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From: Benita Nsabua
Date: Thu, 29 Sep 2011 18:02:01
Subject: Africa gears up for a common position on aid reforms…
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Africa gears up for a common position on aid reforms…
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(l-r) Dr. Mayaki, CEO of the NEPAD Agency; Mr. Otieno, Kenya’s Minister for Public Service and Mrs. Yak, Dep. Minister for Finance and Economic Planning for South Sudan met to discuss Africa’s common position on development effectiveness
Addis Ababa, 28/9/2011 – “At the heart of these regional engagements is the urgent need for Africa to address the current aid architecture and its implications for Africa’s development,” said Ibrahim Assane Mayaki, Chief Executive Officer of the NEPAD Planning and Coordinating Agency (NEPAD Agency) at the opening of the third Africa regional meeting on development effectiveness. The meeting is taking place between the 28th and 30th of September 2011 in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.
“From the first and second Africa regional meetings, through the launch of the Africa Platform for Development Effectiveness and also through this third engagement, Africa has articulated its priorities resulting in the African consensus and position in the run up to the upcoming 4th High Level Forum on Aid effectiveness in Busan, South Korea,” said Mayaki.
The overall objective of this third regional meeting is to validate the common African position on development effectiveness with regard to shaping the post-Busan agenda focusing on aid reforms.
In his remarks, Mr. Erastus Mwencha, Deputy Chairperson of the African Union Commission (AUC) insisted on “the unequivocal inclusion of the regional dimension in the new global partnership for development effectiveness.”
He went on to remind the participants at the meeting that aid should be seen as one source of development finance which should complement our efforts at achieving growth and wealth creation in Africa.
It is also in this regard that Jennifer Kagrbo, Deputy Executive Secretary of the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (UN-ECA) called upon the meeting to adopt the “development effectiveness framework as an approach to help minimise aid dependence and to prioritise the investments that strengthen the national capacities and build on alternative sources of development funding”.
In line with this appeal towards processes at the national level, Dalmas Otieno, Kenya’s Minister of State for Public Service emphasised that development effectiveness, aid effectiveness and any form of effectiveness must begin at the national level in order to ensure buy-in and broader success at the national and continental levels.
He also called upon the political leadership of the continent to collectively prioritise Africa’s needs and to get behind one vision as in the case of the African position on aid reforms.
Eugene Owusu, the UN Resident Coordinator and United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) Resident Representative in Ethiopia reminded the gathering that in the process of building capacity for aid reform, Africa should “examine how support goes towards nurturing and strengthening the capacity of nations to plan long-term while allowing them to respond in the short term in times of crisis”.
The third Africa regional meeting on development effectiveness is being co-organised by the AUC and the NEPAD Agency in partnership with UN-ECA, UNDP and the African Development Bank with the leadership of African Governments. GIZ, UN Women, Trust Africa, Open Society Initiative of Southern Africa (OSISA) and Oxfam GB are supporting this engagement.
Ends
Africa’s key priorities for development effectiveness include:
i. The unfinished Aid Effectiveness agenda;
ii. Capacity for Development Effectiveness;
iii. South-South Cooperation;
iv. Regional dimension of Development Effectiveness;
v. Mobilising Africa’s domestic resources to move “Beyond Aid” and the move;
vi. Towards a new development cooperation architecture.
For more information, please contact:
NEPAD Agency: Andrew Kanyegirire Email: andrewk@nepad.org
About the NEPAD Agency
The NEPAD Planning and Coordinating Agency (the NEPAD Agency), is a technical body and development vehicle of the African Union (AU). The NEPAD Agency is responsible for the implementation of the New Partnership for Africa’s Development (NEPAD), a strategic framework for pan-African socio-economic development.
In order to address critical challenges facing the continent, the NEPAD Agency facilitates and coordinates development programmes and projects, pushing for partnerships, resource mobilisation, research and knowledge management.
Prior to February 2010, the NEPAD Secretariat was responsible for developing plans and procedures under the NEPAD framework. Since then, the Secretariat has been integrated into AU structures and processes, providing it with a legal mandate to implement NEPAD projects and programmes.
www.nepad.org
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[cid:image009.jpg@01CC7ED1.9F1B1A80]Bénita Nsabua
Web Assistant
Partnership, Resource Mobilisation and Communications Directorate
NEPAD Planning and Coordinating Agency
email: BenitaN@nepad.org
Block B, Gateway Park, Corner Challenger & Columbia Avenues, Midridge office Park, Midrand
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