By: Mohamad Anwar

Under the slogan "Together Towards Growth", the South africa Capital "Cape Town" witnessed the opening of the activities of the World Economic Forum for africa in its sixteenth round which was held during the period from May 31 to June 2, 2006.

 

The World Economic Forum:

The idea of establishing the forum goes back to 1970 when "Clause Shwap", the Swiss Academic and businessman, sent an invitation to the European institutions to hold an unofficial meeting in the city of Davos to discuss means of facing the challenges of the world market, such invitation was considered the actual beginning of the Forum which was turned gradually into a voluntary and an independent organization that does not seek any profit. In 1987, its name was changed into "The World Economic Forum". This forum enjoys the consulting character in the United Nations Economic and Social Council.

 

•           This forum is considered one of the platforms that adopt the expression of the "Universality" and globalization. It is periodically held in January every year in the Swiss city of Davos. It is attended by the leading heads of states, presidents scholars and the world's symbols in the various economic, political and social fields…etc

•           A more recent step has been added to the system of the forum which is holding exceptional and extraordinary meetings that will be held outside Switzerland in the countries which offer serious guarantees for the sake of the forum's organizing such as "Davos Sharm el-Sheikh, Cape Town".

•           The forum is self-financed through donations and membership fees which amount to US$ 25 thousands to be paid annually by 1000 world institutions to the forum's fund. The cost of holding one meeting is nearly twenty million dollars.

 

Davos Forum-Africa:

South africa witnessed the exceptional sixteenth round of the World Economic Forum about africa which is known in abbreviation by "Davos africa", during the period from May 31 to June 2, 2006. President Tabou Mpeiki opened the ceremonies with the participation of 40 African countries representatives and more than 700 of governments leaders, heads of delegates and senior world financial and businessmen, besides a large group of those who are interested.

 

The participants confirmed through the opening session, on the various issues that concern the Africans and which are included in the forum's agenda. The most important of these issues is related to the economic sector which is represented in how to translate the economic theories into action programs and strategies that can enhance the economic capabilities of the continent. The African economies growth rose from 3% to 5% during the last five years as a direct result of the state of peace and stability witnessed by the continent and the decrease of conflicts, in addition to applying the development policies and programs.

 

 The growth rate is expected to rise to 6% but the wave of changes that prevailed over the world oil markets were negatively reflected on most of the countries of the continent. The supreme goal of the third millennium development plan which will end by 2015, is to increase the growth rate by 7% as a guarantee to achieve the millennium's goals. In order to reach this rate, the countries of the continent are still in need of the international society's contributions amounting to 50-70 billion dollars to satisfy their development commitments.   

   

•           The forum's agenda contained, among its priorities, the issue of activating africa's share in the international trade cake after declaring the increase of the African after market's share in the international trade bulk 1% which is equal to four times what the continent gets of foreign aids (18 million dollars). This means that structural reforms for the infrastructure of the African countries can be performed in addition to providing a proper climate for foreign investments, making administrative reforms, controlling the banking system besides fighting corruption.

•           The file of the African cooperation and partnership with both China and India occupied an important part of the sessions held by the forum. The entry of the giant China and India as effective and active parties in the African economies and as an important competent to the Western product in the black continent; such entry was also put under consideration and observation.

•           The decline of the individual's share of the capital.

•           The bureaucratic restrictions that drive away serious investments.

•           The cooperation and partnership accords among the African countries were not seriously activated.

This in addition to some other challenges, the most important of which are: the increase of the percentage of unemployment, the deterioration of the infrastructure, the scarcity of the well-trained labor face and the spread of diseases.

The main recommendations which resulted from the forum are:

•           The countries should open their doors to the international society and foreign investments in accordance with the capabilities and circumstances of each country.

•           The countries and the great international entities are required now, more than any time before, to put initiatives for the entry of the products and articles of the African countries besides the logistic support and reducing the taxes due to be paid for such goods.

•           The conviction that security, stability, social peace and the prevention of conflicts and seditions, will provide the proper climate for the flourish of the markets and attraction of the big and serious investments and consequently activating a constructive progress in the development process.

•           The importance of building a solid administrative and social structure in the fields of "education-institutions-the infrastructure…etc

•           Supporting and stabilizing the partnership and cooperation agreements inside the countries of the continent and with the continent's regional organizations "NEPAD-SADAC-COMESA…"

•           The necessity of making full use of the capabilities and resources of the continent "the natural resources-the human resources-the geographical resources".   

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BY: Diaa Imbabi

The Economic Commission for Africa organized a seminar about the strategies of reducing poverty and the implementation of the new millennium development goals.

The seminar was held in Cairo on 26-28 March 2006. In this report we review the most important contents of the paper related to Ethiopia.

Ethiopia has formulated policies that especially emphasize poverty reduction activities and outcomes.

 

These policies are being implemented in a federal government structure with eleven ethnic based regional states.

The regional states have full autonomy in resource allocation decisions.

