A battle is under way for the future of the New Partnership for Africa’s Development (Nepad), as African Union (AU) chairperson Alpha Konaré seeks to bring the continent’s flagship programme in governance reform and economic development under full AU control, while the Nepad secretariat, under Wiseman Nkuhlu, wants more limited integration.
At the heart of the debate, according to Nkuhlu, is Nepad’s ability to act quickly, and robustly, without the bureaucratic constraints and political sensitivities that characterise the AU.
”When Nepad started it was intended as an association of countries who wanted to accelerate the pace of change, and it was voluntary, so as not to be constrained by the politics, and strict rules, of a multilateral institution.”
Despite worries over political and bureaucratic inertia at the AU, Nkhulu seems resigned to the idea that it will take over the African Peer Review Mechanism (APRM).
The APRM process is at the heart of the quid pro quo which Nepad offers donor countries — good governance in return for improved development assistance — and Nkuhlu wants to ensure that it is put on a sound footing before being taken over by the AU.
”It is better to complete the review of the four countries we have started, so that you have a benchmark, and when it is moved we have established standards.”
He is also concerned about the impression the merger could create among donors, who have, since 1999, been vigorously lobbied on the basis that Nepad’s voluntary processes offered a tougher means to monitor the progress of African governments.
According to Nepad officials there is a perception among major donors that the AU, like its predecessor, the Organisation of African Unity, is unwilling to act against delinquent members, and Nkuhlu believes that any merger process needs to take that into account.
”We need at least a 12-month transition so we allow enough time for a proper rethink, and manage this delicate balance.”
Asked about rumours of clashes with Konare, Nkuhlu explained that, having worked with the founders of Nepad, Nigerian President Olusegun Obasanjo, Algerian President Abdelaziz Bouteflika, and South African President Thabo Mbeki, he felt he understood their thinking.
”I am used to working with leaders who make decisions on the spot,” he told the Mail & Guardian. ”[Konaré] finds it difficult to work like that. There are bound to be disagreements, and there have been.”
The 2003 AU summit in Maputo resolved that Konaré should address the integration of Nepad with the AU, but it left open the scope and nature of that process, save to say that it must not undermine Nepad’s work, or limit its flexibility.
Following the Abuja summit of the AU in January, he wrote a recommendation, which Nkuhlu is currently devising a response to.
”The chair’s proposal is that some of the secretarial services — the people who arrange the meetings of heads of state and the steering committee — move to Addis Ababa while a new steering committee is set up here for dealing with major sub-regional and continental infrastructure projects.”
Nkuhlu says the principle sounds reasonable enough, but crucial details are missing and there are concerns that efforts to wrest control of major programmes from their current managers in his office will derail them.
”We’ve done substantial work in areas like the agriculture programme to bring on board major stakeholders. We are at a delicate stage and these processes must remain under the same leadership.”
The Mail & Guardian was unable to reach Alpha Konaré or his spokesperson for comment.
Ross Herbert, of the South African Institute of International Affairs, though critical of the Nepad secretariat’s implementation record, said integration with the AU will hurt the most successful elements of the plan. ”Nepad was about unblocking problems and direct access to heads of government.
”The AU will impose many layers of bureaucracy … some people, who think it [Nepad] is too aggressive, want to put it in Addis and starve it. If it moves, it will be a disaster.”
Nkuhlu, however, is counting on the original Nepad troika to protect their creation.
”The response I am preparing will go to the Nepad heads of state, and if they are satisfied that it won’t be detrimental they will forward it to the AU summit in July. I’m sure President Obasanjo [ who currently chairs the heads of state committee] will not do anything to damage Nepad.”