in achieving the Millennium Development Goals in ...

The Impact of Global Partnership for Development (Goal Number 8) in achieving the Millennium Development Goals in Africa In 2000, the United Nations (UN) made a Millennium Declaration that commits governments across the globe to develop the lives of the people by 2015. This declaration is known as Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). This paper will examine the role that every government has to play in achieving the goals by focusing on Goal number 8, which encourages global partnerships for development. It will interrogate the agreements that respective countries enter into in the quest to achieve the MDGs and what these agreements mean. There are only five years left for the MDGs to be met. This paper will reflect on the progress of Africa and its agreements on a country level to achieve the MDGs; evaluate the agreements that each country enters into with another country; and discuss the level of beneficiation each country has on the other for the development of each country.

Shikha Vyas-Doorgapersad Associate Professor Department of Public Management and Administration North-West University

© Africa Institute of South Africa

Introduction At the UN Millennium Summit in September 2000, the MDGs were adopted by 189 nations and signed by 147 heads of state and governments for the development of poor nations. Eight MDGs, with 21 quantifiable targets to be measured by 60 indicators, were set to be achieved by 2015, that include eradicating extreme poverty, achieving universal primary education, promoting gender equality and empowering women, reducing child mortality, improving maternal health, combating HIV/AIDS, malaria and other diseases, ensuring environmental sustainability and developing a global partnership for development.1 The MDGs “synthesise, in a single package, many of the most important commitments made separately at the international conferences and summits of the 1990s; recognise explicitly the interdependence between growth, poverty reduction and sustainable development; acknowledge that development rests on the foundations of democratic governance, the rule of law, respect for human rights, and peace and security; are based on time-bound and measurable targets accompanied by indicators for monitoring progress; and bring together, in the eighth goal, the responsibilities of developing

AFRICA INSIGHT Vol 40 (2) – September 2010

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The Impact of Global Partnership for Development (Goal Number 8) | Shikha Vyas-Doorgapersad

countries with those of developed countries, founded on a global partnership endorsed at the International Conference on Financing for Development in Monterrey, Mexico in March 2002, and again at the Johannesburg World Summit on Sustainable Development in August 2002”.2 The goals “focus the world community’s attention on achieving significant, measurable improvements in people’s lives. They establish benchmarks for measuring results, not just for developing countries, but also for rich countries – to help them fund development programmes – and for the multilateral institutions that help countries implement them. The first seven goals are mutually reinforcing and are directed at reducing poverty in all its forms. The last goal – global partnerships for development – is about the means to achieve the first seven.”3 This paper presents an analysis of the current development in the African continent, emphasising Goal 8, which encourages global partnerships for development.

Goal 8 – Global Partnerships for Development The Millennium Declaration calls the development of a global partnership the prerequisite for meeting MDGs 1 to 7. Without an immediate partnership between developing countries and rich countries in a variety of forms – which include further free access to the markets of the developed countries, debt relief and cancellation, and more generous official development assistance – developing countries, especially those countries facing serious development challenges, cannot meet the MDGs. In order to monitor this process, MDG 8 has been included as a specific goal with several targets and indicators.4 The underlying principle behind Goal 8 is to expound partnerships between developing

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and developed countries for sustainable development. This partnership can assist destitute countries to achieve following targets.5 ● Target 8 – A: Develop further an open, rulebased, predictable, non-discriminatory trading and financial system. It includes a commitment to good governance, development and poverty reduction, both nationally and internationally ● Target 8 – B: Address the special needs of the least developed countries (LDCs). It includes tariff and quota-free access for leastdeveloped countries’ exports; enhanced programme of debt relief for Heavily Indebted Poor Countries (HIPCs) and cancellation of official bilateral debt; and more generous official development assistance (ODA) for countries committed to poverty reduction ● Target 8 – C: Address the special needs of landlocked countries and small island developing states (through the Programme of Action for the Sustainable Development of Small Island Developing States (SIDS) and the outcome of the 22nd special session of the General Assembly) ● Target 8 – D: Deal comprehensively with the debt problems of developing countries through national and international measures in order to make debt sustainable in the long term ● Target 8 – E: In cooperation with pharmaceutical companies, provide access to affordable essential drugs in developing countries ● Target 8 – F: In cooperation with the private sector, make available the benefits of new technologies, especially information and communications. Goal 8 differs from the other MDGs in several important aspects: it refers to the internationally agreed obligations and the potential support of external partners and donor countries,



in other words, while the targets associated with Goals 1 to 7 are indicative of actions required within a country, Goal 8 considers progress achieved in the context of the international community; many of the indicators refer specifically to the conditions in LDCs, SIDS and HIPCs; and the goal and its targets are a composite of several crosscutting and enabling factors, each of which refers to a complex area of analysis which cannot be neatly packaged in terms of the stated targets.6

