INTERVIEW-Africa body pushes anti-corruption guidelines
04 Jan 2007 15:20:37 GMT Source: Reuters
By Charles Mangwiro MAPUTO, Jan 4 (Reuters) - African countries are expected to ratify new anti-corruption guidelines by 2010 as the continent pushes to meet its $110 billion, 10-year fund raising target for economic recovery, a senior African development official said. Firminio Mucavele, chairman of the New Partnership for African Development (NEPAD), said the group was spotlighting the fight against corruption as one of the chief obstacles to growth on the world's poorest continent. "By 2010 we need to have clear anti-corruption guidelines. We have signed them, but governments are yet to ratify them," he told Reuters in an interview. Mucavele said the guidelines included setting up anti-corruption commissions and toughening laws against graft. NEPAD officials would begin visiting targeted countries in March to provide specific recommendations on how they could strengthen their anti-corruption work by 2010. The NEPAD initiative commits African leaders to promote democracy and good governance in return for increased Western investment, trade and debt relief. A key part of the plan is the African Peer Review Mechanism (APRM), under which governments will open themselves up to scrutiny by a panel of senior African leaders and eventually receive ratings on their performance. NEPAD was launched with great fanfare some five years ago, but has yet to deliver much in the way of tangible benefits for Africa and some critics have dismissed it as a talking shop. NEPAD officials have acknowledged that so far only 26 out of 53 countries in the African Union have signed up for ARPM review, but Mucavele said he expected more to join the process. "Some of the countries thought that the APRM would come up with punitive measures, but now they realise that the process is there to advise and encourage them," he said. Mucavele said while some countries continue to see serious corruption problems, others such as Rwanda and Ghana have achieved good marks from APRM reviews and are beginning to enjoy the benefits with more to follow. The $110 billion Africa development plan, drafted in 2005, is aimed at boosting work in everything from agriculture and education to health, environment, and infrastructure. Mucavele said fund raising was on track, with African governments, foreign donors and the private sector all committing money to the purse. "In 2006, African governments raised $37 billion while the private sector injected $30 billion. We expect our development partners to come up with $39 billion in the first quarter of this year, so our deficit now is only $4 billion," he said. Mucavele said the Group of Eight (G8) rich nations and other Western donors were gradually removing earlier conditions set on aid thanks to good APRM reviews, a trend which could further strengthen the NEPAD programme. "We have effectively engaged the G8 in our plans. They wanted to see good governance, and they now can see commitments in some exemplary countries... which means we are on the right track."
