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Obasanjo urges developed nations to fulfill
promises to Africa
chesa chesa
President Olusegun Obasanjo Friday in Johannesburg,
South Africa urged developed nations to fulfill their pledges of support for
the New Partnership for Africa’s Development (NEPAD).
Speaking at the opening session of the NEPAD
Multi-Stakeholder Dialogue, President Obasanjo said that promises of support
that had been made by the Group of Eight Industrialised Nations at their recent
summits in Kananaskis, Evian and Sea Island “have not been actively and
successfully followed up.
“It is very troubling that our development
partners are not seen as keeping sufficiently to their promises. By not keeping
their promises to assist NEPAD, our partners will unwittingly be fulfilling the
doubts raised at the beginning by some observers. If the millennium development
goals are to be met, the political will must be generated to support NEPAD and
Africa.
“While we are thankful for the small mercies of
the HIPC debt policy as well as the renewal of AGOA, there are other critical
substantive policies that need to be put in place to enable Africa build the
capacity to respond to globalisation, take care of internal challenges and
participate in the global economy as effective partners.
“We need a lifeline to get out of the pit. Let
our call be adequately and timely answered,” President Obasanjo told
NEPAD stakeholders assembled at the
Sandton Convention Centre in Johannesburg.
The president told the gathering of stakeholders that
the adoption of NEPAD as a programme of the African Union indicated “a
new determination, a new vision and a new commitment to the transformation and
repositioning of Africa.
He emphasised that the successful implementation of
the NEPAD agenda would require more support from Africa’s development
partners targeted at “definitive, implementable and measurable
programmes.”
President Obasanjo said that virtually all African
countries were undertaking reforms aimed at repositioning themselves for
growth, stability, development and democratisation, but noted that
“resources are still scarce while needs are ever increasing”.
“In this context, I call for more support for
our political initiatives, debt relief especially for all African countries,
more investment, especially in capital intensive projects, infrastructure and
capacity building,” President Obasanjo concluded.
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