" [1]A two-day Dialogue in the South African coastal city of Durban, between the New Partnership for Africa’s Development - NEPAD Agency - and its main partners has culminated in a cornerstone agreement on how better to manage and the Agency.
Participation was drawn from representatives of NEPAD national and regional structures, African Union Commission, Regional Economic Communities, UN Agencies, Private Sector and partner institutions.
The meeting, which was organized by the NEPAD Agency and UN Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA) with support from the German Development Agency - GIZ - received a boost from the South African Government through the participation of Ms Lindiwe Zulu, Special Adviser on International Relations to President Jacob Zuma of South Africa.
Other high level delegates included a representative of COMESA Secretary General and Cote d’Ivoire’s Advisor to the Minister of State for Planning and Development Mr Patrice Mallet
The main focus of the Dialogue was to assess and concretise how best to coordinate NEPAD’s national and regional programmes and projects as well as to obtain renewed commitment to adequately resource NEPAD through domestic financing. In particular, participants considered appropriate strategic modalities to enhance the delivery of the Agency as the technical body of the African Union.
Key outcomes from the meeting include
- Expanding and strengthening the ownership base and buy-in for NEPAD implementation through an all-inclusive process at national and regional level.
- Guidelines to support the implementation capacity of NEPAD structures and Focal Points
- Proposed set-up of an all-inclusive consultative forum for better coherence and coordination at technical and programmatic levels
- The capacity of NEPAD focal structures need to be developed for effective coordination.
- Sharing of Experiences and Lessons Learned in coordinating NEPAD.
- Guidelines on roles and responsibilities for NEPAD Focal Points need to be developed with the NPCA taking a lead role
- Mainstreaming NEPAD into national and regional policies is critical to implementation
- Communication and Advocacy: document and consistency showcase NEPAD’s impact through success stories
These outcomes will be followed by an action plan with specific implementation guidelines, to be finalised by the NEPAD agency and UNECA.