Strategies and Agreements for MDG 8 in Africa The momentous Africa-European Union (EU) Summit in Cairo in 2000 strengthened the Africa-EU partnership to bring considerable changes in both continents. Integration processes transformed the Organisation of African Union (OAU) into the African Union (AU) with the significant socio-economic programme, the New Partnership for Africa’s Development (NEPAD), in the African region. The EU benefited in terms of its size, magnitude and dimension. The relationship has resulted in “the Africa-EU Strategic Partnership”7 to achieve the MDGs through regional and continental integration in Africa. In this context, “the AU and EU recognise a need for more defined roles and responsibilities between the pan-African, sub-regional, national and local levels and between the different actors on the EU side, as well as for coherence and complementarity with other international actors. Regional Economic Communities (RECs) are important for the continental economic and political integration agenda and should continue to be key partners for the EU in Africa. The EU and AU will aim at integrating the RECs and the Sub-Regional Organisations (SROs) in the


present institutional architecture. Decisions are taken at various levels of Africa-EU Troikas, Commission-to-Commission Dialogues and Joint AU-AU Task Forces.”8 This strategic partnership is beneficial to “support the African integration agenda; strengthen African capacities in the areas of rules, standards and quality control; implement the EU-Africa Infrastructure Partnership; and ensure the finance and policy base for achieving the MDGs.”9 At the regional level, NEPAD established a strategic framework for Africa’s renewal in 2001. The Monterrey Consensus further identified the need of international cooperation in 2002, followed by the G8 Africa Action Plan of 2002 where the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) countries consented for assessment of commitments to fulfil the MDGs for development. The AU NEPAD Heads of State and government therefore “spearheaded moves towards a framework for the monitoring of mutual commitments by Africa and its partners. At their request, a team of Economic Commission for Africa (ECA) has worked with developed country (OECD-DAC) partners to develop a concept and machinery to achieve greater aid effectiveness. The result is a regional mechanism to track development partnerships and their effectiveness. The draft report, ‘Mutual Review of Development Effectiveness in the context of NEPAD’, tabled for discussion at the NEPAD/OECD African Partnership Forum (April 2005) and during this Conference of Ministers of Finance, Planning and Economic Development, is the culmination of this work.”10 At its third session (January 2007), the UN’s High-level Task Force (HLTF) considered “the application of its criteria for periodic evaluation of global development partnerships – as identified in MDG 8 – from the perspective of the right to development, with a view to operationalising and progressively developing them. For this purpose it focused on the


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pilot application of the criteria to three selected development partnerships, namely: the African Peer Review Mechanism, the ECA/OECD-DAC Mutual Review of Development Effectiveness in the context of NEPAD, and the Paris Declaration on Aid Effectiveness, and identified the Cotonou Partnership Agreement as a new partnership to be assessed”.11 Moreover, the G8 established “the Africa Partnership Forum (APF) in the wake of the Evian summit as a way of broadening the existing high-level G8/NEPAD dialogue to encompass Africa’s major bilateral and multilateral partners”.12 The members of APF are Heads of State or government of the members of NEPAD, Chairperson of the AU Commission, Heads of the eight AU-recognised RECs (East African Community, Southern African Development Community, Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa, Economic Community of West African States, Economic Community of Central African States, Union du Maghreb Arabe, Intergovernmental Authority for Development, and Community of Sahel-Saharan States), Head of the African Development Bank, Heads of State or government of Africa’s principal industrialised country development partners, President of the European Commission and Heads of selected international institutions (UN and its Development Programme and ECA, International Monetary Fund, World Bank, World Trade Organisation, and Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development). These members monitor the progress of MDGs in Africa.

MDG 8: Relations Analysed The 2005 G8 Summit at Gleneagles renewed the commitment of the world’s richest nations to support Africa’s development, and signalled the intention to move beyond the Monterrey pledges to additional development assistance and

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debt relief. The World Bank Group has a major role to play in facilitating the international response to the call for expanded assistance to Africa by working in partnership with other development partners to help every African country to reach as many of the Millennium Development Goals as possible by 2015.13 In order to achieve the objective, the African Action Plan (AAP) was initiated by the World Bank Group as an outcomes-based action programme to implement responsibilities in the African region. Furthermore, the aid during the period of International Development Association 14 (IDA 14) [2006-2009] from donors (Monterrey, Mexico, Canada), the African Development Fund, together with bi-lateral commitments to the OECD Development Assistance Committee (DAC), has shown improvement. The International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the African Development Bank (AfDB) are dealing with debt cancellation issues in the region. The Africa Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) by the United States and Everything But Arms (EBA) by the EU are significant initiatives to enhance trade in the region. The Strategic Framework for IDA in Africa (SFIA) and the Shared Growth Strategy are established to foster economic growth in Africa. The IDA 14 Partnership is designed to assist Africa with resources for effective utilisation of multilateral and bilateral assistance. To support regional integration, the RECs of Africa – UEMOA and Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), ECA, Southern Africa Development Community (SADC), and the common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA) – are working in partnership to achieve the MDGs.14 The Tripartite Summit of the COMESA, Eastern African Community (EAC) and the SADC have called for the grouping of three entities into a single Free Trade Area (FTA), eventually leading towards a single market among



the three RECs.15 The countries with post-liberalisation problems, such as Madagascar, need to introduce market-based reforms. The Public Financial Accountability Programme (PFA) by the World Bank’s Development Grant Facilities (DGF), the European Commission (EC), the UK’s Department of International Development (DFID), the Swiss State Secretariat for Economic Affairs (SECO), the Royal Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the IMF and the Strategic Partnership for Africa (SPA) are assisting Madagascar to implement financial management for effective use of external aid. Moreover, the IDA-IFC is assisting Madagascar to design the Micro and Small and Medium Enterprise (MSME) programme for effective utilisation of domestic resources.16 The Madagascar Action Plan (MAP) is a development strategy for shared growth that is supported by the World Bank’s Country Assistance Strategy (CAS). The CAS is a significant activity to combat challenges regarding investment for development. As part of its “Country Assistance Strategy”, the World Bank supports a number of programmes, including budget support (Poverty Reduction Support Credits), sector-wide operations (SWAPs), investment projects, public-private partnerships and analytical and advisory activities (AAA). Poverty Reduction Support Credits (PRSCs) have served as a forum for policy dialogue with the government and as a platform for donor harmonisation. Furthermore, IFC has a total commitment of $57 million and a strong programme that includes a range of investment and technical assistance services supporting private sector investments in the key growth sectors of infrastructure, mining, agribusiness and tourism. The IFC is working to improve access to finance through credit lines, microfinance and leasing, and the IFC and IDA are working together on guarantees. The main