Decision-making power has recently been transferred to woreda (district) level administrations. Woreda administrations now receive block grants which they can allocate based on the priorities they identify.

 

Ethiopia is considered one of the poorest countries in the world. There is 42% of the population who live below the poverty line (World Bank-2000).

If we apply the criterion of 1 dollar per person daily, the percentage will reach 90%.

Therefore, the country declared a strategy named: “the sustainable development and poverty reduction”.

 

It appointed a whole commission for it. Ethiopia strives to achieve millennium developmental goals, which were declared by the United Nations.

Ethiopia was represented in the seminar by two experts: the first is Fisseha Aberra, the director of multi-lateral cooperation department – ministry of finance; the second is Getahun Tafesse, senior researcher, Ethiopian economic policy research institute.

 

Some of the most important points which they highlighted are:

•           There is a rise in the ratios of pupil registering yet the quality of education needs more attention.

•           The growth rate rose in 2003/2004 as a result of the improvement in performance in the agricultural sector and that the growth rate is linked to rainfalling .

•           The necessity of the return of "Aids Fighting Management" to be associated with the prime minister's office and not the Ministry of Health.

•           The apparent challenges are centered on achieving  a swift and continued growth rate, carrying out the food security programme, implementing the capabilities building program and giving the institutional character to the civil society organizations.

•           The importance of agricultural training center.

•           The governmental programs focus on the rural development.

•           The Ethiopian government hopes that the donors would give their direct support to the budget of poverty programs whereas the donors prefer to choose particular projects to which they give their support. The strategy of reducing poverty and policy of continued development and reducing poverty belong to the government and not to the country.

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By Mohamed Kandil

Studies of the Applied Economic Research Center points out on the empirical level that one step forward for the real growth rate leads to reduce rates of poverty by nearly 1% (0.9%).

The national strategy for curbing poverty is based on many principal pivots, of which is to create wealth in a total healthy economic frame.

 

The government is seeking to implement the PASCA Program targeting the enhancement of the economic growth rate between 7% and 9%.

Since the year 2003, senegal started implementing the process of diagnosing the strategy of reducing poverty (DSRP), as some social sectors like education, health, and agriculture grasped a considerable part of the state budget. In 2004, 40% of the total budget was allotted to education sector.

 

No direct assessment until now for poverty reduction recoil, but some available indications related to the budget, private reforms and good administration of economy and finance may show this recoil besides the indications of social sectors like health, education, environment, justice and the agricultural infrastructure.

The main challenges and poverty reduction strategy .

 

At the drafting of the second generation of the strategy, the government has benefited from the available strategies and studies to use them as a base for the diagnosis process.

As for other fields in which sector programs were not available for the diagnosis strategy, all the strategy-related arrangements were determined and translated to sector strategies and investment programs in all different fields, particularly through the Plans of Operating Sector (POS) and the Plans of Operating Regions (POR).

 

Work program runs by five committees that concentrate on the following:

Modernizing the special information of diagnosing and analyzing poverty.

Revising the five strategic axes of the DSRP and reviewing targets with the necessary reform suggestions.

Analyzing the investment needs related to targets of the DSRP and the expected impacts over poverty and growth.

 

Suggesting a pattern for the measures and a plan work that covers -at minimum- the period between 2006-2008.

Achieving balance regarding resources allotment according to the new determined priorities and drawing permanent measures and indications. In addition, analyzing results to achieve harmony between policies, procedures and forms of interference from the side of development partners.

 

Concentrating on the specificity of the social programs than on services and getting interested in investments and the infrastructure.

Millineum developemnt (goals)

Senegal launched the implementation of work programs in some of the targeted sectors in preparation for the millineum development (goals). such sectors are:

Hydropower, land reclamation, health, wealth creation, infrastructure, environment, etc. results of these work programs will be used as a base at the drafting process of Poverty Reducing Strategy.

 

confronting problems concerning youths and labour

since the summit of the African heads of states and governemnts that was held in Mabuto 2003, local adminstartions had committed to strive for creating suitable opportunities, a matter that was considered a priority of the strategy for combating poverty. As labour is the main crane for poverty retraction, the policy of this labour is based on the following:

•           Mapping out how to manage the manpower that participates in increasing the capabilities to render more joining of the poor to work.

•           improving the process of recruitement among manpower.

•           Boosting the transparency and effectivness of labour market.

•           Enhancement of the independent jobs in the urban and rural societies.

This would be accomplished in synchronization with the enhancement process of the highly intensive manpower objects. Notably, youths under 35 years old in Senegal represent nearly more than 55% of the manpower.

Leadership, responsibiliy and specification to poverty reduction

•           A ministrial council is heading the Diagnosis Strategy for Reducing Poverty (DSRD) and is responsible for deciding and signing all the steps related.

•           DSRD has two levels; the strategic level and the pratctical level (recruitment level).

The foundational frame of the DSRD aims at a central flexible harmony, whether in the defining, the following up or even in the assessment of the impact of the carried out policies. Such centrality is so significant on the strategic level to warrant the full coherence of these policies, taking into consideration the comprehensive targets of the startegy, easy talks with development partners, particularly to what is related with the programming of efforts and specification of resources.

