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afrol News, 27 March - The New Partnership for Africa's Development (NEPAD) is the love child of Nigerian President Olusegun Obasanjo, South African President Thabo Mbeki and Senegalese President Abdoulaye Wade. The Nigerian and Senegalese governments urge the West not to sacrifice it on the altar of the Zimbabwean elections at the ending NEPAD Summit in Abuja (Nigeria). At the end of the Abuja NEPAD Summit, African leaders issued a communiqué pledging to promote democracy, good governance and human rights "through appropriate policy and institutional reforms," thus somewhat meeting the critics of the West after the African approval of the Zimbabwean elections. President Obasanjo however emphasised the West should let Africa evolve its "own strategies on good governance." NEPAD has been described as a "Marshall Plan for Africa," reacting to the fatal disengagement of the West since the end of the Cold War. During the 1990s, development aid spent on Africa fell from US$ 24 billion annually to US$ 14 billion, and at the same time foreign investments on the continent fell by 40 percent. Poverty increased in Africa in the 1990s. NEPAD emerged from ideas by Mbeki, Obasanjo and Wade and were a well-received initiative throughout the world as it presented a truly African initiative to end misery on the continent. It also emphasised on presenting a Western-friendly face, recognising African responsibilities of good governance, curbing conflicts, creating a climate for investment and respecting human rights and democracy. Then came the Zimbabwean elections. African observer teams, notably the South African and Nigerian, supported the Zimbabwean government's view the election results had been "an expression of the will of the people of Zimbabwe" - meeting outrage in the West. Mbeki's and Obasanjo's reluctant approval of suspending Zimbabwe from the Commonwealth was the only aspect saving their credibility in matters of good governance in Western eyes. African governments' embracement of the results however produced lasting damages to the NEPAD process. These damages were clearly addressed at the NEPAD summit. Some of the issues raised by Nigerian President Obasanjo at the Summit included the "need to address the issue of freedom, or lack of it, and on what basis we may judge the leadership in African countries." While he however stressed that Africa must find "its own strategies" for good governance and democracy, many more reconciling voices were heard commenting the communiqué complying Western concerns. Senegal's Foreign Minister, Cheikh Tidiane Gadio urged the West to not hold NEPAD "hostage Over Zimbabwe." In an interview with AllAfrica, he asked "How can the Senegalese people, the Malian people be held accountable for what happened in Zimbabwe?" Gadio however admitted good African democrats could not close their eyes on the situation in Zimbabwe. Still, it was not justified to not give NEPAD a chance over this issue, he maintained. South African President Mbeki at this occasion held a somewhat lower profile, given his disputed opinions regarding the Zimbabwean elections. He was however responsible for one of the key elements of the NEPAD initiative, heading the Peace and Security Committee. The report presented by Mbeki was to tackle issues of conflict prevention, management and resolution from the bedrock of good and stable governance. While African leaders were trying to define their desires for the new Partnership at Abuja, they seem to have noted that the probability of NEPAD's realisation has dropped considerably over the last month. In a partnership, it takes two parts, and the Western part has remarkably cooled its interest after Zimbabwe. UK Prime Minister Tony Blair, NEPAD's most passionate advocate in the Western world until recently, has gone on distance. The US Bush administration has made clear threats it would not contribute to NEPAD if one did not find a solution to the situation in Zimbabwe. The question is whether the Abuja Summit managed to revive the thus basically dead partnership. The communiqué resulting from the Summit is to be presented to the upcoming G8 meeting in June to plead the support of these leading eight industrialised nations.
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