Africans need to think of themselves as Africans before they worry about national identities if the continent is to meet the challenge of growth, South African Minister of Finance Trevor Manuel said on Thursday.
Speaking in a panel debate at the World Economic Forum (WEF) on Africa, which is being held in Cape Town, he said there are 53 African states, and too many — almost a third — are landlocked. Many have populations smaller than two million.
”Altogether there are 800-million of us. And if we think only within sovereign borders, we will not be able to grow our economies sustainably,” he said. ”So the key challenge then is to be able to respond through regional economic communities.
”We have to soften the borders between ourselves, recognise that sovereignty doesn’t mean that in every country you need everything. Sure you can have a Parliament, even a marching band, and stuff, but do you need a stock exchange? My answer is no.”
He said countries have to learn to share, and parts of the African economy that are growing faster have responsibilities towards those that are growing more slowly.
”If we don’t take a view that is pan-African, that includes an emphasis on regional economic communities, we will fail together,” he said.
Speaking in the same session, Nigerian Minister of Solid Minerals Obiageli Ezekwesili said there is a clear understanding in Africa today that growth is going to happen through creativity in the private sector.
The continent is now more receptive to ideas that allow private enterprise to grow. Countries are also waking up to the reality that corruption and lack of transparency hinder business.
Nigeria, which had once been known for ”bad behaviour”, has undergone a strong turnaround as a result of the willingness of leadership at the highest level to admit that there was systemic corruption.
However, the challenge she foresees is if all the ”fancy economic numbers” fail to have any effect on the lives of ordinary people. ”We might just find a situation where the reforms unravel,” she warned. ”If that happens, the bad guys can come and take charge of the political system again.”
She said countries need to move quickly from the level of macroeconomics to that of micro-activities that would create jobs and wealth and a greater spread of benefits.
The United States FBI’s Thomas Fuentes said crime and corruption is a problem not peculiar to Africa or any other region.
”It’s a human problem. In the United States you may have been listening to cable news over the past couple of weeks and you see examples of where we have to attack crime and corruption in our own country.”
He said he was referring to the recent conviction of senior Enron executives and the prosecution of other high US government officials, including the sentencing a few weeks ago of a congressman who took bribes to facilitate defence contracts.
”So, in no way do we want to come off, and the FBI be condescending to any other country or continent,” he said. — Sapa