focus of Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency (MIGA) in Madagascar is to work with the World Bank Group and other partners to facilitate foreign direct investment (FDI) toward development. The designation of Madagascar as a World Bank Institute (WBI) Focus Country led to a better integration of WBI activities in the Bank-wide assistance strategy, and a substantial increase in the country’s participation in WBI-related activities, including removing bottlenecks to investment and growth. The ongoing political crisis that began in January 2009 has the potential to reverse hard-won development gains. As a result of the political situation prevailing in Madagascar, beginning 17 March 2009, the World Bank operations in Madagascar are guided by operational policy 7.30, “Dealing with de facto Governments.”17 In the DRC, with “UNDP support, the Minister of Planning was influential in establishing for the first time in the DRC budget, ‘pro-poor’ spending, clearly earmarked under HIPC resources”.18 The South African government is committed to achieving MDG 8 for sustainable development in Africa, and for this purpose has developed several economic partnerships in the region. These “initiatives complement and reinforce the government’s lobbying efforts in various regional and continental fora. Concerted bilateral efforts are therefore being made to assist the process of regional integration and cooperation.”19 In order to provide post-conflict reconstruction and development to the DRC, the South AfricaDRC Bi-national Commission (BNC) has been established. The aim of the BNC is to provide assistance by South Africa to DRC for the achievement of MDGs. In order to achieve the objectives of the BNC, the Memorandum of Understanding was signed on “Development and Cooperation in Transport Related Matters between the government of the Republic of South Africa through its Department of Transport and the government


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of the Democratic Republic of Congo through its Ministry of Transport and Communications”.20 To reap the outcomes of this relationship between South Africa and the DRC, “the Economy, Finance and Infrastructure Commission was assured by the DRC government to accelerate the ratification of the Reciprocal Protection and Promotion of Investments Agreement. South Africa undertook to facilitate the involvement of the Industrial Development Corporation (IDC) and Development Bank of Southern Africa (DBSA) in the projects identified under the Maluku Industrial Development Zone, and to consider the provision of credit line facilities as a financing support mechanism for the projects. The Social and Humanitarian Affairs Commission recommended that it would focus on the establishment of the necessary institutions, in particular the establishment of a housing financial institution, and developing and implementing a housing code and construction code as an urgent pre-requisite for attracting investors into the residential property market of the DRC. The Commission recommended mobilisation of resources beyond the SA/DRC bilateral cooperation so as to include multilateral and other partnerships.”21 Multilateralism is a complex set of engagements with many countries conducting relationships with one another using a specific body, which allows for the facilitation of these relationships. As such, the African, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) Group of States is a powerful player in the global arena, and allows for increased south-south cooperation and north-south dialogue22 for African development. The African Renaissance and International Cooperation Fund Act was promulgated in 2001 for the purpose of enhancing international cooperation with and on the African continent. It enables the South African government to identify and fund the cooperation between South Africa and other countries, particularly African

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countries, and enhance socio-economic development and integration. It is multilaterally oriented, and provides for proactive involvement in projects and programmes involving organisations and parties, other than the governments of countries.23 South Africa and the EU has a comprehensive partnership of which one important pillar is the Trade, Development and Co-operation Agreement (TDCA). The Agreement deals with five areas of cooperation, of which Cooperation in Trade and Trade-related areas is significant in achieving MDG 8 in Africa. In 2007, it was decided to de-link the areas of cooperation from the TDCA and link them to the SADC EPA process. Furthermore, “EU fully supports South Africa’s commitment to the African Agenda, including the African Union and its socio-economic programme NEPAD. Both partners are also committed to ensuring that the interests of developing and emerging countries are addressed. Both partners agree that the Strategic Partnership will be supportive of regional integration in SADC and the Joint EUAfrica Strategy.”24 Both partners acknowledged that the TDCA revision and the launch of the SADC EPA negotiations are prospects to improve and enhance the trade relations between the region and the EU. The inclusion of South Africa in the SADC EPA negotiations was recognised by the fact that South Africa is resourced to fulfil the development objectives of the EPAs. This partnership is committed to enhance the regional integration in SADC. Moreover, “South Africa and the European Union’s common interests provide a natural foundation for a strategic partnership that significantly enhances existing cooperation by moving from mere political dialogue to active political cooperation on issues of mutual interest at bilateral, regional, continental and global levels. The Partners agree, therefore, to establish a new overarching umbrella structure for all existing fora of



