CERCLE DIPLOMATIQUE - issue 01/2017

LE MONDE KENYA MEETS SOUTH AFRICA
“African countries are on a
broad move to diversify their
manufacturing capacities. That
is the real story behind the
slogan of ‚Africa Rising‘.“
“I see a wave of development that is
sweeping the African continent. More
and more countries are coming up with
value added strategies instead of
simply exporting their commodities.“
ned momentum on the continent. More
and more African states are now hosting
democratic elections. It is not where we
want to be, but we are certainly on the right
track. Also a reduction of conflicts on the
continent has been experienced, as more
African governments are taking responsibility
for peace and security which goes hand
in hand with economic development. Secondly,
the African continent with a population
of some 1,1 billion people, represents
a huge market in which there is still massive
scope for development. This presents a
good opportunity for our partners in the
north to do business in and with Africa.
Which African countries in your view could serve
as a best practice example of economic and
democratic development and possibly as a role
model for others?
Oyugi: I would rather not break it down
to particular countries because what we see
is a wave of development in the desired direction
sweeping the continent. Governments
in African countries are today very
conscious that they are responsible for
their citizens and that they have got to do
what their people expect from them – for
instance creating jobs or developing human
resources or infrastructure. Some
countries may have realised these faster
than others, but increasingly such policies
are in place throughout the continent. It is
still true that many African countries are
basically more or less still producers of basic
commodities like oil, coffee or tea. But it
is also true that we are increasingly working
to come up with value addition strategies.
Thus, it is no longer only a matter of
simply exporting oil or coffee. We are now
promoting, like in Kenya, the processing of
these commodities. And it is only a matter
of time and we will see this replicated all
over the continent. So value addition is really
what we are working on and targeting.
Seokolo: The process of diversification
of our economies from commodities, on
which some countries are heavily dependent,
remains a challenge. But now there is
a broad move to diversify the productive
capacities of most African countries, and
that is the story behind the slogan of ”Africa
Rising“. In South Africa, for example, in
the mining sector, we are very strict to impose
rigorous policies and strategies to ensure
that we are not only exporters of raw
materials. In order to enhance our manufacturing
capacity, the issue of technology
transfer with our partners in the north requires
attention. As we speak now, we have
to import most of the components. But we
have to turn around Africa from being an
assembly arena into a manufacturing space.
In South Africa, already in the automotive
sector, a certain percent of components
used to be locally manufactured inside the
country. As a result of this policy, intervention
there has been a gradual increase of
local manufacturing content. The big question
is how to improve this to develop more
sustainable jobs. We are aware that we have
to develop additional local skills and we are
therefore adapting the dual educational
system in South Africa to address the skills
needs.
Is Europe still a sufficient partner in improving the
African manufacturing capacities, given the ever
larger footprint China is leaving on the continent?
Seokolo: We do not see the relations
between Africa and China and between Afri-
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RALPH MANFREDA
ca and Europe as competitive but as complimentary.
Most African countries have a long
relationship with Europe – and I don‘t foresee
this coming to an end, in fact these relations
continue to be deepened. On the other hand,
there is a growing relationship with China
but it is certainly not going to substitute the
long-standing relations with Europe.
Oyugi: It all is a matter of building mutually
beneficial partnerships. Many African
countries need and indeed are transforming
their economies from that of raw
material and primary commodity producers
– a heritage from colonial times – to
modern manufacturers of finished goods.
And you can‘t modernise based on the old
colonial model. So in terms of such modernisation,
there is a lot of reason for a number
of African countries and China to cooperate,
especially in infrastructure. In
Kenya, for instance, China has been involved
in financing the development of roads,
railways and energy infrastructure which is
beneficial to our value-addition efforts. But
we also continue to engage in mutually beneficial
cooperation in various fields with
European countries.
What is the quality of the current relationship
between Africa and Europe? For more than 300
years, Europe has colonised most of the continent.
Then, after the wave of independence, Europe has
nearly forgotten the continent, reduced its
engagement to development aid and left a
vacuum. Has not China rapidly moved into this?
Seokolo: You are raising an important
question. The history of Africa and Europe
is certainly rooted in colonialism. Europe
should not forget that very part of its history
and its obligations to the African continent.
But we as Africans are not prisoners
of that history. We continue to play our
own part in developing our continent. And
that is why Europe and the EU should continue
to assist and commit itself to develop
Africa – with investments, with technology
transfer, with the abolishment of trade barriers,
for example in agriculture because
the playing field is not yet leveled.
Oyugi: Removal of protectionist poli-
„WIE MENSCHEN
DENKEN UND LEBEN,
SO WOHNEN SIE“
Johann Gottfried von Herder
(1744 – 1803), deutscher Philosoph
Ein Projekt der
EXCLUSIVE TOWN HOUSES &
EIGENTUMSWOHNUNGEN IN DÖBLING
The Ambassadors‘ Summit at Palais Hansen
Kempinski Vienna, at the ”Henri Lou“ venue:
Kenia‘s Ambassador H.E. Michael A.O. Oyugi,
the South African Ambassador H.E. Tabogo
Seokolo, CD publisher Andrea Fürnweger and
CD author Rainer Himmelfreundpointner
(from right to left).
Andreas Beil
+43 1 878 28-1218
andreas.beil@buwog.at
www.pfarrwiesengasse23.at
Provisionsfrei für den Käufer
Barbara Mayrhofer
+43 1 512 76 90-414
b.mayrhofer@ehl.at
48 Cercle Diplomatique 1/2017
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