 

On the recruitment level, there is a wide-scale responsibility to be the rule of non-centrality in carrying out the scheduled policies, programs and enterprizes. This would be in the frame of harmonizing sector interferences.

 

Role of the Parliament, civil society groups and the private sector in the drafting of poverty reduction strategy

They share all the participants either in the drafting process or in the implementation of the DSRD throughout many levels:

•           The civil society is a participant in the development process, in addition to the public and private sectors and development partners. Nevertheless, institutions of the civil society are taking part in the actions of the DSRD different stages. These institutions have the role of leading mobilization programs. These institutions are divided into four groups:

* Woman

*Syndicates

*Non-governemntal organizations

*Societies

These groups are in regular contacts with other partners to regulize harmony and political and social dialogue.

On the local level, regional authorities prepare the regional workshops under the chairmanship of governors. It introduced information and analized modern studies over experiences of poverty reduction. Masses also participate the related activities, workshops, public opinion surveys, a thing that provides extra information about the domestic stance.

 

Elites (local administrators and MP), also take part in the regional consultations and business's commencement. A technical advisory committee shoulders the responsibility of supervising this process through different stages to guarantee a massive participation.

To achieve that, a workshop was organized since the launching of the reviewing process to test the roadmap and to okay the suggestd curriculum and establish the business' committees. These committees are:

•           1st Committee is the state's administrations that are supervised by the technical committees.

•           2nd Committee comprises organizations of civil society.

•           3rd Committee is the local gatherings.

•           4th Committee is the private sector.

•           5th Committee is the development partners.

There is a group so called "Genre" to diagnosing strategy of poverty reduction. this committee takes part in the evenys of different committees, in addidtion to an ad-hoc committee that will be constituted by parliament members to provide reciprocal opinions with the technical committee over the results of various stages.

 

Ministries and the Strategy on Reducing Poverty

The course of communioun permitted participation to representatives of different ministries and regional administrations in the actions of the groups responsible for drafting the DSRD. To do this, the DSRD started two types of plans; the first type is the plans of operating sector (POS) through which the sector ministries determine all needs. The second type is the plans of regional operation (POR) in which governors shoulders the full responsibility.

Impact of strategy on reducing poverty on the mobilization of the parliament and civil society

DSRD is considered a national strategy and the citizens' own expression through an active participation process that, in turn, aims at stepping any way drives to improve conditions of life for the poor class.

 

Hence, the role of the MPs and local administrators besides the civil society is a highly significant to achieve the inspired targets.

Carrying out the DSRD bears some dangers that demand the civil society to lessen these dangers by playing a dynamic and mobilizing role for the individuals, groups and gatherings, as this facilitates the (social interaction) and population's contribution in watching up policies and the MPs. The startegy was submitted to the National Association (The Parliament) and there is a continuous tackling between various policies and parliament groups to include all opinions. Relatively to the civil society, some resources were put under their control to take part in the different actions.

 

The role of NEPAD

The strategy pf reducing poverty in Senegal drives harmoniously with NEPAD's vision and the certain strategic directions in the frame of the preliminary actions of the 10th plan for Economic and Social Development (PDES) that was accredited to cover the period from 2002-2007. These strategic directions are as follow:-

•           Enhancing the rational reign and boosting the state of law.

•           Reinforcing local development through the deepening of the non-centrality and rational rule.

•           Setting up the basic infrastructure with dispatch, in order to give the chance for all people to recieve principal social services, and to make better estimation for the human capital.

•           Increasing investments and reinforcing the emulative potency of the production order, particularly by establishing the suitable production-backing infrastructure.

•           Following up the sustainment of the subsediary regional fusion of international dynamic and strong cooperation.

•           Purifying information concerning developement, using better research findings and modern technology of communication.

•           Boosting costs coverage for the most harmful groups by improving their production abilities and reducing the racial discrimination.

The relation between the strategy on reducing poverty, national legislation and supervision process

The main targets of these relation are divided into 3 axes:

•           Duplicating the per capita real income from now until 2015 in the frame of a strong and balanced growth.

•           To make the social basic services accessible to all by establishing a quick infrastructure to sustain the human capital until 2010.

•           Eliminating all aspects of racial discrimination and spreading quality in the preliminary and secondary education, specially until 2015.

The PASCA is going around a basic prop, that is to creat wealth in a total healthy economy.

Strategy of reducing poverty and energy related issues

There are two principal directions for the SRP in addition to the basics of creating wealth in a total frame:

•           Boosting energies and enhancing basic social services.

•           Improving conditions of life of the groups of more incurrences to poverty.

Basic subsediary axes of the SRP are:

•           Human capital; it constitutes the process of setting up the infrastructure of good quality and geographically well-distributed. It also configures pre-conditions for strengtheneing the reserved human capital. Besides, it acts to find suitable solutions for the social demand through successive investments and particularly in the fields of education, health, hydropower and transport and to later use the supportive communication means of cultural aspect (Theatre-Cinema-Drawing,etc) to provide information in various fields.