cooperation – the Mogobagoba Dialogue. The Mogobagoba Dialogue is composed of all relevant meetings overseeing all forms of cooperation between the two partners, including the Joint Cooperation Council, Ministerial Troika meetings, as well as regular Summits. Whereas the EU has its own internal consultation mechanisms, South Africa equally values the opinions of its regional and continental partners based on a deep commitment to the African Agenda and multilateralism.25 The promotion of intra-regional trade and investment ranks as one of the South African government’s key priorities within Southern Africa. Together with partner departments, such as the Departments of Trade and Industry and Finance, this is an area of bilateral activity that has so far yielded considerable success. Although trade with SADC countries has increased dramatically over the last few years, the government is aware of the current trade imbalances and actively seeks to promote two-way trade. The focus on outward investment to SADC countries is also bearing fruit, with a large and growing number of South African companies taking advantage of opportunities in neighbouring countries, often making investments through joint venture partnerships.26 The SADC Summit in 2007 held “a special session on regional infrastructure development and considered the status thereof within the context of contributing to regional integration. Key sectors included Transport (road, rail, maritime and air), Energy, Communications and Information Technology, Tourism and Water. It was recognised that the region requires an adequate regional transboundary infrastructure to allow for connectivity in terms of the sectors mentioned, thereby assisting in the achievement of the MDGs and regional tourism promotion.27 The SADC Secretariat, therefore, prepared a regional infrastructure master plan in order to achieve the MDGs. Moreover, the South


African National Treasury initiated a process “of identifying existing, planned and potential infrastructure projects by South African government departments and state-owned enterprises which, once developed further, could possibly contribute to South Africa’s inputs to the SADC master plan.28

Assessing MDG 8 in Africa The continent that most clearly needs development is Africa, where poverty, unemployment coupled with climate change, and natural disasters increase the need for global cooperation. Although many developing countries were facing the challenges of impoverishment and unemployment during 1990s, large parts of Africa were struggling severely with deteriorating income and worsening poverty levels. As the Global Policy Forum noted in 2003, “[t]he World Bank recently reported that Sub-Saharan African countries have the largest share of people living below one dollar a day. The tragedy is that while other countries in Asia and Latin America are slowly but surely pulling themselves out of the poverty club, African countries … are regressing into lower levels of deprivation, with the result that the number of poor people in this region is expected to rise from 315 million in 1999 to about 404 million in 2015.”29 Goal 8 effectively underpins the efforts of developing countries to achieve all the other MDGs. Implicit in this goal is an acknowledgement that significant international effort and commitment is required of both developed and developing countries if the world is to be successful in achieving the MDGs. A critical aspect of the MDG is the recognition that governments and international development organisations share collective responsibility for their achievement. Of specific importance to Africa is Chapter VII of the


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Millennium Declaration, “Meeting the Special Needs of Africa”, in which the UN effectively responded to the call of President Mbeki and other African leaders to make the 21st century an African century. Achievement of the MDGs by Africa requires taking decisive action to substantially accelerate progress being made on the continent. Development cooperation across the wide range of priority areas addressed by the MDGs and their various targets requires an integrated, coordinated, comprehensive and balanced approach, one that is truly a global partnership for development.30 Achieving the MDGs in Africa is therefore imperative to improving millions of lives that require global partnership for investments in accelerating economic growth. In order to achieve this vital Goal 8, the MDG Africa Steering Group was convened on 14 September 2007 to establish strategies regarding improved aid and predictability for development in Africa. Members of the Steering Group jointly stated that: “we are deeply concerned that Africa as a whole is not on track to meet the MDGs by 2015. Yet, since many individual countries are on track to achieve at least some of the Goals, there is more good news than meets the eye (sic). Moreover, many African governments have significantly strengthened their policies, advancing the conditions for long-term economic growth. Success stories throughout the continent show that the Goals remain achievable if governments and the international community urgently implement commitments to strengthen domestic policies and scale up investments.”31

In order to assess the progress in Africa towards MDG Goal 8, the UN ECA, the African Union Commission (AUC) and the (AfDB) jointly produced an MDG Report in 2009. The report explores that “significant gaps in fulfilling the

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global partnership for development remain. These include the inability to conclude the Doha Round of trade negotiations, and the inability of major OECD/DAC countries to reach the ODA/GNI ratio target of 0.7%. The Economic Partnership Agreements (EPAs) continue to pose a risk to the African trade development”.32 The assessment of progress in Africa towards MDGs reveals the following scenario: Target 8 – A: The meagreness in realising the Doha Round of trade negotiations has decreased trade opportunities for development in Africa. Due to restrictions on market access, Africa’s share of world trade counted as less than 2% in 2007. Decisions regarding negotiations with European Partnership Agreements (EPAs) as a substitute to the Lome Agreement between Europe and the ACP Group of States are still not realised. The process of negotiation is still underway with several countries in Africa where EPAs will have tariff- and quota-free access with lesser transition duration to markets in EU member countries. Target 8 – B: Most of the African countries are categorised as LDCs with dire need for development. Initiatives like Aid for Trade and the US government’s African AGOA were implemented to provide sustainable development in LDCs whose success is still yet to be determined. The share of LDCs for duty-free exports to western markets is recorded below the established target of 97%. The G8 has “reiterated its commitment to dutyand quota-free market access for LDCs, and has provided strong support for the Aid for Trade initiative. The G8 has recognised that ‘least developed countries face specific problems in integrating into the international trading system’ and is committed to ‘work to ensure that there is appropriate flexibility in the DDA negotiations’ so that countries can ‘decide, plan and sequence their overall economic reforms’. Progress against this provision is hard to measure.”33



