Wisani wa ka Ngobeni
The Southern African Catholic Bishops Conference (SACBC) has slammed the New Partnership for Africa’s Development (Nepad), calling some of its proposals “dubious” and criticising a lack of consultation with those it would affect.
Speaking at the end of a one-day SACBC conference in Pretoria attended by Nepad representatives, the church leaders said Nepad’s analysis of the nature of Africa’s socio-economic and political development problems “is on the mark”.
But, they said, the plan as a whole is “ambiguous” and some of its proposals, especially those relating to debates about economic globalisation, are “dubious”.
“Nepad correctly states that current ‘globalisation’ policies fail to lift Africa out of socio-economic decline but then goes on to say that Africa therefore needs more of the same policies,” said Mongezi Guma, director of the South African Council of Churches’ (SACC) ecumenical services for socio-economic transformation.
The church leaders also slated the way in which the Nepad programme was formulated, saying there had been no consultation with Africa’s citizenry.
Nepad was designed by heads of African governments to ensure sustainable growth in the continent.
The plan promotes democratic governance, peace-building, and economic growth in the continent. It also proposes a new contractual framework with industrialised countries for African labour.
But church leaders say the Nepad plan may not achieve its purpose because of lack of consultation.
Neville Gabriel, director of the SACBC justice and peace department, said: “Without participation there can be no real partnership and no real development.”