•           Natural funds; it contributes in supporting the human capital and is also considered an important element for growth at the long-term. Thus, in the field of management of natural resourves and environment.

There are several priority targets were reckoned as follow:-

•           Enhancing the sylvan wealth.

•           Preserving the environment and combating desertedness.

•           Preserving animals and plants.

•           Preserving marinal and coastal nature.

•           Achieve balance between satisfying population needs and preserving the biological variety.

•           Sustaining wild resources.

•           Improving life frame in the urban and rural societies.

•           Sustaining capabilities of managing natural resources and environment (GRNE) through education, training and eliminating illiteracy, etc.

•           Raising the possibility of gearing poor population to the alternative energy.

•           Massive management of reserved surroundings.

Five business committees are made to deepen the subjects conntected to the main predicted activities during the preparation of the DSRD advance or backwardness in 2006-2008. Every committee will introduce its contribution at three basic axes:

•           Evaluating achievements and suggestions of the DSRD startegies from 2006-2008.

•           Total economic indications.

•           Assessment of the PAP program 2004-2005.

 

effect of the strategy on reducing poverty over funds management and public expenditures

Improving financial and budget procedures in the state's frame still considered the main targets for the governemnt that is committed to standstill carrying out plans of business, typically to the drawn agenda. On the domain of the budget execution, an important program was decided to be performed in 2005, including four main ministries (Education, Health, Justice and Environment) before its generalization in the regions.

 

Independent watch will continue on the state's role, and backing this role through the following up of the preparation and execution process to the state's accounts and the squaring laws in coordination with the Court of Accountancy.

 

As for other arrangement regarding market liberation, the governemnt will go on improving the judicial and institutional frame, giving special interests to limit the usage of special procedures like (Direct custody and Emergency) through improving the plan of contracts inside the main ministries concerning the agreement.

 

 

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BY: Dr.Adel Abdel Razek

The New Partnership for Africa's Development "NEPAD" initiative offers a definite work programme for a sectorial priorities group. The NEPAD aims represents in:

•           Supporting security and peace in Africa.

•           Achieving sound economic and political governance.

•           Deepening the democratic meanings.

•           Respecting the human rights.

•           Increasing the agricultural productivity.

•           Achieving the alimentary security.

•           Increasing the African trade amount.

•           Existing of the African exports in the international market.

•           Improving the environment.

•           Developing education al and scientific research.

•           Benefiting from the IT.

•           Improving the health and combating disease specially aids (HIV) and malaria.

•           Providing the resources needed to develop the projects and the executive programmes.

The NEPAD initiative set an African peer review mechanism which aims to review the qualifications and the performance in the African countries by mechanism, review the joined work ways to develop and advance it through exchanging information and cooperation between countries.

 

 

First: African peer review mechanism APREM within the frame of NEPAD organizational structure:

APREM is included in the NEPAD organizational structure where the NEPAD main system included:

1- Heads of state and government implementation committee:

It includes the 5 initiative presidents and other 15 presidents representing the 5 continents as 4 countries for every geographical region.

2- Steering committee:

It consists of representatives of the countries presidents who are members of the implementation committee. The committee prepares the work programme plans and moves forward to implement the initiative.

3- APREM presidential meeting:

It consists of the countries presidents and the members governments in the mechanism.

 

4-Secretarit:

It is placed in Pretoria and it works as a technical system for helping the steering and the implementation committees to perform their role.

    

Second: The mechanism introduction, aims and organizational structure:

This mechanism was set within the NEPAD initiative frame as an African mechanism aims to evaluate the African members' states performance and programmes in accordance to the principles in the announcement "The Democracy and the sound political and economic governance approved by the Summit of the African Union in Durban- July 2002.

 

 It also aiming to detect the weak and strong points in the performance, cooperate to solve the problems facing the countries, exchanging experience and information for enhancing the democratic practices, support the sound political and economic governance principals, deepening the transparency meaning, combating corruption and respecting the sons rights.

APREM structure:

 

a- Mechanism meeting:

It includes state and government members' presidents in the mechanism. It is charged with assigning members and head of eminent personalities' committee, authorizing the decisions, deciding the principles of the committee and the meeting procedures and informing the state member president with the meeting recommendations.

b- Eminent personalities committee:

It includes 7 members and it is charged with supervising the mechanism manage and committed to independence and reliability. It also assigns the review staff and study the reports issued by the committee.

c- Mechanism secretariat:

It is placed in Pretoria and it works as a technical support unit to assist the committee in its tasks.

 

Third: Mechanism tasks, meetings and decisions:

23 countries joined the mechanism including Egypt where President Hosni Mubarak signed memorandum of understanding concerning Egypt's membership in March 2004.

The mechanism practiced its tasks in July 2004 by reviewing the performance of 4 countries: Ghana, Kenya, Rwanda and Mauritius. The mechanism sent support missions to these countries to prepare the review process and helping to put a programme.

