People do not eat Agreements, they need food and shelter - AUC | AUDA-NEPAD

Dec 28, 2015 | News

People do not eat Agreements, they need food and shelter - AUC

As the African Union prepares to meet this week under the theme Agriculture and Food Security, NEPAD’s Programme implementation came under the spotlight on Sunday, at the NEPAD Steering Committee meeting in Addis Ababa.

The Committee, comprised of representatives of 20 African Heads of States, Regional Economic Communities (REC’s) and development partners held robust discussions on various reports tabled by the CEO Dr Ibrahim Mayaki.

Dr Mayaki reported back on 2013 programmatic activities, including NEPAD’s contribution to two key development themes – the Post 2015 Agenda and the AU Commission’s Agenda 2063, which is a global strategy to optimise use of Africa’s resources for the benefit of the continent’s people.

The AUC’s Commissioner for Economic Affairs Mr Anthony Mothae Maruping said “We must not only celebrate financial agreements and the signing of documents. People do not eat agreements. They need food and shelter and we have to deliver.”

The NEPAD Agency also gave an update on a Domestic Resource Mobilisation study being carried out in partnership with the UN’s Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA). Other topics on the agenda were, a briefing on the salient decisions taken at the last Steering Committee meeting in Dakar in November 2013, the funding of the NEPAD and the new Structure.

Kossi Toulassi, Head of Finance presenting the Financial Report

The CEO said that the approval of the 2014-17 Strategic Plan, which received fundamental comments from a working group appointed by the Steering Committee, was a very important aspect for NEPAD.

NEPAD also had success stories to share. Among some of the highlights - the identification of 16 “bankable” infrastructure projects for private sector interest; launch of the Virtual Information Centre (VPiC); NEPADs support for the Sahel initiative with AUC, the UN, World Bank and the African Development Bank; marine aquaculture launched in the Seychelles for food security and climate change, as well as PAF’s support to Guinea through ECOWAS.

Steering Committee members at the end of the meeting

Under CAADP, Dr Mayaki was proud to reveal that 10 African countries registered more than 6 per cent agricultural growth rate; US$6 million was mobilised from Norway to support the NEPAD Climate Change Smart Agriculture Programme and 70 technical experts from NEPAD were deployed to 15 African countries to support national CAADP compacts.

The meeting, which also paid tribute to former South African President Nelson Mandela who passed away on December 5, commended the coherence between RECs, the AUC and NEPAD and international development organisations, which was vital in ensuring visible and tangible results on the ground.

During the mission, Dr Mayaki, who is leading a team of senior NEPAD staff, will hold several bilateral meetings, officially launch the joint AUC/NEPAD Agriculture in Africa publication, host the high level Heads of State and Government Orientation Committee (HSGOC) meeting, as well as attend the AU General Assembly.

The Committee, comprised of representatives of 20 African Heads of States, Regional Economic Communities (REC’s) and development partners held robust discussions on various reports tabled by the CEO Dr Ibrahim Mayaki.

Dr Mayaki reported back on 2013 programmatic activities, including NEPAD’s contribution to two key development themes – the Post 2015 Agenda and the AU Commission’s Agenda 2063, which is a global strategy to optimise use of Africa’s resources for the benefit of the continent’s people.