The time has never been more opportune to move forward and implement the vision and dream of a prosperous Africa, to eradicate the legacy of our past and the burden of poverty and underdevelopment. NEPAD has moved beyond words to concrete action plans that are being articulated for implementation by the African leaders. 

The planning phase, in which detailed programmes of action to initiate implementation have been prepared, has been completed and the critical implementation phase is beginning. In addition to facilitating and energising programme implementation, the NEPAD structures will continue to guide and coordinate the further development of the programmes of action while strengthening the relevant implementation mechanisms. NEPAD will also continue, with a sense of urgency, to foster the broad participation of African stakeholders in the NEPAD process, and to engage the international community, development partners and multilateral institutions in support of NEPAD. 

The inaugural African Union Summit of July 2002 adopted a "Declaration on the Implementation of NEPAD" (Assembly/AU/Decl. 1 (I)). Please refer to Annexure 1. The Declaration endorsed the NEPAD Progress Report and Initial Action Plan. This builds on the NEPAD strategic framework document adopted by the OAU Heads of State and Government at the Summit in Lusaka, Zambia in July 2001. It, furthermore, called on states to urgently implement the various detailed priority programmes and encouraged all member states to adopt the Declaration on Democracy, Political, Economic and Corporate Governance, to accede to the African Peer Review Mechanism and to assist in the popularization of NEPAD. Lastly, it mandated the NEPAD structures to continue their work until the next Summit in Maputo, Mozambique in 2003 and it decided to expand the NEPAD Heads of State and Government Implementation Committee by one representative per region, i.e. to 20 members. 

The NEPAD Initial Action Plan is the first step to elaborate the implementation of NEPAD programmes, proposing specific actions and programmes in each of the following priority areas: 

• Strengthening of Conflict Prevention, Management and Resolution mechanisms;
• Democracy and Political Governance standards;
• Economic and Corporate Governance standards;
• African Peer Review Mechanism for both Political and Economic Governance;
• Agriculture;
• Human Resource Development - Health and Education;
• Market Access;
• Regional Infrastructure;
• Environment;
• Capital Flows.

1. Facilitation and support of implementation: 

1.1 NEPAD Implementation Workshop, Addis Ababa, 2-4 August 2002 

One of the main objectives of the workshop was to obtain agreement on NEPAD’s priority actions and interventions for the next year. The starting point was that the NEPAD document has been accepted as a framework to inform policies and priorities on the continent. The approach adopted was to prioritise the actions within each area or sector and to start implementation with these prioritized actions. The strategies and priorities, as outlined in Annexure 2, were agreed to and adopted by the workshop. 

Another main objective of the workshop was to clarify working arrangements with RECs and Development Partners. The AU Commission and the RECs were represented at the workshop, as were relevant organizations such as the African Capacity Building Foundation (ACBF); African Development Bank (ADB); and certain of the United Nations agencies. These were the Economic Commission for Africa (ECA), the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO), the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), and the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP). The support of the World Health Organisation (WHO) and UNAIDS was reported at the meeting. 

The RECS, defined in the NEPAD document as the implementers of NEPAD programmes and projects, are recognized as the building blocks for the integration of the continent in the context of the African Union. Therefore, the RECs should henceforth be actively involved in the design and implementation of programmes and sub-regional projects. They should help identify and prioritise projects and activities that will enhance African integration and the promotion of intra-African trade. It was agreed that NEPAD and the RECs need to find ways of working together in terms of enhancing the capacity of the RECs. They should be made accountable to their various constituencies, ensure periodic dialogue, provide feedback to the countries within their respective catchment areas and keep the NEPAD Secretariat informed of developments. Furthermore, RECS should be aware of the need to streamline the various sub-regional economic groups and to harmonize their activities. There must also be harmonization between the RECs in the structuring of private sector and civil society participation in NEPAD, which must be aligned to AU processes. 

The development agencies pledged their support to the NEPAD initiative and emphasized the need for structured collaboration between themselves in support of the NEPAD process, based on the comparative advantages of each agency geared towards the effective utilization of resources and services. They agreed on the need to facilitate the mobilization of other international organizations in support of NEPAD, as well as to internalize NEPAD, promoting, through funding conditions, projects that are within the NEPAD framework. 

Cross cutting issues were also discussed, including gender, poverty and the environment. In terms of gender, the concern was raised that the approach NEPAD has taken thus far does not provide enough clarity on how gender will be mainstreamed at the sectoral level – e.g. in farming, infrastructure etc. It was suggested that gender issues be introduced at the stage when new ideas for programmes are initiated and conceptualized. The need for the AU Commission Gender Division to establish linkages with the NEPAD Secretariat and RECs was emphasized. It was also suggested that all NEPAD plans and documents should be made available to the AU Commission for review to ensure gender compliance and that there should be closer working relations between the AU and NEPAD, particularly in this area. 