Target 8 – C: The target is under review and no tracking progress has been recorded as yet. To deal with the constraints facing landlocked countries, the International Ministerial Conference of Landlocked and Transit Developing Countries and Donor Countries and International Financial and Development Institutions on Transit Transport Cooperation was held in Almaty, Kazakhstan from 25 to 29 August 2003. This conference resulted in the Almaty Programme of Action: Addressing the Special Needs of Landlocked Developing Countries within a New Global Framework For Transit Transport Cooperation for Landlocked and Transit Developing Countries, and the Almaty Ministerial Declaration.34 Moreover, regional cooperation and integration were enhanced, resulting in the Development Corridors and Spatial Development Initiative (SDI) in southern Africa that “places transport in general and transit transport in particular in a broader social-economic context that views transport from a holistic perspective”.35 The SDI was initiated by the governments of Mozambique and South Africa. The “successful implementation of the Maputo Development Corridor SDI served to boost support within SADC for the concept of multi-sectoral economic development corridors (as opposed to purely transportation-based corridors), and for the planning and investor mobilisation approach embodied in SDIs”.36 Furthermore, UNCTAD is assisting the United Republic of Tanzania and Zambia for effective implementation of SADC commitment on development of road traffic information systems as a means to enhance trade in landlocked countries. Target 8 – D: As a result of the Gleneagles Summit in 2005, considerable progress has been witnessed regarding hastening of debt cancellation of LDCs under the Multilateral Debt Relief Initiative (MDRI). The assessment of progress on delivering the G8 commitment


since the Kananaskis summit in 2002 reveals that “the G8 has been successful in providing much-needed debt relief – the HIPC initiative and the Multilateral Debt Relief Initiative (MDRI) have alleviated the debt burden of many African countries. Debt relief has undoubtedly resulted in significant gains. As the report of the G8 Africa Personal Representatives pointed out, it has ‘provided fiscal space for increasing poverty-reduction expenditures and has freed up resources for greater investment in the Millennium Development Goals’. The MDRI is estimated to cancel as much as $60 billion worth of multilateral debt. Furthermore, the World Bank-IMF Debt Sustainability Framework lays the groundwork for responsible lending and debt management by creditors and borrowers alike. Not all countries have received debt relief but much progress is being made, with strong ongoing support from the G8.”37 The outcomes of debt cancellation on trade for increased economic growth are still need to be realised. Target 8 – E: The target is under review and no tracking progress has been recorded as yet. The reason being that it is “difficult to measure the ‘delivery gaps’ of essential medicines, not only because of the lack of data, but also for the lack of numerical targets and commitments. While Target 8 – E also intends to track the contribution of pharmaceutical companies to increase access to affordable drugs in developing countries, there are no quantitative targets and indicators in the MDG framework.”38 In general, the target established under the AU Pharmaceutical Manufacturing Plan for Africa, October 2007, was “to pursue, with the support of partners, the local production of generic medicines on the continent and to make full use of the flexibilities within the World Trade Organisation (WTO) Agreement on TradeRelated Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS) and the WTO Doha Declaration on


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TRIPS and Public Health”.39 No numeric targets have been set for analysis. Furthermore, the target established under the G8 Heiligendamm Declaration on Growth and Responsibility in Africa, June 2007, was for the “G8 to work with intergovernmental organisations to respond constructively to requests by African developing countries without manufacturing capacities with regard to the use of the flexibilities referenced in the WTO Doha Declaration on TRIPS and Public Health, while respecting WTO obligations; and for the pharmaceutical industry to consider supporting local production of HIV/ AIDS pharmaceuticals by voluntary licences and laboratory capacities that meet international standards and strengthen regulatory, certification and training institutes”.40 No numeric targets have been set to analyse the achievement of this declaration. Target 8 – F: Telephone landlines per 100 people have not significantly increased in recent years. During the period from 1990 to 2006, North, West and East Africa made limited progress, Central Africa made no progress, and Southern Africa showed some regression… [.] In almost all countries on the continent there are more mobile than fixed-line subscribers… [.] Southern Africa has the largest number of cellular subscribers per 100 people, followed by North Africa and West Africa respectively. East Africa lags behind all other sub-regions…[.] Internet use in Africa has grown significantly since the year 2000, although not as rapidly as cellular telephone use. North Africa has made the most progress, followed by West Africa and Southern Africa. Central Africa had the lowest penetration in 2006, the latest year for which the data are available on this indicator.41 The absolute assessment of progress of MDG 8 in Africa requires updated information. The information regarding every target is not available on relevant web sites of bilateral and

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multilateral partners. Most of the country information is available in French. Moreover, “many countries reports were not very specific about progress towards the seven targets under this goal. The countries that did report were selective about which targets to work on and make progress on. Although many selected two or three targets, there is no similarity in addressing the related issues. All countries failed to be clear and specific on reporting progress with regard to almost all the targets under this goal”.42 Statistical information is incomplete, with the lack of indicators to assess the progress. African countries “need to include monitoring and evaluation (M&E), supported by a comprehensive national database, in their development agenda. The M&E should be able to capture relationships between national policies and objectives, and local initiatives and targets, and to track progress of key indicators in different sectors of the economy. The database should cover the MDG indicators and more, and should pay attention to international definitions on the MDGs, to assure international comparison.”43

The Way Forward: what to do? In terms of MDG Goal 8, the commitment was made to assist Africa with US$25 billion in addition to Official Development Assistance (ODA) per year (in 2004 prices) by 2010 to raise about US$63 billion in 2010. Africa only received US$7.6 billion, creating a gap of US$17.4 billion. In order to fulfill the commitment made at Gleneagles, the OECD donors need to assist Africa with US$20.6 billion per year. The commitment was made during the Brussels Programme of Action to assist LDCs with between US$53 to US71 billion by 2010. Only US$31.9 billion was provided, creating a gap of between US$21 and US39 billion, hence more ODA was required for



