African leaders met behind closed doors yesterday to work out how they're going to clean up their houses.
At a summit in Abuja, the heads of 13 African countries charged with figuring out how to implement the New Partnership for African Development were trying to hash out an agenda for political and economic reform, necessary steps for coaxing a large new influx of aid out of the Group of Eight.
"What are the codes and how does adherence determine African countries' participation in NEPAD?" Nigerian President Olusegun Obasanjo asked as he opened the meeting.
"What happens to countries who are judged to fail to adhere to them? What role should our development partners play in the process?"
At the end of the day, the leaders announced a new "peer-review mechanism" to enforce standards for governance across Africa, saying it will be "credible, transparent and all-encompassing, so as to demonstrate that African leaders are fully aware of their responsibilities and obligations to their peoples."
NEPAD grew out of the G8 summit in Genoa last year, where African countries presented the leaders of the world's wealthiest countries with a New Africa Initiative. It was led by Africans who did not pin blame for Africa's problems on the Northern Hemisphere and did not simply demand money.
Rather, it pledged a deal whereby African countries would take strong steps toward eliminating corruption, end the continent's simmering armed conflicts, build democracy and safeguard human rights. It asked for northern countries' help in tackling the worst of the development problems.
The document was the brainchild of South Africa, Nigeria and Algeria, and has been endorsed by 53 of 54 members of the Organization for African Unity.
NEPAD was accepted in principle at Genoa, and was put on the agenda for a meeting in Kananaskis in June, where G8 leaders will present an action plan for providing the help Africans want. Their likely targets are peace and security, health, education and greater private investment in African economies.
Western observers are taking heart from the serious words coming out of meetings such as the Abuja gathering. The G8's willingness to provide new aid will depend on the perceived sincerity of Africa's commitment to end corruption.
Similarly, northern governments have been watching Africa's reaction to the recent election debacle in Zimbabwe. It was the first real test of the NEPAD-era commitment to democracy, and African leaders needed to take a tough stand against Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe's power play.
"This is a meeting for Africans, and we're waiting for a full report," Michael O'Shaughnessy, the spokesman for Canada's G8 summit-management office, said in an interview yesterday. "Abuja is another stage in the African NEPAD discussion, we're looking forward to discussing this at meetings with our African partners in the month of April."
FAIR USE NOTICE: This page contains copyrighted material the use of which has not been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. NoNonsense English offers this material non-commercially for research and educational purposes. I believe this constitutes a fair use of any such copyrighted material as provided for in 17 U.S.C § 107. If you wish to use copyrighted material from this site for purposes of your own that go beyond fair use, you must obtain permission from the copyright owner, i.e. the media service or newspaper which first published the article online and which is indicated at the top of the article unless otherwise specified.