An APRM workshop was held on 7-8 October in Cape Town with the aim of developing indicators and benchmarks for the APRM process and to further clarify the envisaged processes of the APRM. The workshop also looked into progress made in the area of operationalising the new partnership with external partners, with an emphasis on a system of mutual performance review.

A workshop on Market Access, Industrial Strategy, Intra-African Trade and Diversification of Production and Exports will be taking place from 25-27 November. A workshop on Science and Technology will be held from 21-22 November and a NEPAD Communications and Outreach workshop will be held in January 2003.

The Chairman of the Steering Committee and members of the Steering Committee and Secretariat have attended a number of meetings with representatives of the African Union Commission, including the CSSDCA unit, the ADB, the ACBF, the World Bank, and the FAO. Furthermore, the Chairman attended the Africa Planning Conference on 19 September in Durban, South Africa and the SADC Summit in Luanda, Angola at the beginning of October. The Secretariat was also represented at recent meetings of the WHO in Harare, Zimbabwe and the African Commission on Human and People’s Rights in Banjul, the Gambia. The purpose of these interactions was to clearly define the role in implementation of the respective roleplayers, as well as to explain developments in the NEPAD process. A programme of interaction with all the RECs will be followed during the next three months to clarify the role of the RECs as key implementation agents, starting with ECOWAS on 4 November. 

The Secretariat worked closely with the ECA in order to ensure a successful meeting of African Ministers of Finance, Planning and Economic Development, and Central Bank Governors held in Johannesburg from 19 to 21 October. The Ministers had an in depth discussion relating to the operationalisation of the APRM, its processes and standards. They called for a speedy implementation of the APRM. 

2. Actions by African political leaders: 

The Heads of State have continued to play a leadership role in driving the NEPAD process forward. This is graphically illustrated in the current efforts of NEPAD leaders to resolve a number of conflicts and instances of instability across the continent, namely in the DRC, Angola, Burundi, Sudan, Sierra Leone, Madagascar, Zimbabwe and the Ivory Coast. 

Furthermore, the involvement of Heads of State in the World Summit on Sustainable Development in August in South Africa, the UN High Level Debate and Panel session on NEPAD at UNGA57 on 16 September in New York, and the SADC Summit in October in Angola was instrumental in securing the desired outcomes from these meetings. 

3. Mobilisation of international support:

3.1 World Summit on Sustainable Development (WSSD) 

With regard to Africa, the adoption of NEPAD by the OAU in July 2001 and the launch of the AU were critical developments with significant implications for the WSSD. The successful implementation of WSSD outcomes will largely depend on the coherence and integration of these outcomes with and into existing continental initiatives such as NEPAD. NEPAD represents the logical response by Africa to the UN Secretary-General’s call for the implementation of Sustainable Development Initiatives for Africa and for the achievement by Africa of the Millennium Development Goals. 

The Johannesburg Declaration on Sustainable Development (Annexure 3) was adopted at the conclusion of the WSSD, as well as the WSSD Plan of Implementation, the full version of which is attached as Annexure 4. This plan incorporates NEPAD’s main principles and priorities, and emphasizes the concept of a global partnership. 

The AU/NEPAD objectives at the WSSD were as follows: 

• To popularize the establishment of the AU and the adoption of NEPAD and to seek support for the implementation of the AU and NEPAD;
• To showcase NEPAD as the new long term sustainable development agenda for Africa;
• To conduct a high level dialogue that will ensure concrete steps in the implementation of the AU/NEPAD Programme;
• To provide a platform for stakeholder participation during the Summit, especially civil society organisations and the private sector, to ensure that capacity building permeates through all processes.

Type 2 Partnerships for Sustainable Development

Non-negotiated sustainable development partnerships, aimed at further implementing Agenda 21 and the Millennium Development Goals, proved to be an important outcome of the WSSD. They supplement the commitments agreed to by Governments through the inter-governmental process (Programme of Action and Political Declaration). 228 Partnerships have thus far been agreed to. They address all critical areas of sustainable development.

A considerable amount of funding has been committed in a rather short time, and much more will be mobilized by these investments. Many partnerships are still evolving and require more partners and funding, but the concept is attracting great interest from most stakeholders. It is important to continue to build on the momentum created by the Summit, since Partnership initiatives can contribute significantly to the implementation of sustainable development at all levels. 

The list of Partnerships in Africa is attached in Annexure 5. NEPAD has already been actively engaging a number of the leading partners of these sustainable development initiatives for Africa. 