LDCs. The Doha Round of trade negotiations is not achieved on an absolute basis. It was committed under Hong Kong Ministerial Declaration that 97% (tariff lines) of LDC products for export will benefit from duty- and quota-free access to developed countries. Only 80% of LDCs’ exports have benefited from this establishment, creating a gap of 17% where non-oil and non-arms exports do not yet have duty-free access. In order to improve the economic growth, more than 95% of less developed countries’ products need to receive the duty- and quota-free status from developed countries. The commitment was made to offer debt relief to 40 countries designated as HIPCs. Only 35 countries have achieved the HIPC decision-point, and 24 out of 35 countries have received additional aid under MDRI, creating a gap where 13 countries are still bearing the pain of high debt. In order to improve the challenge, the HIPC and MDRI initiatives must be implemented, in addition to ODA. The commitment regarding affordable access to essential medicines is yet to be achieved, as medicines are available at higher prices than international reference prices in the public sector, and much higher in the private sector. Cross-regional and publicprivate collaboration is required to improve the challenge. With regards to access to technology, the percentage of population utilising new technologies is improving with time, but is as yet far from the set target. Public-private collaboration may be significant for technological advancement.44 How may these countries generate momentum and broaden progress? Developing countries must take the lead in articulating and implementing strategies that aim higher to rise above current trends and substantially accelerate progress. Deeper improvements are needed in policies and governance to expedite economic growth and scale up human development and related key services. Developed countries must


also step up implementation of their part of the development compact. They must provide more and better aid but also show leadership on trade policy reform that would open markets for developing country exports and give greater coherence to their policies in terms of their impact on development.45 With only five years left to achieve the MDGs, the situation is not entirely promising in Africa. But, “rapid progress is possible – if there is sufficient commitment to reform and sufficient support from development partners. Better-performing developing countries provide reasons for hope for others. Even in many lagging countries, including in sub-Saharan Africa, advances are being made and the ground is being laid for better performance. What is needed is to quicken and broaden this progress, based on the framework of the enhanced global partnership envisaged at Monterrey”.46 The results of a survey in 2007 by the ECA suggest that, “in general, very limited progress has been made in realising the objectives of the Monterrey Consensus on Financing for Development. Considerable efforts are required by both African governments and development partners to mobilise the level of resources needed for development in the region.”47 In order to achieve MDG 8 in Africa, efforts are required at regional and national level for development. The AU has therefore established a Strategic Plan 2009-2012 for the region,48 stressing significant programmes regarding development, integration and cooperation for development. Under the “Programme of Development”, the AUC identified that poor inter-connectivity across the countries in terms of transport, low productivity, lack of competitiveness and inadequacy of geographical infrastructure with inappropriate telecommunication resources are the causes of slow business and ineffective trade in the region. In order to promote sustainable economic development, the


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AUC established strategies, viz. “promote growth of intra-Africa trade and investments, accelerate infrastructure development with emphasis on interconnectivity, reliability and cost effectiveness, promote diversified industrialisation with emphasis on Value Addition, establish continental standards and quality assurance mechanisms, promote the development of the African private sector and informal economy, develop and implement programmes on productivity improvement and competitiveness and establish mechanisms for the development and stabilisation of financial markets”.49 The outcomes of this strategic initiative are expected to be achieved by 2012, leading to further research and analysis of MDG 8 in Africa. Under the “Programme on Integration”, the AUC identified that “the challenge in this area is the slow progress towards harmonisation of the RECs to enable them to effectively play their role as building blocks for the implementation of the continental integration agenda. Inadequate progress in finalising the Minimum Integration Programmes (MIP) has also contributed to the delay in achieving continental integration. In view of the small size of national domestic markets, it is imperative for Africa to strengthen the RECs so as to build Free Trade Areas and establish customs unions as a first step towards actualisation of the AEC, in line with the ideals enshrined in the Abuja Treaty. The Union’s integration agenda will be enhanced in collaboration with Member States, the RECs and the strategic partners. At the top of the priorities will be to promote convergence of RECs’ programmes through implementation of a MIP at a continental level and at the level of each REC. As a matter of priority, an appropriate framework will be put in place with a view to creating greater coherence in the overall movement towards regional and continental integration through subsidiary and complimentarity. Priority will also be accorded to development and

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inter-connection of African infrastructure and associated services for the purposes of facilitating the free movement of people, goods, capital and services, and building continent-wide human networks. In this regard, the Commission seeks to enhance Continental Integration.”50 The expected results of this strategic initiative will only be analysed after 2012, whereby the progress of related strategies will be monitored and assessed for development in Africa. Under the “Programme of Cooperation”, the AUC identified that “Africa also seeks stronger and equitable strategic partnership in favour of its people… [.] Africa will strengthen regional, continental and global cooperation so as to effectively take advantage of global opportunities for the good of Africans. In this connection, the focus will be on fostering the growth of intra-African cooperation, creating new global strategic partnerships for Africa and promoting African common positions in multilateral and regional, including the WTO’s and EPAs’ negotiations. The AUC will, in addition, provide a platform for the sharing of best practices and for the promotion and coordination of the programmes and initiatives requiring inter-state and inter-regional cooperation or joint approaches. Moreover, the Commission will provide a platform for assessment of the strategic partnerships negotiated with other regions of the world.”5 The AUC’s strategies will assist policy makers and researchers in analysing the significance of strategic partnerships for development in Africa. Furthermore, the SADC has adopted a development framework, the “Regional Indicative Strategic Development Plan” (RISDP), that provides a framework for the integration of the SADC economies for development. In order to be “aligned with the MDGs, the full intervention package must be converted into a country-level investment plan, one that works backwards from the outcome targets to identify the infrastructure, human and



