Lack of precise goals fails Africa’s administrative reforms

Panafrican News Agency (PANA) - February 25, 2008.
Addis Ababa (Ethiopia) - Despite the time and resources spent on reforms aimed at improving performance of governments in Africa, the reforms have not positively impacted lives of ordinary people, an African expert in development administration said Monday.

Njunga Michael Mulikita of the Tangiers, Morocco-based African Training and Research Centre in Administration for Development (CAFRAD) said that key stakeholders were concerned that public administration in sub-Saharan Africa was still characterised by inefficient services despite the wide ranging reforms. In response to concerns of civil society organisations, private sector and ordinary citizens, Mulikita told PANA that CAFRAD and the Harare, Zimbabwe-based African Capacity Building Foundation (ACBF) have jointly organised a three-day Pan-African Conference for Chairpersons of National Commissions for Administrative Reforms to reflect on the current state of reforms in African countries.

Starting 25 February 2008 in Tangiers, the conference would also examine new trends and approaches from which to draw lessons, thereby permitting a more results-focused implementation of reforms, Mulikita explained. According to the expert, though there was evidence of progress in a few countries, the reforms were in general hampered by the lack of clear definition of mission and objectives of each administration. In addition, Mulikita mentioned lack of definition of the expected results and performance of each official, lack of motivation and merit system at work, insufficiency in the use of modern methods in organisation and management of public services, and heavy bureaucratic procedures as other obstacles to improving public administration in Africa.

The conference brings together chairpersons of national directorates and commissions of administrative reforms from Arabic, English, French and Portuguese speaking countries. "It is the shared expectation of both CAFRAD and ACBF that the conference will help to enhance capacities and competences in formulating, coordinating and implementing administrative and governance reforms.”More specifically, it is expected that the participants will become better acquainted with new strategies, new approaches and actual trends to take into account when preparing reform programmes," added Mulikita, who is the conference coordinator.


EPAs born of EU’s concern with China in Africa

Inter Press Service (IPS), by Miriam Mannak - February 26, 2008.
Cape Town (South Africa) - The European Union (EU) is concerned about competing with China for access to resources and markets in Africa, which partly explains its drive to hook African states into the trade deals called economic partnership agreements (EPAs).

According to Dr Rob Davies, South Africa’s deputy minister of trade and industry, the EU is afraid that it will lose its foothold on the African continent and wants to prevent this at all cost. ‘‘Over the past years, the trade between South Africa and Asia has grown tremendously while the trade with Europe has decreased,’’ Davies said at a special EPA review meeting of the Africa Trade Network held in Cape Town, South Africa, last week (Feb. 20 -22). The network has civil society organisations from across the continent as members.

Instead of focusing on the EU as their most important trade partner, African nations should aim at nurturing and extending their trade relationships with emerging economic powers such as China and India, said Davies. ‘‘China and India, due to their industrialisation, offer developing countries higher prices for natural resources. They do not force us into lowering our tariffs, contrary to Europe,’’ he stated. ‘‘We have got to keep working on those relationships, as they are very important to our economies. India and China offer developing countries better deals than the options provided by the old colonial masters. It is not utopia, but some serious opportunities exist in China and India. We should take them in consideration.’’

According to the EU, the EPAs are development tools designed to assist in the integration of the African, Caribbean and Pacific countries into the world economy while promoting their sustainable development and contributing to poverty eradication. ‘‘There is a huge gap between what Europe says its intentions are and the true picture,’’ Davies told the meeting, which drew various delegates from African and international civil society organisations as well as several African trade officials ‘‘Brussels claims that the EPAs will promote integration and development in the region and that it has no mercantilist intentions with the EPAs. This is not the case. Firstly, the ACP region has been divided into six different configurations. This does not contribute to unity. ‘‘In addition, within each group, some countries have initialled interim EPAs while others have refused. This does not contribute to unity within the region either,’’ Davies pointed out.

One of the major objections regarding the agreements is the way the EU has forced ACP states to sign by threatening that raised tariffs would kick in at the end of 2007. Namibia is one example of this. ‘‘Namibia signed under protest. The country was put under a tremendous amount of pressure by Brussels,’’ explained Davies. ‘‘If Windhoek refused the EU offer, its beef sector -- which plays a crucial role in its export economy -- would have received a big blow as a result of tariff increases.’’