The mechanism secretariat set a review agenda to the other member countries in accordance to their date of joining to the mechanism. The agenda includes Egypt's review process in the period from the fourth quarter of 2006 till the third quarter of 2007.

 

The agenda includes the following:

- Financing APREM's activities (the fifth item in the agenda):

1-         In addition to the African countries contribution in financing the mechanism's activities, the NEPAD implementation committee took a decision in February 2005 to establish a Trust Fund for the African governments and the private contributions beside the voluntary contributions from the development partners, the international and the regional organizations.

2-         It is expected that the presidents will tackle the standards set to obtain the contributions, re-asserting the necessity to preserve the African nature of the mechanism and keeping it away from any interference and external pressures which affect the mechanism tasks, principles and bases.

 

- The gained experiences from the review process (the sixth item in the agenda):

The results of the support missions to the four countries will be presented in this item in addition to the lessons learned from these visits.

The Final Declaration of the Fourth Summit of heads of states and governments of the African review mechanism:

 

A committee was held for the heads of states and governments of the African review mechanism in 22 January 2006 in Khartoum, Sudan. The Nigerian President Obasanjo headed the committee and 10 heads of states and governments, 13 representatives of heads of states, the peer mechanism board, representatives from international organizations as head of the African Development Bank, the executive secretary of the UN economic committee in Africa and the UN development programme representative participated in the committee.

The Ghanaian President John Agyekum Kufuor presented the review mechanism's achievements and role in the governance review and enhancing the economic and the social development in Africa.

 

Kufuor said that Ghana's government considers the Ghana mechanism report as a positive act where it shows the overcoming of its weak points in the governance field. The report showed that Ghana already is implementing a number of the recommendations.

Kufuor showed the steps done by his government to commit to the issues requirements set in the agenda including the total cost which increased from USD 2.8 billions to 5 billions.

 

Rwanda also announced that its government is currently implementing the agenda and it will be ready to provide the report in the next summit. The heads of states and the attendees signed a memorandum of understanding concerning the review mechanism.

 

The Egyptian situation concerning the African review mechanism meeting:

-           Welcoming the establishment of APREM in short period of time and beginning to fulfill its responsibilities and the review process in the four countries. This reflects Africa's seriousness and keenness to perform well and benefit from their experiences to develop its ability and qualification in managing the countries affairs politically and economically based on technical standards enriched with transparency, responsibility and nationality.

-           This mechanism assures Africa's adherence to the democratic values and the sound political and economic authority through developing the political, economi and financial practices. The mechanism reflects Africa's awareness that the reform and the development emerges from the national will and coping with the political and the economic conditions, the social traditions and the cultural heritage. The mechanism is considered as an African national choice to provide best life for the nations and also assures the strong mutuality relations between deepening the democracy values and respecting the human rights from one side and achieving the economical and social development from another side.

Conclusion:

-           The joining of half Africa's countries in the mechanism membership and the acceptance of reviewing their performance shows the belief  of the Africa's leaders and nations that the mechanism do not address the external world as much as aiming to achieve the African benefits, to provide healthy climate to push the development efforts and to achieve the regional integration.

-           The keenness of Africa's leaders to assure the African mechanism nature and their commitment to contribute in covering the expenses, is a reflection of their desire to deepen the African cooperation meaning and exchanging information and experiences between the countries to develop the performance level within the constructive partnership away from the punishment policies.

 

 

 

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By : Adel Ali

The Libyan Capital of Tripoli in 1/6/2006 witnessed the convocation of the 8th summit of the Sahel and Sahara states with the participation of leaders and presidents of 23 African countries, topped by President Hosni Mubarak. The summit had been held in spite of some political, economic and security challenges pass by the African arena during the last few years that decelerated the march of the joint African action, of which the Sahel and Sahara springs.

Members of the summit are 23 countries; Libya, Purkina Faso, Mali, Chad, Niger, Eritria, Central Africa, Senegal, Gambia, Djebouti, Nigeria, Tunisia, Morrocco, Somalia, Togo, Benin, Egypt, Ghenia, Pesave, Coute D'Ivoir, Liberia, Ghana and sierralion.

 

The management body of the Sahel and Sahara gathering comprises a main group of councils and departments, of which other committees and adminstarations emanate to play their own role in social functionning.

These councils are represented in; Presidency Council, The Executive Council, General Secretariat, Development Bank, the Economic, Cultural and Social Council.

 

The summit's most important issues in the agenda

Issues of security and development were the dominant of the summit's topics and exigent problems of the member states. The summit also concentrated on a number of economic issues, the encumbrance on the way of development process in Africa.

 

The summit's agenda focused on the following pivots:

•           Taking a unified stance towards African hot issues like Darfur, the international and African existence, launching steps of boosting african-arab cooperation to move on the international arena in the United Nations and the Security Council to serve issues of the continent.

