1. AU and NEPAD: Any leap forward?

Close to three years down the line, the questions still remain: is life any better for Africans? Is there a revised thinking in Africa's leadership? What economic yields are there to talk of? Have the many conferences facilitated by the two bodies made any impact on the lives of the ordinary African people? The formation of the AU and NEPAD were key developments geared towards transforming African economies; turning the continent from an under-developed one to one that that is self sustaining economically, politically and socially.

In a nutshell, some of the key premises upon which the two bodies and their inherent visions came into fusion is: the need to put all children through primary school; halt the spread of HIV/Aids by 2015 and fight other diseases such as malaria, tuberculosis and cholera which claim millions of souls every year; curb hunger and starvation; stop civil war; and cultivate democracy in Africa - the list is endless. But even as the African leaders undertake reforms at various levels, underscoring the urgency of establishing modern institutions and creating better social, political and financial frameworks to catalyse development, nearly 30 million Africans are battling the HIV/Aids scourge, civil war has taken its toll in many African countries and many souls are perishing due to hunger and starvation.

AU's slow progress

Despite the AU making slow but steady progress on other fronts to improve the lives of its people, Africa still faces numerous obstacles. The United Nations Human Development Report shows that 26 out of 40 countries with the lowest rankings on the human poverty index are in sub-Saharan Africa. Conflict has caused major human suffering, displacement, deaths, destruction of both social and physical infrastructure, and the disruption of economic activities and civilian life.

Statistics indicate that more than half of the millions of weapons imported into Africa (nearly 8 million) are found in West Africa alone. They are used illicitly in such activities as drug trafficking, armed robbery, terrorism and organised crime. The easy availability of and access to such weapons has created a cycle of instability in which the most vulnerable members of society - children and women - are brutalised, maimed and killed.

Among other key developments is the challenge of enrolling all children through primary school. Whereas many counties have integrated this in their national policies, the situation in Swaziland reveals the contrary with school enrolment reported to have fallen by 20% due to the HIV/Aids epidemic. Moreover, UNICEF estimates that 860,000 children in Africa have already lost their teachers to HIV/Aids.

In eastern Africa, efforts by the AU to broker Peace between the Sudan government and the Janjaweed Arab Militia and two black rebel movements, the Justice And Equality Movement (JEM) and Sudan Liberation Movement (SLM) have stumbled. For more than two decades now, Sudan has been in the grip of civil war, with the most affected region being the Western part, where Darfur falls. As a result of this war, 50,000 people have died and over 1.2 million others have become refugees.

Lopsided trade

On the economic front, Africa continues to be adversely affected by unfavourable terms of trade, low commodity prices, limited access to external markets and lack of internal capacity and conducive policy frameworks to enable it to complete effectively in global markets. These factors have contributed greatly to the downfall of strong economic performers such as Ghana and Uganda whose economies were performing considerably well in the early 90s. The average economic growth rate of about 3% in sub - Saharan Africa hardly outstrips population growth.

Dictatorship and poor governance among many African leaders has also contributed a great deal to the poor performance of African economies. This has constrained the mobilization of both internal and external savings for investments that could boost production and spur growth. Clearly, African countries have benefited least from the globalisation process. The total global exports have declined.

Few strides

Though there are some positive achievements such as a reduced child mortality rate in Eritrea, increased school enrolment in Malawi, and successful national strategies against HIV/Aids in Senegal and Uganda, there are still many obstacles.

Development is about expanding the choices of people and people have to lead lives that they value. As statistics continue to reflect more people in sub-Saharan Africa are living below the poverty line, the role of the AU and NEPAD is coming under sharper scrutiny. In this light, NEPAD's peer review mechanism - which is meant to encourage member states to ensure their practices and policies conform to agreed political, economic and corporate governance, values, codes and standards enshrined in the NEPAD document - is a welcome step.

Nevertheless, NEPAD and AU need to go beyond their many seminars and conferences and settle at the grassroots with measurable and decisive action plans. Africa needs more than just words on paper. Until a radical change is made to improve the lot of the masses right from the rural folk, the economic growth needed to reduce poverty on the continent remains elusive.

* This editorial was written by Caroline Mutugi and was originally published in New People Economics issue 32 and has been reproduced with permission by the author. For comments on this editorial, please email