27. African Development Strategies: Whither NEPAD?

Africa’s post-colonial era is regrettably a picture of diverse economic disabilities. These problems are attributable to a number of factors. Very prominent among them are the marginalization of the continent in the global economic system, the regime of political mis-governance and lack of state capacity. These issues have impacted negatively on the quality of life and made Africa the most backward in the world. The continent’s experimentation with Structural Adjustment Programmes and other development initiatives has failed to effectively address the problems. Hence, the New Partnership for Africa’s Development (NEPAD), another major initiative aimed at facilitating a continental strategic development capacity. The modus operandi for NEPAD includes the domestication of efforts in promoting Africa’s transformation rather than exclusively relying on foreign aid and the deepening of regional integration as a necessity for achieving inclusive growth and development. By institutional design, NEPAD seeks to eradicate poverty, promote sustainable growth and development, increase Africa’s integration into the world economy and empower women through building partnerships at country, regional and global levels. While the prosecution of these agenda has led to the formulation of a number of continental policy frameworks, Africa is yet to be effectively placed on the path of sustainable development almost twenty years after its establishment. The major issue has been the lack of a coherent regional mechanism for benchmarking and enforcing performance across the continent, particularly in the critical areas of agriculture and infrastructure. As demonstrated in this work, if the fundamental objectives of NEPAD are to be effectively realized, these drawbacks need to be addressed.