Imbalances in international trade need to be addressed if African farmers are to become globally competitive, President Thabo Mbeki said on Monday.
”It remains an inexcusable shame that $1-billion a day is used to subsidise the farmers of the developed countries and that a $300-billion annual subsidy is given to European farmers,” he said at the University of Oslo, Norway.
”This is four times the money spent on development assistance to all developing countries. Such a situation cannot be allowed to continue.”
Mbeki said there was an urgent need to reform the global political, economic, financial and trade environment to ensure Africa had a voice in global decision making, and to make international institutions more responsive to the continent’s needs.
”There is a vital need to address issues of market access, agricultural subsidies and non-tariff barriers, as well as issues of intra-African trade,” the president said in a prepared speech.
Other matters that needed attention included the need to address an unsustainable debt burden facing many African states, the promotion of the continent as a destination for private sector investment, and making sure that internationally agreed targets for development assistance were met.
Mbeki said the New Partnership for Africa’s Development (Nepad) would look at achieving food security by finding ways of raising levels and standards of food production.
In this regard, a programme would be embarked on to make irrigation equipment available and to improve rural infrastructure.
There was also a need to secure support in the form of research centres, while donors should be encouraged to pay attention to agriculture as part of a comprehensive programme of rural development.
The president said Nepad was different from earlier development plans in the sense that leaders of the continent had taken the initiative and assumed responsibility for its success.
”In other words, Africa has moved beyond words to concrete action plans. We are not merely expressing a grand vision whose possible realisation lies in a dim and distant future. Instead … we will ensure that we do not postpone the regeneration of our continent.”
Mbeki said Nepad had emerged in an era of ”profound proliferation of democracy” on the African continent. This was underscored by a decision by the Organisation for African Unity (OAU) not to recognise leaders who came to power through military means.
However, there were still imperfections and instances where countries needed to improve on their democratic processes. To this end, the plan would result in a process of targeted capacity-building initiatives aimed at deepening democracy and accountability.
Peace and stability on the continent was one of the fundamental requirements for the success of the plan, Mbeki said. In this regard, the continent was strengthening regional and sub-regional institutions to meet the challenges of peace-making, peacekeeping, and peace enforcement, post-conflict reconciliation, rehabilitation and reconstruction, and combating the illicit proliferation of arms.
Ensuring good governance was also an important aspect of the plan, Mbeki said.
”Institutional capacity-building is crucial in this regard, as many states lack the capacity to achieve sound economic governance.”
Through Nepad, a set of codes and standards were being developed to guide states in macro-economic policy making and the management of public revenue and expenditure.
Still ravaged by the setbacks imposed on it by slavery and foreign rule, Africa’s new struggle was against under-development poverty as well as its social exclusion and economic marginalisation from the globalising world, Mbeki said.
This would be the main focus of Nepad and of the African Union (AU), which is to replace the OAU in July.
”Clearly, the time has never been more opportune to move forward and implement the vision and dream of a prosperous Africa and eradicate the terrible legacy of our past and the burden of poverty and underdevelopment,” Mbeki said.
”I am sure that we all agree it is time to move from grand statements to concrete action, to help give re-birth to Africa with hope, peace and development.” ? Sapa