06.01.2013 Views

A Decade of NEPAD - Economic Commission for Africa - uneca

A Decade of NEPAD - Economic Commission for Africa - uneca

A Decade of NEPAD - Economic Commission for Africa - uneca

SHOW MORE
SHOW LESS

You also want an ePaper? Increase the reach of your titles

YUMPU automatically turns print PDFs into web optimized ePapers that Google loves.

30 A <strong>Decade</strong> <strong>of</strong> <strong>NEPAD</strong>: Deepening <strong>Africa</strong>n Private Sector and Civil Society Ownership and Partnership<br />

Initially, the BAA was launched with the support <strong>of</strong> six<br />

corporate sponsors who were part <strong>of</strong> the “Oversight Group”<br />

(the decision making body <strong>of</strong> BAA): Anglo American, De<br />

Beers, GlaxoSmithKline, Royal Dutch Shell, SABMiller<br />

and Unilever. The Prince <strong>of</strong> Wales International Business<br />

Leaders Forum (IBLF) was and continues to be the largest<br />

sponsor <strong>of</strong> BAA – providing in-kind support in the <strong>for</strong>m<br />

<strong>of</strong> staff time and the use <strong>of</strong> their <strong>of</strong>fice facilities. IBLF also<br />

has a seat on the Oversight Group.<br />

The UK Government was a sponsor from BAA’s inception,<br />

providing financial support from DfID and in-kind staff<br />

support from the Joint International Unit <strong>of</strong> the Department<br />

<strong>for</strong> Work and Pensions (DWP) and from the Department<br />

<strong>for</strong> Education and Skills (DfES). These departments<br />

were also represented on the Oversight Group.<br />

To date, over 150 business, business organizations, multilateral<br />

and bilateral donors, government departments,<br />

NGOs and academics have joined this ef<strong>for</strong>t. 80% are<br />

from the business sector – from small businesses to large<br />

multinational corporations, from national chambers <strong>of</strong><br />

commerce to international business organisations. The<br />

current sponsors and Oversight Group members <strong>of</strong> BAA<br />

are: Anglo American, British American Tobacco, Coca-<br />

Cola <strong>Africa</strong>, De Beers, DFID, Diageo, IBLF, Merck & Co,<br />

Pfizer, Royal Dutch Shell, SABMiller, Unilever and Visa<br />

The three focus areas <strong>of</strong> the organisation are: to positively<br />

influence policies needed <strong>for</strong> growth and poverty reduction,<br />

to promote a more balanced view <strong>of</strong> <strong>Africa</strong>, and to<br />

develop and showcase good business practice.<br />

The last major initiative to come out <strong>of</strong> the 2005 G8 Summit<br />

was the creation <strong>of</strong> the Infrastructure Consortium <strong>for</strong><br />

<strong>Africa</strong> (ICA). The inaugural meeting <strong>of</strong> ICA took place in<br />

London in October 2005 and was attended by a number<br />

<strong>of</strong> multilateral and bilateral aid donors and leading <strong>Africa</strong>n<br />

organisations involved in <strong>Africa</strong>n infrastructure<br />

development 38 .<br />

38 www.icafrica.org<br />

France<br />

France is another G8 member that has an extensive <strong>for</strong>eign<br />

donor presence in <strong>Africa</strong>. In fact in 2008, after the U.S.,<br />

Germany and Great Britain, France was the fourth largest<br />

development aid donor in the world.<br />

The ICA’s role is to help improve the lives and economic<br />

well-being <strong>of</strong> <strong>Africa</strong>’s people by encouraging, supporting<br />

and promoting increased investment in infrastructure in<br />

<strong>Africa</strong>, from both public and private sources. The ICA acts<br />

as a catalyst – enhancing, accelerating and precipitating the<br />

development <strong>of</strong> <strong>Africa</strong>’s infrastructure. The ICA’s sectoral<br />

work covers water, energy, transport and ICT.<br />

The ICA also works to help remove some <strong>of</strong> the technical<br />

and policy challenges and barriers to building more infrastructure<br />

on the continent and the organization strives<br />

to better co-ordinate the activities <strong>of</strong> its members and<br />

to leverage other significant sources <strong>of</strong> infrastructure<br />

finance, such as those provided by Chinese, Indian and<br />

Arab partners.<br />

The ICA is not a financing agency but it acts as a plat<strong>for</strong>m<br />

to catalyze donor and private sector financing <strong>of</strong> infrastructure<br />

projects and progammes in <strong>Africa</strong>.<br />

Current ICA members include the G8 countries, the World<br />

Bank Group, the <strong>Africa</strong>n Development Bank Group, European<br />

<strong>Commission</strong>, European Investment Bank and the<br />

Development Bank <strong>of</strong> Southern <strong>Africa</strong>.<br />

The ICA is supported by a small secretariat, which is hosted<br />

by the <strong>Africa</strong>n Development Bank in Tunis, Tunisia. The<br />

secretariat is funded by voluntary contributions from some<br />

ICA members and is staffed by a combination <strong>of</strong> permanent<br />

staff from the <strong>Africa</strong>n Development Bank and experts who<br />

have been seconded by various ICA member countries.<br />

Lastly, in support <strong>of</strong> the development <strong>of</strong> <strong>Africa</strong>’s agricultural<br />

capacity and food security, the UK has been a major<br />

supporter <strong>of</strong> both the Alliance <strong>for</strong> a Green Revolution in<br />

<strong>Africa</strong> (AGRA) 39 and the Comprehensive <strong>Africa</strong> Agriculture<br />

Development Programme (CAADP) 40 .<br />

39 www.agra-alliance.org<br />

40 www.nepad-caadp.net<br />

In support <strong>of</strong> regional infrastructure development and the<br />

<strong>NEPAD</strong> infrastructure programme specifically, Agence<br />

Francaise de Developpement (AFD) partnered with the<br />

Development Bank <strong>of</strong> South <strong>Africa</strong> in 2004 and established

Hooray! Your file is uploaded and ready to be published.

Saved successfully!

Ooh no, something went wrong!