My Priorities as CEO

From a programme that lacked a legally grounded mandate and an inability to evaluate the impact of many of its activities, NEPAD was at the beginning of the year transformed into a full-blown technical body within the African Union and underwent a name change.

Those changes have meant although the newly formed NEPAD Planning and Coordinating Agency (NPCA) or NEPAD Agency’s mandate hasn’t change much, it now takes on a bent that’s far more focused on implementation.

This transformation also clearly reflects the political will and re-commitment of African leaders to steadfastly pursue the actualisation of the NEPAD vision for the continent’s renewal. 

So, where there was sound delivery ‘on the ground’ before NEPAD’s transformation – such as tangible impacts in the agriculture, science, technology and infrastructure landscape – the criteria to evaluate those impacts was limited by the fact that NEPAD’s mandate was not legally binding and precise.

With this transformation behind it, the agency now has the backing to do what it set out to nine years ago.

One of the top priorities has been to seek out a more integrated approach to its operations where communication and coordination of efforts are paramount.

The strategy is therefore to build a knowledge system that allows knowledge developed in one sector to complement the knowledge in another.

To use an example, where NEPAD intervened in a gender programme, it learned about the condition of women entrepreneurs, the condition of women entrepreneurs in rural areas, the constraints of the financial system and the level of training in small enterprises.

But, it never linked these findings back to other projects that could, for help alleviate some of the strain on, for example, the learning or training fronts.

For this reason, one of NEPAD”s key focus areas will be building a knowledge system that encourages and tolerates cross-pollenation of knowledge.

The agency’s heavy focus on outcomes carries through to its management structures – as such, it has prioritised a results-based management approach in its programmatic work whilst also focusing on value-driven partnerships.

While NEPAD becomes more results driven, its vision and mission have not changed.

It continues to use the ‘yellow book’ which was created by Africa’s leadership, outlining the challenges faced by the African Union.

These challenges, outlined briefly are:

• The recognition that Africa's development would be accelerated by integration;
• The understanding that Africa's competitiveness would have to be built in regional markets;
• The importance of shifting from a poverty-reduction paradigm to a growth-expansion paradigm;
• That every member of the African Union and each of its citizens feels sense of ownership and responsibility to make a difference using NEPAD as the approved framework for change.

That said, the ‘yellow book’ is not static however.

It has to evolve and in order to do so, NEPAD understands that it will have to work with ‘key actors’ – within civil society and the private sector – that are identified along the way.

A good example of this exists in NEPAD’s agricultural programme, which invites farmers to participate as actors and telling the agency what their interests are and on which points they agree with its orientations.

Historically, NEPAD has drawn heavily on the input of civil society, non-gains organizations, youth groups, academia and other more formal communities to shape policies and drive programmes.

More recently, the agency is extending its reach into the private sector and closely engaging with business groups and liaising with them to help shape the right policies.

Going foreward, NEPAD would like to encourage even closer interaction and at a personal level, if a citizen of the African Union feels compelled to get involved, they should make use of the tools made available on this website, various other engagement mechanisms and also, feel free to e-mail my team on info@nepad.org. 

Ultimately, if the African Renaissance is to work, it has to show that rural women in remote areas can, when they give birth, have access to a dispensary that is 5km away.

Africa still have the highest maternal mortality in the world and as we all know, this is an indicator of the dysfunctions of all health systems.

Similarly, farmers who produce need to have information on markets where they go to sell products and at the same time will need roads to get there.

Africa’s urban centres can't be composed of the majority living below the poverty line without access to clean water and electricity, because it has a direct impact on the level of education.

Concrete things have to be done in terms of delivery on the ground, since this is where people will judge the continent.

With its more integrated structure, agency status and renewed impetus, now more than ever, NEPAD has the tools it requires to be a strong manifestation of the African Renaissance.