Keynote address by Hon. M.T. Thabane on the new partnership for Africa's Development (NEPAD)
	KEYNOTE ADDRESS BY THE LESOTHO MINISTER OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS, HON. M. T. THABANE ON THE NEW PARTNERSHIP FOR AFRICA’S DEVELOPMENT (NEPAD). DORINT HOTEL AM GENDARMENMARKT, BERLIN 1ST FEBRUARY, 2002 MR. CHAIRMAN LADIES AND GENTLEMEN THE NEW PARTNERSHIP FOR AFRICA'S DEVELOPMENT (NEPAD) IS A COMMITMENT MADE BY THE HEADS OF STATE AND GOVERNMENT OF THE ORGANIZATION OF AFRICAN UNITY AT THEIR 37TH SESSION IN LUSAKA, ZAMBIA IN JULY 2001. IT WAS CONCLUDED AFTER AN IN-DEPTH AND CRITICAL REVIEW OF THE POLITICAL, ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL SITUATION IN OUR CONTINENT AS PRESENTED IN THE REPORT OF THE OAU SECRETARY GENERAL 'TO THE 74TH SESSION OF THE COUNCIL OF MINISTERS. THE SUMMIT WAS FULLY AWARE OF THE FUNDAMENTAL CHANGES THAT HAD OCCURRED IN THE WORLD SINCE THE BEGINNING OF THE 1990'S WHICH INCLUDED THE ESTABLISHMENT, ENLARGEMENT AS WELL AS THE STRENGTHENING OF ECONOMIC AND TRADE GROUPINGS; THE CONCLUSIONS OF THE URUGUAY ROUND OF MULTILATERAL TRADE NEGOTIATIONS; THE CREATION OF THE WORLD TRADE ORGANISATION AND THE RAPID PROGRESS IN INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY. CONSEQUENTLY, AFRICA FELT THE NEED TO TAKE URGENT AND EFFECTIVE STEPS TO AVOID MARGINALIZATION AND ENSURE THAT IT BECAME AN ACTIVE PARTNER IN THE EMERGING WORLD ECONOMIC ORDER. TO THAT END, AFRICA HAD TO ADOPT A NEW VISION FOR ITS REVIVAL AND DEVELOPMENT AND TO TRANSLATE THAT VISION INTO AN APPROPRIATE AND COHERENT PROGRAMME OF ACTION. IN THE EARLY 60'S PIONEERING LEADERS OF AFRICA UNDER THE STRONG INFLUENCE OF KWAME NKRUMAH OF GHANA ASSEMBLED IN ACCRA UNDER THE AUSPICES OF WHAT THEY TERMED THE "ALL AFRICA PEOPLE'S CONFERENCE". IT IS RUMOURED THAT WHEN AFRICAN LEADERS OF THE THEN PRO-INDEPENDENCE MOVEMENTS APPLIED FOR PASSPORTS FROM COLONIAL OFFICERS, THE FRENCH PHONED THE BRITISH TO SEEK THEIR OPINION ON THE ISSUE. THE BRITISH ARE REPUTED TO HAVE REPLIED, " LET THE NATIVES GO AND BLOW OUT STEAM, NOTHING WILL COME OF IT". THIS AS HISTORY HAS RECORDED, WAS THE BEGINNING OF AFRICA'S EFFORTS AT UNITY. THE SLOGANS THEN WERE" AFRICA FOR THE AFRICANS", "SEEK YE FIRST THE POLITICAL KINGDOM AND THE REST WILL FOLLOW" OR "BETTER MISMANAGE OUR OWN AFFAIRS., THAN HAVE THEM PROPERLY RUN BY OTHERS WE DID, INDEED, GET OUR INDEPENDENCE, OUR FLAGS AND OUR NATIONAL ANTHEMS BUT SOON, THEREAFTER, ALL WE SAW WAS A SERIES OF DICTATORSHIPS, FOLLOWED BY COUPS D'ETAT, AND RUTHLESS MILITARY REGIMES. THE PROBLEM THAT BAFFLES MOST OF US, IS THAT THIS PARTICULAR TIME OF DICTATORSHIPS CHARACTERISES THE MOST GENEROUS PERIOD OF DEVELOPMENT OR GRANT