financial resources needed to meet the targets – this methodology is hence dubbed a ‘needs assessment’ approach to the MDGs”.52 Moreover, the country-owned and -led poverty reduction strategies (PRSs) should develop the strategic framework for achieving the country-specific MDGs. The UN Millennium Project’s core operational recommendation is that each developing country with extreme poverty should adopt and implement a national development strategy that is ambitious enough to achieve the MDGs. The country’s international development partners – including bilateral donors, UN agencies, regional development banks and the Bretton Woods institutions – should give all the technical and financial support needed to implement the country’s strategy. In particular, official development assistance should be adequate to fulfil the financing needs, assuming that governance limitations are not the binding constraint, and assuming that the recipient countries are making their own reasonable efforts at domestic resource mobilisation. For many lowincome countries, such a policy-design mechanism already exists that allows governments to design a national strategy in collaboration with their development partners, as well as with civil society and the private sector. This strategy is called the Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper (PRPS), which is the main country-level framework used jointly by the international development agencies and the national governments to focus their development efforts.53

Conclusion

Steering Group recommendations “represent a landmark consensus among the African Union Commission, the African Development Bank Group, the European Commission, the International Monetary Fund, the Islamic Development Bank Group, the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development, the United Nations Development Group and the World Bank Group on the practical steps needed to support rapid progress towards the MDGs in Africa”.54 In terms of financing and aid predictability for development in Africa, the Group recommends the following:55 ● Aid predictability. Today, African countries do not know how much aid they will receive in coming years and so cannot effectively plan for the expansion of key public services. Therefore, the Steering Group calls on donors to issue country-by-country schedules for how their aid will be increased to meet the commitments made in 2005. This small change in the way aid is provided would have a dramatic effect on African countries’ ability to pursue the long-term strategies needed to achieve the MDGs ● Follow through on required financing. Many African countries have upheld their side of the Monterrey consensus by continuing with economic and political reforms and by focusing budgets on MDG-related social expenditures. But the scaled-up ODA promised by G8 donors has not materialised. Recently released OECD/DAC statistics indicate that aid to Africa has barely increased since 2004. The Steering Group calls on donors to urgently increase ODA flows to Africa, in line with existing commitments.

Recommendations – where to go? In order to evaluate the progress and agreements on a country level, the MDG Steering Group is bringing together the leaders of multilateral development organisations. The MDG Africa


Despite “the high visibility of international meetings and political commitments, most of the work needs to be done at the country level. Several on-going processes need to be


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strengthened and broadened, and a number of new ones need to be initiated. The list includes: ● Budget Support Groups: there are now eleven such groups operating under differing rules and mandates. ● Mutual Accountability Processes: Three countries have established mutual accountability processes, laying out expectations for both African countries and development partners, and monitoring performance across a variety of indicators. The most established of these is the Tanzania Partnership Framework, which uses outside consultants to monitor progress. ● Harmonisation Action Plans: As of now, there are at least four African countries that have developed harmonisation action plans (Niger, Rwanda, Tanzania and Zambia). In addition, three others – Ethiopia, Kenya and Senegal – have developed country-led initiatives to streamline donor procedures and practices”.56 Among the proposals for strengthening programming processes at country level is an idea proposed by the World Bank to create a new Consultative Group process. The World Bank’s Strengthening Development Partnership paper calls for “work with the OECD/DAC and the

Strategic Partnership with Africa to revamp the Consultative Group (CG) mechanism to become annual ‘resources and results’ meetings, thus raising the scope of these meetings to address the sequencing of aid, taking into account absorptive capacity, strengthening partnerships on the MDG agenda, and tightening the link between resources and results”.57 Over the years, African countries, individually and jointly, have adopted sufficient policies and programmes, resolutions and recommendations, treaties and conventions, but with little or no impact on development. What is lacking is implementation, investment in social development and political will. If African nations are genuinely committed to achieving the MDGs, and more, there must be a fundamental change in the way business is done – not business as usual, which has generated limited effect on the development process in past decades. It is time to move away from merely addressing the problems that confront Africa’s people to actually resolving them through targeted programming.58 A final thought. Can Africa be part of the solution, a growth centre and a stimulus to the world economy? Africa can be a haven for investment funds in well-regulated and profitable emerging markets. Africa is not watching from the sidelines – it can be leading on the field of play.59

Notes and References 1

For further details, refer to United Nations Development Programme (UNDP). ‘Millennium Development Goals.’ http:// www.undp.org/mdg/basics.shtml (accessed 3 January 2010).,

2

Ibid.

3

UNDP. ‘Millennium Development Goals: reducing poverty and social exclusion.’ http:// mdgr.undp.sk, (accessed 3 February 2010).

4

African Union. ‘Review of progress towards

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the Millennium Development Goals in Africa.’ http://www.sarpn.org.za, (accessed 25 February 2010 ). 5

For further details, refer http//ddp-ext. worldbank.org.

6

Republic of South Africa. ‘MDG Country Report.’ http://www.undg.org, (accessed 25 January 2010).

7

For further details, refer http://eoropafrica. net.


