M&G reporter
”For a long time now, Africa has suffered like a motherless child. We have been at the receiving end of the decisions and resolutions taken by other people on our behalf.
”We must put an end to this … Something needs to radically change in the way the world perceives our continent, Africa, and us today. We must help humanity to begin to look at us as human beings.”
With these words, representatives of Pan-African civil society organisations recently closed a conference on ”Consolidating the Regional Agenda towards World Summit 2002 and Beyond”.
The aim of the conference, held in Nairobi, Kenya, was to strengthen African civil society and develop a common African civil society position for the summit.
Participants recognised that poverty eradication constitutes the greatest challenge for African states, with economic disparities widening by the day between and within nations.
They noted that ”Africa has been at the receiving end of numerous foreign concepts incompatible with the potential of Africa to realise sustainable development”.
These Eurocentric concepts, with South Africa’s blueprint for African development the New African Partnership for African Development (Nepad) must be ”interrogated in the context of African perspectives and needs, to unmask any propaganda”, the conference concluded.
”African governments have acknowledged Nepad as the vehicle for achievement of long-term sustainable development in Africa. Nepad, though supported by the North, constitutes an ambitious response to growing poverty, debt burden and the lack of democratic governance and offers a framework for Africans to bargain in the international platform under the ambit of the African Union,” delegates said in a statement.
But this did not mean that African civil society should not continue questioning the concepts of Nepad.
They pointed out that, despite considerable achievements in implementing the outcomes of the Rio Earth Summit of 10 years ago, ”sustainable development remains elusive as a result of emphasis on environmental issues at the expense of social and economic concerns, lack of infrastructure, insufficient funding and the widening gap between talk and action”.
The Pan-African conference set up an African Civil Society steering committee to co-ordinate a regional agenda and participation during the World Summit. It also appointed a task force to identify key areas of concern for Africa.
”World Summit 2002, falling at the onset of the new millennium and being held in Africa, presents an opportune moment to take stock of our achievements, illuminate on our constraints and chart the course for the future,” delegates said.
A follow-up Pan-African conference will be held in April.