The non-discrimination clause or ‘‘most favoured nation’’ clause is also a cause of protest. According to the clause, countries that have signed an EPA are not allowed to discriminate against the EU. ‘‘According to this clause, tariffs on EU products cannot be higher than the levies imposed on goods from developing countries,’’ said Davies. ‘‘EPAs thus prevent other developing countries from having an advantage in bringing their goods on the markets of developing nations.’’ Despite these and other objections, 31 countries so far have initialled an interim EPA on trade in goods with Europe, which could eventually lead to a full agreement including services and ‘‘trade-related’’ rules.


Traditional medicine may be tested in trials

South African Press Association (SAPA) - February 25, 2008.

Doctors For Life International (DFL) said on Sunday that it was encouraged by the move towards submitting traditional African medicine (TAM) to scientific testing and clinical trials.

However, in a statement, the DFL said it found Health Minister Manto Tshabalala-Msimang's comments on Saturday inappropriate and counterproductive. Tshabalala-Msimang, during an address to the Presidential Task Team on Traditional African Medicine, said: "We cannot use Western models of protocols for research and development. We should guard against getting bogged down with clinical trials."

DFL said being inconsistent with scientific safeguards would leave ample loopholes to make it virtually inevitable for the general public "who use untested TAM" to ingest substances from scavenged body parts that were mixed with some of the medicines. "This will lead the SA pharmaceutical industry further up the garden path similar to the disastrous HIV/Aids policy." The DFL said considering the "extremely high incidence" of muti-killings, it was clear that some potions sold as traditional African herbal medicine contained human body parts. "DFL has numerous testimonies of traditional healers using human body parts in herbal mixtures. Usually the medicine is considered more powerful if the body parts are removed while the victim is still alive. "Human genitals are often used in love potions and remedies for infertility and/or impotence," the statement read It called for guidelines to use in the research, production and approval of the traditional medicines.


Control of small arms and visit of President Bush in Ghana

A large banner urging the US to support an Arms Trade Treaty greeted President Bush when he visited Ghana on Wednesday 20. Banners at the airport and hotel were organised by WAANSA and FOSDA, and were complemented by volunteers with placards repeating the message along the President's route. Later in Liberia, his wife visited the National Commission on Small Arms.
http://www.iansa.org/images/BushATT.JPG


NGOS call for moratorium on bio fuels

http://www.afrol.com/articles/28075
Uproar is slowly spreading among African civil society organisations and scientists, fearing that the bio fuel revolution will bring more food insecurity, higher food prices and hunger to the continent. A petition calling for a "moratorium on new agro fuel developments in Africa" has so far been signed by over 30 NGOs all over the continent.


Ghana: Kufuor welcomes Bush assurances on AFRICOM

allAfrica.com - February 21, 2008.
President John Kufuor of Ghana has welcomed an assurance by President George W. Bush that the United States does not intend building new military bases in Africa.

Kufuor was speaking at a news conference in Accra after Bush had said speculation that the U.S. military's new Africa Command (Africom) included plans for new bases was "baloney." According to a transcript released by the White House, Bush described Africom as "a command structure that is aiming to help provide military assistance to African nations, so African nations are more capable of dealing with Africa's conflicts – like peacekeeping training…"
After denying there would be new U.S. bases, he added, "Now, that doesn't mean we won't develop some kind of office somewhere in Africa. We haven't made our minds up." Liberia, the next and final stop on Bush's five-nation visit to the continent, has offered to host the command headquarters. Responding to Bush, Kufuor said: "I am happy… for the President dispelling any notion that the United States… is intending to build military bases on the continent… I believe the explanation the President has given should put [paid] to the speculation…"

At the same news conference, Kufuor denied that China was dictating to Africa. Bush for his part dismissed any suggestion that there was strong competition between the United States and China on the continent.

Responding to a question from an American journalist, Kufuor said China's growing presence on the continent was on Africa's terms. "It's coming not as a colonial power, as far as we can see. It's coming… as a guest," Kufuor said. "I can assure you our nations are not succumbing to dictates and impositions, not from China, nor elsewhere…

"If it's something that Africa wants to buy and it can find it economical, then whatever it is, that's where Africa will buy it from. And China is proving quite competitive… We believe that's what globalization should be all about." Dealing with concerns about human rights in China, Kufuor suggested that "in due course… there will be a tendency towards liberalization… It seems all of us are coming under the influences of information and communications technology. People are beginning to speak for themselves everywhere and standing for their rights."

Bush said he did not regard China as "a fierce competitor" with the United States: "I don't view Africa as zero-sum for China and the United States." During the news conference, Bush also announced that the U.S. would make available U.S. $350 million over five years to combat "neglected tropical diseases" – such as hookworm and river blindness – in Africa, Asia, and Latin America, as well as $17 million to help Ghana fight malaria.