 

The main points of the final statements are:

•           The neccessity to find a solution for Darfur crisis inside the African sphere, depending on the African troops.

•           Setting up the free trade zone, taking any form of cooperation relationship among countries, either integrity, full freedom of every state, solidarity or even the merging of all these in a special order to be committed by the all.

•           Boosting the agricultural research and encouraging farmers to adopt types of biological cultivation, calling on them to plant vast areas of the crops related with the alimentary security of the member states.

•           Considering consultations to supply the financial resources to launch implementing the program of alimentary security in the expanded stage with the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization(FAO).

•           Establishing a supreme panel for desert development, quickly starting to carry out the green girdle project to face desertification phenomenon.

•           Establishing a supreme panel for water that includes all the gathering countries.

•           the project of setting up the railway lines between libya- chad and chad Niger as a first stage of the NEPAD's program.

 

Egyptian participation in the summit

It is the first time for Egypt to take part in this summit as an active memebr after it signed on the summit's treaty on January 2006. Egypt reflected another prove on the great importance it gave to reinforce its political and economic relations with the memebr states in this meeting.

 

This was apparent in the egyptian senior delegation headed by President Mubarak in the summit. Egypt wants to play its pioneering role inconfronting and reconciliating disputes breake out from time to time among the African states, as well as the inspirations that Egypt hopes to achieve, which is the permanent developement for the African countries.

President Mubarak in his speech in front of the summit, determined the bases by which they can confront the multiple challenges faced by the Sahel and Sahara memebr states. Some of these emergent bases are:

 

•           The necessity to boost solidarity among states of the Sahel and Sahara to overcome challenges they face.

•           The obligation of intertwisting efforts to benefit from the opportunities for the interest of African Peoples.

•           The necessity of regional cooperation, considering it the corner stone on the way of integrity and African unity. It is the main hope for it seek all the summit countries inside the African Union's frame.

•           This regional gathering is a part of the whole African space, a matter that requires cooperation among the African countries to face challenges.

•           Importance of education and health as two main stanchions in the human developement, as well as the way to achieve future inspirations.

Important resolutions included in the final statement of the summit

•           Calling for the two rebellion movements who abandon the Abouja agreement in Darfur to join the peace talks in the near chance.

 

The resolutions expressed sustainment and backing of the summit countries to the peace agreement signed in Abouja between the Sudanese government and the Sudanese People's Liberation Movement (SPLM). The final statement also demanded the international community to support the agreement and provide urgent support for the African Union (AU) to help implement the agreement according to its schedule.

 

•           The resolutions have called also upon the parties to introduce full support for Somalia throughout the "Union for Peace Committee". In addition, inviting the UN, AU, AL, OIC, the Red Cresent, the Un Developmental Program and all the concerning organizations to give the hand of assistance to Somalia to reach the safety coast and preserving the Somalians' unity. Nevertheless, giving the okay to dispatch a committe to cease war in Somalia in coordination with the Security Council to prevail peace there.

•           Calling for the fusion between the Sahel and Sahara summit, Union of Arab Morocco and the economic group of teh African western countries to form one economic mass.

These resolutions are indicating the strong desire from the summit's side to reconciliate the numerous problems passing by the African Continent in a short period, particularly in Sudan and Somalia.

 

Evaluating vision for the Sahel and Sahara summit

Some watchdogs have their semi-vision that the Sahel and Sahara summit would face difficuiltes in their inclusion for the crisis and disputes, either internal or among the summit members. This would have a negative impact on the implementation of the development projects.

 

However, this semi-vision of the watchdogs has the opinion that the summit succeded in their agreement on developmental enterprizes necessary for some member states like railways, roads, founding a bank for regulating money market and supplying the projects in the frame of a free trade zone for the organization countries.

 

Terrorism is another phenomenon that needs confrontation by the summit states. This phenomenon neccesitated the notarization of the security cooperation among memeber states, as terrorism pours negative impacts on the developmental issues.

 

In this frame, a package of suggestions was put under operation to correct the integrated move of the Sahel and Sahara summit, considering the summit representing a modern integrated experiment in Africa. Some of these suggestions are:

•           Establishing a coordinating committe goes in line with other African summits, particularly that embody the Sahel and Sahara members. This committe acts against any dualism in the political, economic and security issues.

•           The importance of the participation by all members to guarantee the full benifits by all.

•           The necessary to focus on developmental sectors that bound the Sahel and Sahara countries together like: communication, roads, energy and water.

•           Drawing an economic plan to achieve the integral targets for the summit over 15 years, during which the capabilities of the satets must be considered in fulfilling these costs. Also, to find a space of balance between the economic targets and others.

 

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By: Nabil Bakr

On the third of May 2006, the Chadian people voted in the presidential elections which President Edris Dibi, whose presidency period has already ended and who undertook the authority since his coup against the former Chadian President Hussein Habri in 1990, insisted on holding them in spite of the fact that the opposition boycotted them.