AID INCLUDING UNLIMITED LENDING AND BORROWING TO AND BY AFRICAN COUNTRIES. THIS ANOMALY HAS BURDENED THE PRESENT, NOW DEMOCRATICALLY ELECTED GOVERNMENTS WITH A LEGACY OF DEBT, DEPRIVATION, INEFFICIENT AND CUMBERSOME BUREAUCRACIES, AND ARMIES THAT REMAIN HUNGRY FOR POWER AND ARE READY AT THE SMALLEST PROVOCATION TO TOPPLE LEGITIMATELY ELECTED GOVERNMENTS. IN ARTICULATING THE NEW PARTNERSHIP FOR AFRICA'S DEVELOPMENT, WE ARE TELLING THE REST OF THE WORLD, THAT DEMOCRACY AND ALL THAT GOES WITH IT, IS NOW PART AND PARCEL OF OUR POLITICAL CULTURE. IT IS NO LONGER A MATTER OF CONJECTURE WHETHER OR NOT WE SHALL HOLD ELECTIONS. IN FACT, IT IS, INDEED, NO LONGER A MATTER OF SPECULATION WHETHER OR NOT THE ELECTIONS WILL BE OR NOT BE ON A MULTI-PARTY BASIS; OR WHETHER OR NOT THEY WILL BE FREE AND FAIR. INDEED, WE OPEN OURSELVES TO TRANSPARENCY AND OBSERVANCE BY THOSE WHO WISH TO OBSERVE THESE PROCESSES IN LESOTHO WE INVITED OUR PARTNERS REPRESENTATIVES AS WELL AS THE COMMONWEALTH TO OBSERVE THE REGISTRATION PROCESS ITSELF, AND DURING OUR ELECTION IN MAY, WE EXPECT AS MANY INTERNATIONAL OBSERVERS AS MAY WISH TO COME. LET ME ADD THAT WE WISH FOR THEM TO STAY BEYOND THE ELECTION DATE IN ORDER TO GUARANTEE ACCEPTANCE OF THE RESULTS BY ALL PARTIES. THE NEW PARTNERSHIP FOR AFRICA'S DEVELOPMENT CENTRES AROUND OWNERSHIP AND MANAGEMENT OF AFRICA'S AFFAIRS, BY THE AFRICANS THEMSELVES. THE AGENDA IS BASED ON NATIONAL, REGIONAL, CONTINENTAL AND INTERCONTINENTAL PRIORITIES AND DEVELOPMENT PLANS THAT HAVE TO COME THROUGH A PARTICIPATIVE PROCESS INVOLVING PEOPLE AT ALL LEVELS. THE AFRICAN LEADERS HAVE UNDERTAKEN JOINT RESPONSIBILITY TO ADDRESS THE MOST CRITICAL ISSUES IN THE CONTINENT. THE LIST, HERE BELOW IS NOT IN ANY ORDER OF PRIORITY: TO - STRENGTHEN MECHANISMS FOR CONFLICT PREVENTION, MANAGEMENT AND RESOLUTION TO ENSURE THE RESTORATION AND MAINTENANCE OF PEACE; PROMOTE AND PROTECT DEMOCRACY AND HUMAN RIGHTS BY DEVELOPING CLEAR STANDARDS OF ACCOUNTABILITY, TRANSPARENCY AND PARTICIPATIVE GOVERNANCE; RESTORE AND MAINTAIN MACROECONOMIC STABILITY BY DEVELOPING APPROPRIATE FISCAL AND MONETARY POLICIES INCLUDING EQUITABLE INSTITUTIONAL FRAMEWORKS; INSTITUTE TRANSPARENT LEGAL AND REGULATORY FRAMEWORKS FOR FINANCIAL MARKETS AND FOR AUDITING OF PRIVATE COMPANIES AND THE PUBLIC SECTOR; REVITALISE AND EXTEND THE PROVISION OF EDUCATION, TECHNICAL TRAINING, AND HEALTH SERVICES TO EFFECTIVELY TACKLE HIV/AIDS, MALARIA AND OTHER INFECTIOUS DISEASES. PROMOTE THE ROLE OF WOMEN IN SOCIAL AND ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT BY REINFORCING THEIR CAPACITY THROUGH EDUCATION, TRAINING AND REVENUE GENERATING ACTIVITIES AND ALSO BY FACILITATING THEIR ACCESS TO CREDIT