3.2 United Nations General Assembly – 57^th Session

The United Nations (UN) General Assembly sat for the entire day on 16 September 2002 in a High Level Session and Panel focused exclusively on NEPAD. Over 80 countries, many represented by their Head of State or Government, spoke strongly in support of NEPAD. At the end of its deliberations, the Assembly unanimously adopted a Declaration on NEPAD (see Annexure 6). The Declaration was co-sponsored by over 140 states. Among other things, the Declaration recommits members to meeting the special needs of Africa and affirms that international support for the implementation of the New Partnership is essential. It urges the international community, in particular donor countries, to assist in the implementation of NEPAD.

By adopting the UN Declaration on NEPAD, the countries and peoples of the world reaffirmed their resolve to honour the commitments they made in the Millennium Declaration.

At the Ad Hoc Committee of the Whole review process of the United Nations New Agenda for the Development of Africa in the 1990s (UN-NADAF) at the UN from 24-26 September and 7-11 October, it was decided to bring the UN-NADAF to a close and to structure future UN support and efforts for Africa’s development in accordance with the NEPAD framework. This is indeed a significant step for NEPAD in terms of its engagement with the international community and, in particular, the United Nations. This process will culminate shortly in a UN Resolution (Annexure 7) detailing the support of the UN system for NEPAD. Members of the Steering Committee supported the African Permanent Representatives in drafting the Resolution. 

The Chairman of the Steering Committee made a presentation to the UN Regional Inter-Agency meeting in Addis Ababa on 24-25 October. The meeting was designed to provided detail at the operational level that would give practical effect to the Resolution mentioned above. 

3.3 Further interactions

The Chairman of the Steering Committee attended and briefed the meeting in Windsor, Canada on 24 September of the G8 Development Ministers to discuss the modalities of the implementation of the G8 Africa Action Plan. A meeting is scheduled for 6 December in Accra, Ghana between the Steering Committee and the G8 Personal Representatives Committee to take this process forward.

During his stay in the USA for the UN meetings, he also took the opportunity to meet with members of the US Administration to discuss the implementation of the Millennium Challenge Account. 

A business breakfast was organized during the course of the WSSD to carry the message that the capacity of the African Private Sector needs to be increased in order to facilitate NEPAD initiatives; and to bring together the business community of the continent as a follow-up to the business seminar held in Durban during the AU Summit. 

Three concrete initiatives in support of NEPAD were announced during the WSSD, namely the Initiative on Pharmaceutical Technology Transfer, the Africa Energy Fund and the Expanded Okavango Upper Zambezi International Tourism Spatial Development Initiative. 

4.2 "The African Business Opportunity in the New NEPAD Era", Lugano, Switzerland, 12 October 2002

This private sector conference, organized by Mr Alberto Michelini, G8 Personal Representative of Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, enabled private investors to realistically evaluate the economic development of the whole African continent, based on substantial information and a qualified institutional presence. Project opportunities on the continent were outlined by representatives of African countries and debated with potential investors. The conference offered a unique opportunity in terms of international contacts and networking. 

Approximately, 150 business people participated in the conference, mainly from Italy, but also from Switzerland and the USA. The African participants clearly laid down the case for NEPAD, which was fully supported by Mr Robert Fowler, G8 Personal Representative of Canadian Prime Minister Jean Chretin, and Mr Alberto Michelini, G8 Personal Representative of Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi. 

An offer was made by the Mayor of Lugano to establish a NEPAD Headquarters in Lugano. The HSIC will need to consider this offer. 

4.3 Further interactions

Representatives of the Steering Committee and the Secretariat attended the 3^rd ICC Africa Regional meeting on "Development through Wealth Creation" in Yaounde, Cameroon on 30-31 October. The meeting was organized by the International Chamber of Commerce, the African Business Roundtable and the NEPAD Business Group. Discussion on NEPAD formed a substantial part of the programme. 

There has been ongoing interaction with the World Economic Forum in preparation for the annual meeting in Davos in January.

5. Outreach:

The NEPAD Secretariat aimed to utilize the opportunity provided by the WSSD to secure the support and participation of delegates for the AU and NEPAD. An AU/NEPAD exhibition stand was mounted at Ubuntu Village to showcase the AU and NEPAD in the context of sustainable development. TransAfrica radio broadcast live from the stand on a daily basis. A Resource Centre at the stand provided an interactive platform for debate and for listening to the audience, for visiting the NEPAD website and other related sites for information exchange. The stand was selected as the third best stand at the WSSD.

