New Partnership for Africa’s Development (NEPAD), a flagship program of the African Union was recently celebrated at a symposium to assess its achievements and challenges after two decades of existence in the African region.
Participants including Head of states, representatives from the development community, civil society, and private sector, commended NEPAD for its collaborative efforts with the African Development Bank (AfDB) in financing infrastructures and agricultural programs in the continent.
What they are saying
According to South African President Cyril Ramaphosa, Chairperson of the African Union, “The coronavirus pandemic has had a severe impact on African economies, on public health and indeed the African Union itself. It has served as a stark reminder of our global interconnectedness because, in the end, what affects one, affects us all.”
Rwandan President Paul Kagame, Chairperson of AUDA-NEPAD’s Heads of State and Government Orientation Committee said;
- “NEPAD’s track record makes it the ideal institution to implement Agenda 2063 on behalf of the African Union.
- “I call on member states to continue supporting the multiple partnerships that AUDA-NEPAD has developed.
- “Honouring our statutory commitments as member states is not only our duty. It is good value for money.”
African Development Bank President, Dr. Akinwumi A. Adesina said;
- “The Bank’s support has spanned many areas, such as regional integration, agriculture, trade, infrastructure, education, knowledge and the environment.
- “The African Development Bank stands fully ready to continue to provide strong support and to help to mobilize a lot more support for AUDA-NEPAD as you continue your new strategy, and of course the African Union Commission. Together we will achieve the Africa we want, better and much faster”
According to Outgoing AUDA-NEPAD chief executive Ibrahim Hassane Mayaki, “Our challenge will evidently be resource mobilization, but we have built, thanks to the support of all our partners, a certain level of credibility which can allow us to implement that element of our mandate, which is called full resource mobilization”
What you should know
- The New Partnership for Africa’s Development (NEPAD) is an economic development program of the African Union.
- NEPAD was adopted at the 37th session of the Assembly of Heads of State and Government in July 2001 in Lusaka, Zambia.
- NEPAD aims to provide an overarching vision and policy framework for accelerating economic co-operation and integration among African countries.
- NEPAD has endured multiple global crises since its inception, the most recent being the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.
- The organization was relaunched as the African Union Development Agency-NEPAD (AUDA-NEPAD) in 2018, which participants noted was a turning point in its evolution.
- The two founding fathers of NEPAD are former South African president, Thabo Mbeki and former Nigerian president, Olusegun Obasanjo.