 

Five candidates competed on the opposition. The most prominent of them was Edris Dibi (54 years old) who endeavored to win a new term of rule extending for five years. Last year he initiated the amendment of the constitution in order to be able to participate as a candidate for a third term despite the opposition's protest. The opposition decided to boycott the elections and urged the voters to stay at their homes yet Dibi insisted on performing the elections in the right time in spite of the threat of the rebels who launched an unsuccessful attack on April 13, 2006 on the Chadian Capital N'djamena pursuing the acts of violence.

 

The Chadian President presents himself as the person who secures the stability in the face of the extension of conflict from Darfur region west of the Sudan. The final results which the independent national elections committee declared stated that Edris Dibi got 77.53% of the votes surpassing his four modest rivals with a large difference.

 

The head of the election committee confirmed that the participation percentage in the elections amounted to 61.49% of nearly 5.7 million recorded Chadian voters who were received by about 11.800 poll centers. The elections were made after three weeks of the failure of a coup attempt launched by the Chadian rebels from the United Front for Change to topple President Dibi who returned from his outside visit to equatorial Guinea and could overcome the rebellion. Yet, he insisted on holding the elections in their time in spite of the call of the Chadian opposition, the civil society organizations, the African Union and some international powers for him to delay the elections until a forum for national reconciliation is held.

 

But he did not respond and led his electoral campaign under the slogan " I or the chaos". The African observers who supervised the elections confirmed that the elections were free and fair and witnessed a large willingness. Whereas western diplomats saw that such willingness was weak and lukewarm. They also pointed out that there were some errors that characterized the electoral process, such as some children's giving their votes and trucks carrying women and bedwins between the various polling centers to give their votes.

 

Meanwhile, the opposition alliance called the world society to refuse the results of the elections and to urge Dibi to perform open talks with his political rivals and to re-hold the elections in a more transparent and fair way.

 

It is noteworthy that the Chadian constitution which was acknowledged in March 1995 emphasized the free election system and the parties pluralism. President Dibi's party (the National Movement for Rescue) enjoys an overwhelming majority whereas the other 27 parties played the role of the chorus. These are tribal and local parties which need popular and charismatic leadership which can lead the masses in the face of the presidency's institution.

Before the elections, President Dibi's regime faced several leaderships. On the local lane, the Chadian armed forces witnessed the escape of a large number of its elements and their joining the regime's opposition members, a matter which led to the army's weakening.

 

Socially, the authorities faced accusations for corruption and deprivation of the Chadian people from the oil revenues which started its production and exportation since 2003 in the south of Chad. A large part of the civil society joined the opposition in calling for delaying the elections.

 

Diplomatically, several international voices raised calling President Dibi to postpone the elections. While France remained the only country which continued to support Dibi. Therefore, France was exposed to the criticism of the Chadian opposition  which accused France of interfering to keep Dibi in authority and that it told the governmental Chadian army of the moves of the failing attack which was launched last April and which President Dibi said that the Khartoum government backed it. That led him to severe the Chadian-Sudanese relations and declare war against the Sudan. But the Sudan totally rejected such accusations.

 

Within the outcome of the local and regional circumstances of the pre-elections period, and the reflections of the presidential elections results, some analysts expect that Chad will enter a stage of political stagnation in view of the insistence of the opposition on refusing these results. This may lead the country towards more ethnic conflicts and consequently reach a civil war.

 

Thus, the Chadian President Edris Dibi starts his third term in a weak position facing a severe opposition which tries to seize the opportunity to topple his regime. This emphasizes that Dibi succeeded in introducing democratic reforms but he failed to find a solution to the tribal problems. 

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By: Samar Ibrahim

The Union of Comoros Islands witnessed the first crucial test for the constitution which includes the agreement on dividing the authority, signed between the Islands in 2001. the authority had been peacefully transferred for the first time in the country after a long history full of coups which continued for more than the last quarter of a century.

 

A glimpse of the Comoros Islands Union:

Comoros Islands is an Arab Islamic country which lies in the straight of Mozambique between Madagascar and the African Coast. It combines four main islands, Enjuan Islands, Mohili Islands, in addition to Mayot Island. When Comoros got its independence from France in 1970, it was formed from the three Great Comoros Islands, Enjuan and Mohili, but Mayot Islands refused to get independent from France.

 

Despite the small rise of Comoros islands which area does not exceed 2500 kilometers and their few population whose number is 670 thousand people together with the thin capabilities of the country especially in the armament field, yet it was famous for its history which was chronic with military coups whose number amounted to go military coups. In 2001, an amendment was done to the Comoros Island's constitution in order to give each island a self-rule.

 

The name of the country was changed to become the Union of Comoros Islands. The President of the Union is selected through the public poll for four years and the presidency is circulated periodically. General Ghazali Othman, who is from the Great Comoros Islands, took over the presidency of the Union on April 10, 2002.

