must create a climate of confidence (above all, the ability of the investor to externalise his profits and eventually the capital value of his assets) so that an investor is induced to come to South Africa rather than to, say, Vietnam or Chile or Rumania (because capital is global, and must be induced with attractive terms to come to Africa, so say our leaders.) This is the NEPAD way. 

The people's way starts with the recognition that whether or not foreign capital comes to South Africa to provide water to the people, water is a basic human right. Its provision to all households in Soweto (our example in this case) is Government's responsibility that cannot be turned on or off on the basis of the peoples' ability to pay for the water. Access to water is a human right not a privilege. And the same is true of food, adequate housing, electricity, basic education and essential transport. Subject these to the whims of profit, and you have subverted the human rights of the people." 

African leaders must first work upwards starting from basic provisions of public services before embarking on a major plan that would end up favouring trans-national corporations instead of their own people. Above all, any development initiative requires public participation to succeed. 

What Meles is telling us, in his speech, is that the people should not be involved in devising their own development initiative and should leave this task to the government. In his speech he said, " It has been said that the average African does not have the slightest idea as to what it is all about. Clearly for Africa's development to succeed African governments have to lead. NEPAD must therefore be a process where governments play the leading role. It cannot and should not be otherwise"(emphasis mine). According to Ato Meles NEPAD promotes Paternalism rather than partnership.

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