Thirty-eighth session of the Commission/Conference of African Ministers of Finance, Planning and Economic Development "Scaling-Up Commitment Towards Millenium Development Goals" Address Delivered By Senator Ken Nnamani Abuja, Nigeria, Honourable Ministers, "Africa is beyond bemoaning the past for its problems. The task of undoing that past is ours, with the support of those willing to join us in that continental renewal. We have a new generation of leaders who know that we must take responsibility for our own destiny, that we will uplift ourselves only by our own efforts in partnership with those who wish us well". Nelson Mandela On behalf of the President, Government and people of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, I welcome every one of you to our country, Nigeria and our beautiful and hospitable capital, Abuja. For those visiting Abuja for the first time, I hope you make out time to enjoy the beauty, pleasure and hospitability of the city. I thank the Economic Commission for Africa for the privilege of addressing this conference. I also thank the Ministers who have made time from their busy schedules to attend this conference. I know that there are many competing claims on your time. Your decision to attend is a testimony of your devotion to poverty reduction in Africa. The success of a conference of this nature depends on the quality of papers presented, deliberations and the quality of back-room preparation before the conference. In this regard, I heartily thank our Minister of Finance, Dr. Ngozi Okonji-Iweala and her staff, the Inter-ministerial Committee on the ECA/ADB meetings and Mr. K.Y. Amoako, Executive Secretary of ECA and his staff for their wonderful efforts to make the conference a great success. Let me also congratulate Mr. Amoako for a successful 10 years leadership of the ECA. The choice of the theme of the Conference is most apposite. The Millenium Development Goals (MDGs) is a set of economic and social objectives agreed to by the International Community as common concerns for the eradication of extreme poverty in the world. It summarizes our common and collective aspirations as citizens and responds to our natural impulse to improve the human condition. They also provide a common framework for collective action poverty, the scourge of diseases and illiteracy. Although, this global compact responds to our natural instinct to improve our human and social environments we should not overlook the history and context of the development of MDGs. MDGs are sad reminders of the disastrous consequences of the economic development programs of the past. In spite of the great "Wealth of Nations", the global economic order has woefully failed to translate into prosperity and dignity for all. Developmental scholars have realized the `disarray' in development practice, to the extent that it is jokingly said that the rate of poverty geometrically increases with increase in per capita aid a country receives from international development institutions. A distinguished social scientist in the World Bank, Michael Woolcock has given though to the crisis of development scholarship and practice and has attempted a remedy in an article wistfully titled: "Arraying the disarray in Development Practice". The United Nations Human Development Report 1994 aptly captures the disarray in global economic development thus: "What emerges looking back over the past 50 years" is an arresting picture of unprecedented human progress and unspeakable human misery, of humanity's advance on several fronts mixed with humanity's retreat on several others, of a breath-taking globalization of prosperity side by side with a depressing globalization of poverty". I am more concerned with the `Globalization of prosperity', which occurs in the North Atlantic region and the `globalization of poverty' occurring in the Global South. The statistics are overwhelming and need no recitation. Eminent economist, Robert Wade has coined a dismal phrase: the "Axis of Prosperity" and the "Axis of Poverty" to define the new world order which neo-liberal economics has bequeathed to humanity. We have done good, but, we could and should do better: The question is whether Africa has made significant progress in realizing the objectives and targets of the MDGs since their adoption at the Millenium Summit in 2000. in answering the question we should avoid both Afro-pessimism and romanticizing the realities. Africa is not anywhere near Joseph Conrad's `Heart of Darkness" where all good policies and programs die untimely. We have made some significant progress in fighting the scourge of poverty. In country after country, growth has resumed. Over 23 countries in Africa, ranging from Algeria to Chad to Eritrea to Nigeria are growing at more than 5% per annum. Nigeria's recent growth experience is illustrative of the trend. In 2003, Nigerian economy grew by about 10.61% and by 6.09% in 2004. At current rate, it is set to grow as fast this year as it did last year. The good news is that much of this growth is accounted for by the non-oil sector. These positive results are as a result of diligent implementation of good macroeconomic policies which has resulted in macroeconomic stability in many African countries. Year-on-year inflation is down to single digits. Economies are diversifying. In Lesotho, for example, the contribution of the textile sector to GDP is growing as the country takes creative advantage of AGOA to expand that sector. In Nigeria, for example, non-oil GDP grew by 7.50% in 2004 against 3.3% in the oil sector. The contributions of the real estate, telecommunications, gas