 

According to the periodical presidency among the Islands, Enjuan Island will undertake the presidency in 2006. Mohili Island, the smallest of the Islands, will shoulder the presidency in 2010. the elections have so far passed two rounds;

 

The first round:

It was made in April 16 and the number of candidates amounted to 13 from Enjuan Island. The elections were made under the supervision of troops from the African Union whose number reached 460 people in order to secure stability and to hold the elections in complete democracy.

 

The Constitutional Court announced the names of the candidates who obtained the highest percentage in this round. Those candidates are: Ahmed Abdullah Sambin with a percentage of 26.93%, Mohammed Daba Safari with the percentage of 14,88% and finally Ibrahim Halidi who got 11.79%.

 

The second round:

The second round of the presidential elections was held on May 14 in 624 centers distributed on three islands which are the Greater Comoros, Enjuan, Muhili in order to choose among the candidates who got the highest percentage in the polls during the first round. The second round resulted in the winning of the religious leader Ahmed Abdullah Sambin. He won the seat of the new president of Comoros Islands Union as he surpassed his competitors. He obtained 58% of the votes while Ibrahim Halidi got 28% and Mohammed Daba safari obtained only 13.72%.

 

Ahmed Abdullah Sambin endeavors to present himself to the Arab world as a moderate liberal character and an open-minded personality with Arab characteristics, to enhance the ties with the countries which are members in the Arab League and the Organization of the Islamic Conference.

 

He also wants to make a specific jump in the efforts to transfer the country's institutions into the Arabic style specially because he is the first president of Comoros Islands since its independence, who speaks Arabic in addition to his fluency in the French language.

 

The elections resulted in a number of indicators including:

•           The attention of the western countries to offer economic and military aids to the Comoros Islands Union. These countries includes the USA, France and South Africa.

•           The decline of the percentage of the people's political participation during the two rounds. The percentage of participation in the first round was 54.9% while the percentage of participation in the second round did not exceed 57.3%.

•           The world media tried to defame Ahmed Abdullah Sambin and presented him as an Islamic extremist.

•           The Arab countries ignored to offer economic aids to Comoros Islands Union and the Arab Media  ignored the results of Comoros presidential elections. Now the question which arises is Where is the role of the Arab and Islamic countries in supporting such countries which struggled in order to join the Arab league in 1993? And will the Arab countries move ahead to participate in these countries' economic renaissance?

 

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By: Karim Shoukry

The Ethiopian capital of Addis Ababa witnessed the convocation of the African Information Ministers Conference held in the African Union (AU) headquarter and lasted for two days, June 14-15, 2006. Participants of this conference were delegations from 36 states.

 

Agenda of the conference comprised means of implementing the Egyptian suggestion concerning the establishment of a radio and television channel covering the whole Africa. Also, participants tackled in their conference the technical means and technology required for the transmission of the programs, determining the legitimate, administrative and institutional frames of this channel. These preparations pave the way to put forth this suggestion in front of the African summit that will be held in the Gambian capital of Banjul at the first of July.

 

The idea of setting up an African radio and TV channel acquired a strong motive force from President Mubarak's initiative in the meetings held in Abuja and Sirte last year.

Majority of the delegations spoke in the conference hailed President Mubarak's initiative and the assistance that Egypt intends to offer. During the conference events, Egypt was elected as Deputy of the conference's President.

 

The conference active session included the election of the Bureau board, crediting the schedule, presenting the completed works from the side of the AU Commissariat, around the channel draft project. Discussions also run over the channel trends, policies, contents, the targeted spectators, means of fund resources, the technical and technological means and the legal foundational frame of the channel.

 

The Egyptian Initiative to establish the TV channel:

The idea of establishing the TV channel in Africa provoked a great deal of interest among many of the TV channel owners, inside or outside the continent. The idea acquired more strength after President Mubarak's suggestion during Abuja summit in Nigeria, January 2005 to set up an African TV channel. President Mubarak confirmed Egypt's readiness to provide all the Nile Sat capabilities for this target besides all the technical support. The second time President Mubarak introduced the same idea was in a later time during the convocation of the AU Conference in Sirte, Libya July 2005. The Egyptian suggestion was then approved and consultations were run between the Egyptian government and the AU Chief Commissioner and his assistants.

 

During a meeting in Cairo by the AU experts on November 21-23,2005 a discussion went on and two papers from the AU and the egyptian government were introduced during the meeting.

The AU paper reviewed political, financial, lawful dimensions, the project content and the language of the programs. As for the egyptian one, it determined the technical considerations related to the African channel.

 

The egyptian initiative concentrated on the TV structure, at the time the AU inserted the radio transmission in the schedule of the experts' meeting, in the light of pre-determined resolutions by the member countries.

 

The inspired benefits of the project:

• Boosting acknowledgment of africa, inside and outside the continent, clarifying the positive sides.

•  Showing the African cultural inheritance. . Providing African seminars for discussions.

•   Backing African integrity and coordination.

•   Enhancing the belonging of the rising generations with the mother continent.

•  Reinforcing the African dialogue on development and democracy means

•   Preserving African cultural identity.

•  Unifying African sound in front of the international and continental challenges.

 

 

 

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