AND ENSURING THEIR PARTICIPATION I THE POLITICAL SPHERES OF ALL AFRICAN COUNTRIES THE AFRICAN LEADERS HAVE SET UP AN IMPLEMENTATION COMMITTEE COMPRISING FIFTEEN (15) HEADS OF STATE AND GOVERNMENT TO PROMOTE THE NEW INITIATIVE AND TO ENSURE THAT THERE IS CONTINUOUS FOLLOW UP ON THE INITIATIVE AND TO PARTICULARLY ESTABLISH THE MANAGEMENT INSTITUTIONS FOR THE NEW PARTNERSHIP FOR AFRICA'S DEVELOPMENT. THE LEADERS OBSERVED THAT THE UNDERLYING PROBLEM IN AFRICA'S DEVELOPMENT WAS INSTABILITY AND CONFLICTS AND A SUB-COMMITTEE ON PEACE AND SECURITY WAS ESTABLISHED TO ADDRESS CONFLICT MANAGEMENT, PREVENTION AND RESOLUTION. THIS COMMITTEE IS COMPOSED OF FIVE (5) COUNTRIES. THE MAIN CHALLENGE, THEREFORE, THAT NEPAD PRESENTS BEFORE THE AFRICAN LEADERS IS GOOD GOVERNANCE WHICH REQUIRES DEMOCRATIC GOVERNMENTS ELECTED REGULARLY IN ACCORDANCE WITH EXISTING LAWS. GOVERNMENTS ARE EXPECTED TO UPHOLD THE RULE OF LAW BY RUNNING THE GOVERNMENT INSTITUTIONS IN A TRANSPARENT MANNER, WITH ACCOUNTABILITY AND ENSURING EQUAL OPPORTUNITIES FOR ALL. HOWEVER, A NUMBER OF COUNTRIES ARE STILL UNDER SERIOUS SITUATIONS OF CONFLICT AND THE AFRICAN LEADERS HAVE SET UP SUB COMMITTEES TO MANAGE AND RESOLVE THESE CONFLICTS. IN SOUTHERN AFRICA, THE MAIN AREAS OF CONFLICT ARE ANGOLA AND THE DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF CONGO. THE CONGO PROBLEM ALSO INCLUDES PROBLEMS IN RWANDA AND BURUNDI. IN OUR VERY SERIOUS ENDEAVOUR TO ADDRESS THESE PROBLEMS, SOUTHERN AFRICA HAS ALLOCATED ITS BEST IN THE PERSONS OF EX-PRESIDENTS NELSON MANDELA AND SIR KETUMILE MASIRE. WITH THE COOPERATION OF THE UNITED NATIONS AND THE INTERNATIONAL COMMUNITY AT LARGE WE ARE OPTIMISTIC THAT THESE SITUATIONS WILL BECOME A THING OF THE PAST AND THAT THE PEOPLE OF THESE BROTHERLY COUNTRIES WILL ENJOY THE PEACE AND TRANQUILITY THAT THEY DESERVE. POVERTY PRESENTS ONE OF THE BIGGEST CHALLENGES TO THE ENTIRE CONTINENT OF AFRICA. THIS STATE OF POVERTY IS UNACCEPTABLE BECAUSE THE AFRICAN CONTINENT, IN ITS ENTIRETY, IS RICH IN NATURAL AND HUMAN RESOURCES. THE DURBAN CONFERENCE ON RACISM, 'RACIAL DISCRIMINATION XENOPHOBIA ETC., LAST YEAR, UNDER-PINNED THE SERIOUSNESS OF THE DEGRADATION THAT THE AFRICAN PERSONALITY HAS SUFFERED OVER THE YEARS BECAUSE OF THE CRUELTIES OF SLAVERY AND APARTHEID. DURING THAT CONFERENCE WE WERE GREATLY GRATIFIED BY THE PATIENCE OF OUR EUROPEAN FRIENDS WHO PAINSTAKINGLY WENT THROUGH THE DOCUMENTS WITH US THAT LED TO A RECOMMENDATION TO THE UNITED NATIONS GENERAL ASSEMBLY THAT, ALTHOUGH IT DID NOT EMBRACE ALL OUR ASPIRATIONS, AND YET WAS ACCEPTABLE TO EVERYBODY. THIS, MR. CHAIRMAN, IS THE KIND OF COOPERATION THAT NEPAD ENVISAGES IN OUR POLITICAL DEALINGS WITH OUR PARTNERS, SOME