This article was contributed by Ghana’s immediate past President John Agyekum Kufuor to the 'G20 Summit' as published in the G20 magazine which focused on last November's G20 summit. President Kufuor served as one of the international committee of experts who planned the summit's agenda. Development Priorities for Africa Article contributed to G-20 Summit Technical Committee meeting Seoul, South Korea (By HE JOHN AGYEKUM KUFUOR, former President, Republic of Ghana) August 2010 What Africa needs is leadership. Good leadership. Not just any kind of leadership but leadership that has been well nurtured; to direct socio-economic development, has vision and is imbued with a missionary zeal to tackle the myriad of problems that face the continent in prioritized order. With such leadership will come the formulation and implementation of good policies that will create the right atmosphere for investment and tap the continent’s vast natural resources, develop its human resource and make the most of its capacity; foster the growth of private sector to unleash the wealth for sustained betterment of all the peoples. Good policies will include the entrenchment of human rights and respect for the rule of law; expansion of access to education, health and shelter among others; sharpen the negotiation skills of personnel to hold their own against their foreign counterparts, especially, in transacting international agreements; create the regulatory framework that would enhance predictable and reliable governance. Africa is a continent of 54 nations most of which were subjugated in one way or the other under foreign domination. The leaders that appeared on the political scene after independence about 50 years ago were driven with the spirit of political liberation. Not many of them had been well prepared for the complexities of managing a modern nation-state or dealing with intricate international transactions. With independence came the accomplishment of their singular goal of liberation, more or less. Thereafter, faced with steering the delicate and complex challenges of nation-building in the unfriendly international “Cold War” arena, most African states began to flounder and their economies worsened. The result was the rash take-over of governments by military juntas, who were even less well prepared to steer the affairs of state than those they overthrew From early 1960s to mid 1990s, the African political scene was a turbulent one with rampant military coup d’états. Each successive coup d’état further deepened the economic and social woes of the continent. The net effect of this was that African countries still kept the economic structures bequeathed to them by colonial powers – producers of raw materials for sale on the international markets for prices they had no control over, and importers of all finished goods. In the process, infrastructure, education, health, sanitation, housing and the private sector could not be developed and expanded. All this while, the population of the continent was increasing at higher rates over and above those of other regions of the world which had more stable and buoyant economies. To some extent the BRIC states (Brazil, Russia, India and China) and the other emerging nations had suffered similar draw-backs of underdevelopment. But the critical point of departure between much of Africa and the emerging nations would seem to lie mainly in good, prepared leadership, a skillful leadership competent in applying a mix of policies like stable macro-economy, business-friendly atmosphere, a fair legal frame-work, rationalized infrastructural development and export-oriented diversified value-added supply chain. Investment appeal and job creation were resultant of such policy mix. Unfortunately until the mid-1990s, Africa lacked such leadership, and failed to exploit such policies as Structural Adjustment Programmes imposed by the Bretton Woods institutions and other donors. The stagnation and hopelessness of the times, has been described as “a scar on the conscience of humanity”. Fortunately, the pervasive impact of globalization with all it entails, especially ICT, is effecting a dramatic awakening across the continent. Hence a new breed of leadership more politically responsive to both domestic and international pressures is emerging. It is this leadership that has formed the African Union, whose basic law demands good governance, including the Rule of Law, Respect for Human Rights, Regional Groupings for Economic Customs Unions and Peaceful Resolution of Conflicts. It has also established as its BLUE PRINT for economic development and sustained good governance, the New Partnership for Africa’s Development (NEPAD) and the African Peer Review Mechanism (APRM) respectively. Africa’s advantage lies in its rich natural resources, including oil, industrial minerals and burgeoning population with potential rich market. The rise of the BRICS offers immense opportunities for Africa. Various estimates put the emerging economies as being responsible for about 90% of global increase of oil and metals consumption, since 2002. While China’s oil imports are expected to double by 2020, the energy demands of India which already account for about 70% of its crude oil needs are expected to double by 2030. Already by 2008, the US bought more of oil from Africa, than from Saudi Arabia. The emerging power of the BRICS has once again put the spotlight on Africa as competition for the continent’s resources has become intense. But Africa does not want to continue as a mere supplier and exporter of raw materials and consumer of imported manufactured goods. Africa needs to get the maximum benefit from this second wave of ‘exploitation’ of its resources. Efficient negotiations will ensure that resulting contracts go to enrich the Continent. Resulting partnership will bring in capital, know-how and markets to add value to Africa’s raw commodities. Africa is resolved to mainstream itself into the global market on a win-win basis with its partners. Sub-Sahara Africa’s population is expected to hit 1.5 billion by 2050 when the world’s population will be about 7 billion. The important factor for the continent is that the percentage of its working age population will rise to about 65%. Job creation therefore becomes increasingly imperative. But Africa can only realize these goals if it has the right mix of policies: good governance and stable macro-economic climate and competent and enterprising private sector. By adopting NEPAD and APRM Africa has taken the first steps to shake off poverty and must be supported to stay the course by such groupings as the G-8 and G-20 who must also be encouraged to live up to their pledges of fair trade; Aid for socio-economic empowerment, not charity; and spread of global safety net to cover Africa against disasters even as it improves in helping itself. ####