Summit accentuates preserving NEPAD past achievements

BY WORKU BELACHEW

ADDIS ABABA-  NEPAD Heads of State and Government Orientation (HSGOC) accentuated the need for preserving past modest achievements of NEPAD  bringing innovative mechanisms to increase domestic resource mobilization that help reduce current dependency on foreign aid.

Opening the 28th Summit at AU headquarters  here yesterday, NEPAD Chairperson Prime Minister Haile-Mariam  Dessalegn laud late Premier Meles Zenawi who initiated and led NEPAD for he was  a vanguard spearheading African Union common position of climate change and South-South partnership in various regional and international fora. “Meles viewed NEPAD as the change model for managing Africa’s relations with the international community to advancing its  interests in peace and security as well as development.” The assembly also observed a  minute of silence in commoration of the late Prime Minster Meles.

Summit participants observing a minute of silence in memory of late Prime Minister Meles Zenawi

 

Regarding the efforts of NEPAD, Haile-Mariam said  the integration of NEPAD into the structures and procedures  of AU, as a technical and executing body of the Union, has shown a welcoming development.  “The programme and the harmonization process of NEPAD agency and the AUC is one course that should receive our continued support as the result will help enhance coherence , coordination and programme impact to bring increased regional integration, inclusive growth and prosperity in our continent,”  he said.

According to him, realizing the regional  programmes of NEPAD requires mobilizing domestic finance and the first step to address the challenges in this regard would be the Policy Study on Domestic Resource Mobilization for NEPAD coordinated by NEPAD Agency UNECA and UNDP.

The NEPAD Agency is supporting the design for Union-wide Strategic Agenda for the next 50 years   under the leadership of AUC while the Strategic Agenda of NEPAD will be derived in line with it and  from Strategic Plan of  the commission for years between 2014-2017, he said.

The Premier also reaffirmed the commitment and continued support of the Ethiopian government for the full realization of the NEPAD visions, objectives and programmes. 

AUC chairperson  Dr. Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma on her part apperciated NEPAD Agency's closer relations with the  Commission to determine the modalities to operationalize the  institutional  Programme for Infrastructural Development in Africa (PIDA)

“The 51 projects and programmes of PIDA require a capital cost  as big as USD 68 billion,  of which USD 200 million, equivalent to USD 50 million a year assuming hundred per cent is derived from African Domestic Resource,  is craved in the next four years,” said Zuma urging PIDA stakeholders to provide continued support for its realization.

AU Chair person Boni Yayi of Benin also  echoed to scale up the capacity of the Executive Secretariat to closely follow up all commitments undertaken by the  Agency and development  being    the Presidential initiative of US in their top priority.

The  meeting also evaluated progresses made thus far and came up with guidelines ensuring that agriculture becomes the driver of food and nutrition security and on ways and means that help  create wealth and employment for youth and women.