and agricultural sector to GDP have all increased in the past three years. I am informed that practically all materials used for this Conference were manufactured locally. This is a departure from the past. We have also recorded some significant improvement in the health sector. While the threat of HIV/AIDS remains real, Governments are making considerable efforts to stem its spread. The horrifying newspaper headlines about the HIV/AIDS pandemic in Africa are not altogether true. These are countries in Sub-Saharan Africa where the prevalence rate of HIV is less than 2%. The UNAIDS 2004 World Report shows a decline in the prevalence rate. It is also noteworthy that African countries are making serious and effective efforts to establish mechanism and framework to deal with the pandemic. At the regional level, the ECA has established the Commission on HIV/AIDS and Governance with a mandate to understand the relationship between the consequences of the pandemic and the capacity of African countries to provide good governance and promote the social, economic and political rights of their citizens. Hopefully, in June 2005 the first Mutual Review Report will be presented by the ECA Conference of African Ministers of Finance, Planning and Development. These are progress reports on many fronts. Yet, we have not made the desired progress. The growth in GDP has not translated to higher income, better health conditions and less vulnerability to diseases and other health hazards for the overwhelming majority of our people. Although, the statistics on poverty may have marginally improved, the deplorable conditions of existence in the rural communities remain the same. Liberalization and privatization may have resulted in a more vibrant private sector and increase in non-oil sector contributions to GDP. Yet, it is a fact that not much has been done to ameliorate the `destructive' aspect of the market reform through `creative' programs of job creation and social welfare. The challenge for this eminent gathering of top level economic policymakers is to review our strategies of development and see if they are primed to deliver the goods, not only to isolated social classes, but to the entire citizens of Africa. We must also evaluate our commitment to allocating public revenue to critical sectors of education and public health, which the literature of economic development have identified as the most important drivers of sustainable economic development. What is Africa's scorecard on good governance? Governance is improving in the continent. There is hardly any country in the region still under military dictatorship. Africa is in the second wave of democratization with countries like Nigeria successfully negotiating a civilian to civilian transition. Many African countries enjoy peace within and without. While the conflicts in Sudan's Darfur region, Somalia, Eastern part of Democratic Republic of Congo and Burundi are of major concern, it is heartening to observe that the African Union under the wise leadership of President Olusegun Obasanjo has devoted considerable amount of time to search for lasting solutions to these conflicts. These improvements in governance in Africa are not just anecdotes. Both the IMF and the World Bank report that Africa has made significant progress in good governance. African leaders have realized that it is not just coincident that countries that have witnessed sustainable growth and human development are those countries that have invested in civil, political as well as economic rights. The paradox of China recording higher growth and poverty reduction than some supposed liberal democracies in the developing world has been resolved to mean that what matters is not whether a country calls itself democratic, but the degree of social mobilization and social investment in the country. China is a poster-child of growth-with-poverty reduction in this century. Liu Jian, Chinese Minister of Poverty Alleviation, identifies social participation as an important instrument in reducing poverty. Participation of the people in designing and monitoring delivery of essential social services improves the quality of services, and ultimately improves the welfare of the poor. We cannot reduce poverty if the majority of our people are not participants in social development. The crisis of economic development has something to do with the colonial administrative heritage which we have not fully transformed. Greater degrees of accountability and transparence in allocation and use of scarce resources require that the people who are beneficiaries of these services be in a position to hold providers accountable. This is one important component of good governance. The other important challenge to scaling up progress in meeting the MDGs in Africa is capacity building. We need to build the capacity of institutions to deliver good governance. In this regard, the legislature stands out as the most neglected institution in African democracy. The synopsis of 2005 African Governance Report by the ECA states that "The legislature in most African countries remains weak and marginalized. Their autonomy, though guaranteed by the constitution, is often compromised by the executive through lobbying, financial inducements and sometimes intimidation". The report also observes that parliamentary committees are technically weak, and suggested improvement in the capacity of professional staff and the strengthening of the mechanism of public hearing and other avenues of deliberative democracy. The legislature is a critical institution for any meaningful fight against extreme poverty. The