OF WHOM ARE, INDEED, OUR FORMER COLONIAL MASTERS. ALONGSIDE POVERTY ARE DEVASTATING DISEASES, SUCH AS HIV/AIDS (FOR WHICH THERE IS, PRESENTLY, NO ABSOLUTE CURE), AND TUBERCULOSIS, MALARIA AND OTHER INFECTIOUS DISEASES, WHICH ARE PREVENTABLE, AND YET KILL OUR PEOPLE TO THE SAME EXTENT. THE TRAGEDY IS MORE SERIOUS BECAUSE THESE DISEASES TARGET YOUNG MEN AND WOMEN WHO ARE STILL IN THE MOST PRODUCTIVE STAGE OF THEIR LIVES. WITH REGARD TO HIV/AIDS, IT IS COMMON CAUSE THAT WHILE THE DISEASE IS MOST PREVALENT IN THE POOR COMMUNITIES OF AFRICA, DRUGS THAT MITIGATE ITS HARSHNESS ARE TO BE FOUND IN THE RICH COUNTRIES OF THE NORTH, AT PRICES THAT ARE FAR BEYOND THE MEANS OF THOSE WHO ARE AFFLICTED. THIS SITUATION SHOULD, AND MUST ENGAGE OUR MINDS AS PARTNERS IN DEVELOPMENT, MUCH MORE AGGRESSIVELY THAN HAS, HITHERTO, BEEN THE CASE. IN ALL THESE CIRCUMSTANCES, IT IS IMPORTANT FOR AFRICA TO TAKE FULL OWNERSHIP OF ITS PROBLEMS AND TO SERIOUSLY ADDRESS THEM OPENLY AND IN A TRANSPARENT MANNER WITH ALL MEMBERS OF THE COMMUNITY. 'IT IS IMPORTANT FOR THE AFRICAN LEADERSHIP TO PLAY A LEADING AND CONSTRUCTIVE ROLE IN SAVING, THE AFRICAN POPULATIONS FROM THE DEVASTATION THAT MAKES AFRICA THE NUMBER ONE IN AIDS. STATISTICS, REFUGEES AND DISPLACED PERSONS, BY WARS THAT HAVE NO JUSTIFICATION, BEYOND SENSELESS GREED FOR POWER. IT IS ALSO IMPORTANT FOR OUR COOPERATING PARTNERS TO COME FORWARD AND TO GENUINELY JOIN US IN THIS DESPERATE STRUGGLE FOR SURVIVAL WHICH WE CAN ONLY WIN, WITH THEIR ASSISTANCE. DEBT RELIEF, AND AN INCREASE IN OFFICIAL ASSISTANCE ARE BUT SOME OF THE FEW MEASURES THAT WOULD CONCRETISE OUR COOPERATION AS PEOPLE WHO JOINTLY WANT TO DEVELOP, THE GREAT IDEALS OF DEMOCRACY AND EQUALITY OF MEN BEFORE GOD. THE QUESTIONS OF EDUCATION, HEALTH, FOOD SECURITY, AGRICULTURE, THE ENVIRONMENT, LAND MANAGEMENT AND POLICIES AIMED AT SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT OF THE LAND BASE, ACCOMPANIED BY ENVIRONMENTALLY SOUND ENERGY SYSTEMS, PROPER. USE OF WATER RESOURCES AND SYSTEMS OF SUSTAINABLE FARMING WITH THE HIGHEST YIELDS AS THE ULTIMATE GOAL ARE BUT SOME OF THE MEASURES THAT AFRICA MUST ADAPT QUICKLY OR FOR EVER PERISH IN OBLIVION. IN NEPAD WE PRESENT OURSELVES AS PEOPLE WHO HAVE DECIDED TO BECOME PART OF THE TWENTY-FIRST CENTURY AND TO ATTAIN THIS GOAL WE NEED THE HELP AND ASSISTANCE OF THOSE WHO HAVE BEEN THERE FOR SOME TIME BEFORE. AND, IN THIS AUDIENCE, I SEE LADIES AND GENTLEMEN WHO FALL QUITE EASILY INTO THIS CATEGORY. OUR APPEAL IS NO LONGER FOR HANDOUTS BUT FOR GENUINE COOPERATION BASED ON MUTUAL RESPECT AND MUTUAL BENEFIT. THANK YOU FOR YOUR ATTENTION
	SOURCE: THE MINISTRY OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS