- That an “All Africa Academy of Arts and Sciences” or an “African Academy of Scholars” be established to institutionalise the intra-African academic partnership as a civil society component of NEPAD. It is believed that such an Academy will optimise the opportunities for Africa’s intellectuals to add value to and participate in the NEPAD process by means of relevant, dedicated research and scientifically-based recommendations on topics critical to Africa’s development. Because of the evident contributions that an organised partnership of African intellectuals can make to informed debate, NEPAD funding should be made available for the above objective.
- To ensure the success of NEPAD’s objectives, efforts should be made to ensure the coordination of various activities across the continent. Given the level of Afro-pessimism, efforts must be made to ensure that successes be visible. Africa needs Centres of Excellence to inspire its people and to change foreign negative perceptions of Africa, as well as serve as models for the broader continent. In this regard, intellectuals can play an important role by identifying and guiding such Centres of Excellence.
- Following from the above, it is suggested that national and regional institutions be identified or established to facilitate networking by African intellectuals and to carry out detailed research on a number of issues including the mode of accumulation suitable for Africa’s development, an African definition of democracy, and the question of poverty eradication strategy amongst others. It is crucial that the appropriate model of accumulation needs to be re-examined if NEPAD is to succeed. Accordingly, participants commit themselves to explore the possibility of convening, in the near future, another meeting of experts representative of the continental and national institutions in order to allocate research responsibilities and priorities as agreed at this meeting. This research will also require a detailed analysis and critique of the sectoral approach in NEPAD. Research output will be popularised among the African people, universities, research institutions, civil society, business, the AU and governments.
- As part of their tasks, identified national and sub-regional centres or networks should initiate holistic debates on developmentalism and the type of development required in Africa.
- Ownership/partnership: Participants call for further reflection on the relationship between African intellectuals and policy-makers as NEPAD has not yet shown such a relationship or social contract. Consequently, participants call for a summit between the African scholarly community and the African political leadership over the NEPAD agenda and the AU.
- African leaders are urged to speedily implement the decision of the Lusaka Summit of the OAU in 2001 to popularise the AU and NEPAD and involve civil society in this process.
- Furthermore, African leaders are called upon to create a conducive environment, and to transform the informal economy to make it more productive, as a means of income generating activities and as a source of sustainable livelihoods. This requires micro economic research by academics that can complement the economic policy-making, poverty alleviation and development efforts of the continent.
- It is recommended that African leaders create and nurture an environment for democracy and good governance. The feasibility of democracy in Africa will however depend not so much on the declarations of African leaders as its relationship with the existential conditions of Africans. Moreover, it will depend on how far instrumentality of democracy can be used to meet the people’s social needs. In essence, the democratisation project by African leaders have to be monitored to enable NEPAD realise its set objectives.
- To realise the above objective, participants proposed that national, regional and continental civil society networks be created or strengthened as part of the NEPAD process.
- Furthermore, it is proposed that a mechanism be put in place to bridge the gap between the state and civil society. This should take the form of national, sub-regional and continental fora where both the state and civil society will have dialogue on a regular basis.
- It was agreed that the NEPAD initiative requires a strong and democratic state that must meet the needs of African people – education, health care and other social needs.
- Delegates urged African leaders to pursue policies and projects aimed at initiating an African agrarian revolution as one of the primary objectives of NEPAD.
- Delegates call on AISA and its partners to convene another meeting of this nature to consider other issues related to civil society participation in organs of the AU such as the PAP, the Economic, Social and Cultural Council (ECOSOCC), Court of Justice and the Commission for Human and People’s Rights. This is especially needed since at the AU summit, only government officials will be represented and in such a process the voice of civil society will not be heard.
- It is recommended that African scholars engage on a daily basis with the struggle of the African people to build a new social base for sustainable development. It is further proposed that a review of the curriculum of our schooling systems at all levels be undertaken with a view to inculcating new values in our people in order to achieve the goals of Africa’s development as envisioned in the NEPAD initiative.
- It is proposed that NEPAD adopt a bio-regional planning and management approach on an Africa-wide scale. This approach recognises that sustainable development can be achieved by people working together in a geographical space defined by ecological systems and human settlement patterns. It is within this context that individuals, governments and NGOs can play their rightful role and that the value of monetary, natural and social capital can be optimised. Within this context, it is important that all bio-regions benefit from sustainable development initiatives at all levels. The proposed establishment of Africa-wide Centres of Excellence could be important building blocks for local and regional development.
- It is proposed, as part of the NEPAD process, to mobilise the “best and brightest” from among the Diaspora and within the continent to harness and mobilise domestic resources to unleash the necessary potential for Africa’s development. Towards this end, it is recommended that the AU undertake an audit of the Diaspora so that their skills can be drawn upon for the realisation of its goals.
- It is recommended that processes be put in place to revive Africa’s diverse cultures with the aim of developing a common African identity. In this regard, participants welcome the initiatives to host the 3rd FESTAC in Durban in December 2002. It was however proposed that much more marketing and promotion needs to be done to increase awareness of the FESTAC so as to mobilise African people around it.
Final Report prepared by the Renaissance South Africa Committee
June 2002
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