various programs to reduce poverty would require streamlining legal processes in order to make them accessible to the people and transparently administered. If by commission or default we undermine the integrity and technical capacity of legislatures through under-funding or political interference, we are taking the wrong steps towards scaling up poverty reducing programs. Nigeria and the MDGs: The Nigerian government has taken a bold step to address poverty and economic stagnation through a comprehensive economic reform program - the National Economic Empowerment and Development Strategy (NEEDS). It is a homegrown and contextualized development strategy. At its core, NEEDS expresses our intentions to (a) end pervasive poverty; (b) create an environment conducive to private sector development and; (c) improve the operation and effectiveness of government. NEEDS is based on Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), although it is realistic about what can be achieved with limited resources. We are exploring the possibility of ranking the goals according to a set of criteria determined jointly by government and civil society. Our success in achieving the MDGs depends on our ability to unleash the potentials of our people, especially the poor. The poor possess sufficient assets to move out of poverty into prosperity. But the tragedy is that these assets have been excluded from the operation of formal legal systems and have become dead capital. We need to revitalize the capital in the hands of the poor so that they can be part of the every day transactions that constitute the market economy. Creating a market is more than privatization of State-owned Enterprises. It is about making capital in the hands of the poor fungible. We need to bring the market closer to rural people in order to boost rural economy. Since majority of our population live in rural areas, the answer to poverty is a vibrant rural economy. Growth mediated poverty reduction will be a difficult task if we do not remove the bottlenecks that militate against strong and competitive private sector. Last month, business and civil society leaders and policy researchers held a national stakeholders' conference on business competitiveness which proposed legal amendments to make Nigeria a competitive business environment. We must, through legal reform, reduce the transaction cost of doing business and improve the capacity of executive agencies to regulate the economic activities of service providers to ensure access and equity in social services provisioning. Domestic Resources Mobilization: As Ministers of Finance, you understand the constraining effect of limited resources. The goals identified in may of the Poverty Reduction Strategy Papers have not been realized because of resources constraint. The MDGs is a global compact where development and developing countries commit to actions to achieve the targets before 2015. It is disheartening that donors have not been as responsive as required. The financial commitment of developed countries is critical to the success of efforts by African countries to realize the MDGs. The challenge before African leaders is to find innovative ways to mobilize domestic resources and reduce dependency on donor aid. This requires that we improve our tax systems and management of public revenues. Fiscal responsibility is a must. Nigeria is setting a good example with the Fiscal Responsibility Bill introduced by the Minister of Finance. This bill when it becomes law will ensure that public expenditure follows priority areas identified in the Medium Term Expenditure Framework (MTEF). Frugality and priority investment in education, health and such other growth-driving sectors are inescapable in the present circumstances. I cannot end this address without mentioning the debt crisis. Anyone who listens to the voice of African people will realize that the time for debt relief is now. Our economies cannot sustain the burden of past debts whose profiles and antecedents appear dubious. It is in the economic interests of both debtors and creditors to deal with the debt crisis in a way that African economies can be relieved to resume sustainable growth. Many of our people are demanding repudiation of these debts. We prefer a solution that will not unleash a crisis on the global economy and would not lead to unintended adverse consequences. But, the truth is that debt cancellation is a meritorious case - whether from a legal or political economy point of view. I trust that this conference will add its distinguished voice in support of debt cancellation and innovative mobilization of resources to finance those all important goals identified by the international community in the Millennium Declaration. Distinguished Ministers, you should be bold in your policy recommendation consistent with the commitment the international community made in 2000 at the UN Millennium "to spare no effort to free our fellow men, women and children from abject and dehumanizing conditions of extreme poverty" As you deliberate, bear in mind the words of the former president of the World Bank, James D. Wolfenson that in the fight against poverty, "it is not enough simply to talk about economics, social justice, empowerment of people, and ways of scaling up. We have to do it with a sense of moral principle, a sense of ethics, and the conviction that what we are doing is right". On that note, I declare the 38th Session of the UN-ECA Conference of Ministers open, and wish all fruitful deliberation. God bless you all. SENATOR KEN NNAMANI PRESIDENT, SENATE OF THE FEDERAL REPUBLIC OF NIGERIA |