A roundtable lunch with civil society provided an opportunity to strengthen engagement with trade union leaders, NGOs, civil society organizations within the AU and NEPAD processes. The issue of capacity building is critical to the successful implementation of AU/NEPAD programmes, encouraging all stakeholders to come up with partnership initiatives. This event aimed to build on the civil society interactions held in the fringes of the AU Summit.

In addition to the AU/NEPAD events, NEPAD was invited to over 70 other side and parallel events at the WSSD. Members of the Steering Committee and Secretariat managed to participate in a large number of these engagements, which proved successful in terms of obtaining support for NEPAD and for participation in programmes.

The Secretariat is proceeding with the roll-out of the Outreach Strategy at regional level.

The Secretariat is working with the RECs to ensure that mechanisms are put in place and that the capacity exists to broaden ownership of and participation in NEPAD at sub-regional and country levels. The establishment of the Regional NEPAD Communication structures will cater for the communication needs of NEPAD in each of the regions. 

In an attempt to reach Africans in the Diaspora and the African-American community, the Chairman of the Secretariat participated in a programme in Washington, USA with the Constituency for Africa and the Congressional Black Caucus. 

D. TOP PRIORITY ACTION AREAS FOR THE NEXT 3 – 5 YEARS

The NEPAD structures will not be directly involved in implementation, since this will remain the responsibility of designated institutions, regional economic communities and individual states. NEPAD will act as a facilitator, catalyst and negotiator. Through the NEPAD process, the Heads of State and Government will enhance the effectiveness of continental and regional economic community structures by speeding up political decision making and supporting capacity building. 

The top Priority Action Areas to be pursued are as follows: 

• Operationalisation and implementation of the APRM.
• Support for the integration of NEPAD principles, priorities and programmes in national development plans.
• Support for the implementation of NEPAD programmes by the RECs, particularly the short-term regional infrastructure programme.
• Support the strengthening of peace, security and governance organs within the AU.
• Outreach and Communications programme to broaden ownership and participation.
• Strengthening the African private sector.
• Mobilisation of domestic and international private sector support and of foreign direct investment.
• Continuing the dialogue and engagement with development partners and multilateral development institutions at all levels (political leaders, Ministers and institutions).
• Review existing preferential trade arrangements and development partnerships with a view to the further enhancement and alignment/merger of common elements with the NEPAD programme.
• Preparation of a detailed five year programme of action for the NEPAD Secretariat.
• Further development of sectoral plans in the Initial Action Plan
• Updating of studies and follow up actions on:
  • Gender mainstreaming.
  • Rationalisation and enhancement of RECs.
  • Market access and WTO negotiations.
  • Intra-African trade and diversification of production and exports.
  • Debt reduction/cancellation.
  • ODA reform.
  • Tracking progress on achievement of MDGs.
  • Review of performance of development partners.
  • Science and Technology.

E. LEGAL STATUS OF THE NEPAD SECRETARIAT AND COPYRIGHT OF THE NEPAD NAME

It is of great concern to NEPAD that various organizations are using the NEPAD name and logo to mobilize support in their own interests. The NEPAD Secretariat, in collaboration with the AU Commission, is investigating mechanisms for protecting its trademark and copyright rights. A proposed resolution to be considered by the meeting of the Heads of State and Government Implementation Committee is attached as Annexure 8. 

F. RESOURCING AND STAFFING OF THE NEPAD PROCESS

The long-term resourcing of the NEPAD process needs to be examined and a 5 year plan drafted in order to ensure that the NEPAD Secretariat has the capacity to play a facilitator, catalyst and support role in implementing NEPAD in the long-term. This needs to be supported by yearly plans and budgets. The Secretariat is currently being overwhelmed by requests for participation and interaction. 

In the spirit of African ownership, it is critical that the core costs of NEPAD are financed by African countries themselves. Development partner funding will only support specific programmes. Thus far, only South Africa and Algeria have made contributions towards the operating costs of the NEPAD Secretariat. 

Please refer to Annexure 9 for the financial and budgetary position of the NEPAD Secretariat. 

In terms of staffing, the following countries have seconded senior officials to the NEPAD Secretariat:

1. South Africa
2. Nigeria
3. Algeria
4. Egypt

Good progress has been made in terms of contracting staff from the continent. For example, the Secretariat currently employs persons from the DRC, Zimbabwe and Lesotho, in addition to the secondments already mentioned.

NEPAD has embarked on a strategic partnership with the UNDP, which will provide a vehicle through which other development partners can contribute to the NEPAD process. This flexible facility allows the Secretariat to appoint experts and consultants in various areas. The UNDP has made a commitment to contribute an amount of US$ 1,5 million and is working with the Secretariat in raising funding from other development partners.