8

Obtained from Europafrica. ‘The AfricaEU Strategic Partnership: a joint Africa-EU Strategy.’ http://europafrica.net, (accessed 9 March 2010).

9

Ibid.

10 For further details, refer United Nations Economic and Social Council. ‘Achieving the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) in Africa: An issue paper.’ http://www.sarpn. org.za, (accessed 25 February 2010).



European Union Strategic Partnership: Joint Action Plan.’ http://www.dfa.gov.za, (accessed 1 March 2010).

43 Ibid.

11 Human Rights Council. ‘Technical Mission Report: ECA/OECD-DAC Mutual Review of Development Effectiveness.’ http:// www.ohchr.org, (accessed 25 February. 2010).

25 Obtained from RSA: Department of International Relations and Cooperation, 2010.

12 Ibid.

26 http://www.dfa.gov.za, 2010.

13 World Bank. ‘Meeting the challenge of Africa’s development: A World Bank Group Action Plan.’ http://www.sarpn. org.za, (accessed 24 February 2010).

2005.’ http://siteresources.worldbank.

27 File://C:\DOCUME~1/ADMINI~1\ LOCALS~1\Temp\D040AYNl.htm, 2010.

org, (accessed 9 February 2010 ).

28 Ibid.

46 Ibid.

14 For further details, refer World Bank, 2010.

29 Pogreba, D. ‘Poverty in Africa.’ http:// www.nfhs.org/Core/ContentManager/ uploads/PDFs/SDTA/Africa06.pdf, (accessed 10 March 2009).

47 UNECA. ‘ECA survey finds limited

15 For further details, refer AUC News. ‘Ministers on integration adopt Declaration in Yaounde.’ http://www. africa-union.org, (accessed 3 March 2010). 16 For further details, refer World Bank, 2010. 17 Obtained from World Bank. ‘Country Brief: Madagascar.’ http://web.worldbank.org, (accessed 2 March 2010). 18 Mcleod, H. ‘Consolidated MDG success stories.’ mdgr.undp.sk. For more stories, refer mdgr.undp.sk/PAPERS/ Consolidated MDG Success Stories.doc (accessed 10 February 2010). 19 RSA: Department of International Relations and Cooperation. ‘Southern Africa.’ http://www.dfa.gov.za, (accessed 1 March 2010 ). 20 RSA: Department of International Relations and Cooperation. ‘News and Events.’ http://www.dfa.gov.za, (accessed 26 February 2010 ). 21 RSA: International Relations and Cooperation. ‘IRPS Cluster Media Briefing.’ File://C:\DOCUME~1/ADMINI~1\ LOCALS~1\Temp\D040AYNl.htm, (accessed 26 February 2010). 22 RSA: Department of International Relations and Cooperation. ‘EUMultilateral.’ http://www.dfa.gov.za, (accessed 1 March 2010). 23 RSA: Department of International Relations and Cooperation. ‘Establishment of the African Renaissance and International Cooperation Fund.’ http://www.dfa.gov. za, (accessed 1 March 2010). 24 RSA: Department of International Relations and Cooperation. ‘The South Africa-


30 Republic of South Africa. 2010. ‘MDG Country Report.’ 31 For further details, refer http://www. mdgafrica.org/steering_group.html 32 For further details, refer http://www.afdb. org. 33 Obtained from Africa Progress Panel. ‘Africa Development: promises and prospects.’ http://www.africaprogresspanel. org, (accessed 5 March 2010). 34 UN Office of the High Representative for the least developed countries, landlocked countries and small island developing countries. ‘Landlocked developing countries.’ http://www.un.org/special-rep/ohrlls/ lldc/default.htm, (accessed 17 February 2010). 35 UN General Assembly. ‘Sustainable development and international economic cooperation: trade and development.’ http//daccess-dds-ny.un.org, (accessed 17 February 2010). 36 Ibid. 37 Africa Progress Panel. 2010. 38 United Nations. ‘MDG Gap Task Force.’ http://www.un.org, (accessed 17 February 2010 ). 39 Ibid.

44 For further details, refer End Poverty 2015. http://www.un.org. 45 World Bank. ‘Global Monitoring Report

progress in implementation of Monterrey Consensus in Africa.’ http://uneca.org, (accessed 4 March 2010 ). 48 For further details, refer AUC. ‘Strategic Plan 2009–2012.’ http://www.africaunion.org, (accessed 2 March 2010). 49 Ibid. 50 Ibid. 51 Ibid. 52 Teunissen, J.J. and Akkerman, A. ‘Africa in the world economy: the national, regional and international challenges.’ http://www.fondad.org, (accessed 4 March 2010). 53 Ibid. 54 MDG Africa Steering Group. ‘Achieving the Millennium Development Goals in Africa.’ http://www.mdgafrica.org, (accessed 27 January 2010). 55 Ibid. 56 Strategic Partnership with Africa (SPA). ‘SPA7 Agenda: a strengthened partnership for a new era.’ http://www.spa-psa. org, (accessed 9 March 2010).

40 Ibid. 41 Extracted from MDG Report 2009. http:// www.afdb.org, (accessd 3 January 2010). 42 African Union. ‘Review of progress towards the Millennium Development Goals in Africa.’ http://www.sarpn.org. za, (accessed 25 February 2010).

57 Ibid. 58 African Union. 2010. 59 Maxwell, S. ‘New multiculturalism.’ http:// www.africaprogresspanel.org, (accessed 4 March 2010).


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