Between a Hard Place and a Rock: EU Economic Partnership Agreement and Malawi
By Collins Magalasi
cmagalasi@gmail.com
January 2007
ACRONYMS
ACP Africa, Caribbean and Pacific
COMESA Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa
CPA Cotonou Partnership Agreement
DWP Doha Work Programme
EAC East African Community
EEC European Economic Community
EPA Economic Partnership Agreement
ESA Eastern and Southern Africa
EU European Union
GDP Gross Domestic Product
IDS Institute for Development Studies
IGAD Integrated Authority for Development
IOC Indian Ocean Commission
REC Regional Economic Community
SADC Southern Africa Development Community
WITS World Integrated Trade Solution
1. Executive Summary
Poor Malawi is under new form of siege by rich nations in the north! With the expiry of the EU/ACP Cotonou Agreement coming close, pressure for Malawi and other Africa, Caribbean and Pacific countries to enter into reciprocal free trade agreement with Europe is mounting. If Malawi goes ahead signing onto the Economic Partnership Agreements (EPA) with Europe in their current form, Malawi will be poorer than it is now as concluded by this paper. This paper challenges the claimed benefit of EPAs by looking at among others, the potential impacts of the EPA on the Agriculture, manufacturing, and services sectors in Malawi. In detail, the paper confirms that the poor country will be hit hard by fiscal revenue loss, adjustment costs, and the state of play of negotiations. Indeed one is left with questions whether Malawi by moving on from Cotonou to EPA it is not getting into a harder squeeze.
The dangers of EPAs also reach to the regional integration process in COMESA. Two consistent stories underpin this concern. The first is that the EU stands to gain significantly in terms of expanded trade into Malawi and consequently into the RECs markets. While part of this trade expansion will result from welfare creation, which is welfare improving, significant proportions of the trade gain will also be due to trade diversion from the rest of the world and from within the ESA- EPA grouping itself. As a result, while the reciprocity principle appears to be trade expanding, it will pose serious implications for deepened regional integration in Africa. Indeed, unless there are clear mitigating measures, the EPAs could seriously undermine the gains that have been achieved so far in the integration process of the continent.
The second consistent result is the potential adjustment costs that Malawi will have to bear as a result of revenue shortfalls. Given the prominence of EU imports into Malawi and the country’s reliance on tariff revenues, tariff dismantlement result in significant revenue shortfalls. The major challenge that these revenue shortfalls will pose is the adjustment costs associated with tax policy and administration reforms.
Proprietors of Washington Consensus have used formulas and models to promote free trade. This paper uses the adopted analytical tools developed by the World Bank and other international institutions - the very same proprietors of free trade - to assess and prove the potential negative impacts of the EPA on the economy in general, by looking at revenue loss, trade creation and diversion, welfare creation and adjustment costs. For result interpretation and specific sectoral impacts, the paper was informed by structured interviews of key players in the sectors concerned, and literature of previous assessment on the impact of trade liberalisation on Malawi. It is worth pointing out that these two methods are used in support of each other and not in mutually exclusive.
2. Background
The Cotonou Partnership Agreement (CPA) between the European Union (EU) and the African, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) countries which succeeded the expired Lomé Agreement envisages the signing of Economic Partnership Agreements (EPAs) by December 2007 between the EU and ACP countries. Malawi is one of the countries that decided to negotiate this EPA under the Eastern and Southern Africa (ESA) configuration of states. The broad mutual expectation between ACP and the EU is that the EPA will be the cooperative framework under the CPA that will “aim at fostering the smooth and gradual integration of the ACP States into the World economy, with due regard for their political choices and development priorities, thereby promoting their sustainable development and contributing to poverty eradication in the ACP countries”[1]
One of the essential characteristics of this multilateral partnership is that it hopes to combine trade, development aid, and a strengthened political dimension. The key principles for this trade cooperation are reciprocity; differentiation; deeper regional integration; and coordination of trade and aid.
A huge debate has since ensued; especially on how free trade can deliver development when two unequal groupings are expected to be partners in that arrangement.
The interim period between the signing of the CPA on 23 June 2000 and the launch of the EPAs by 1 January 2008 is supposed to be the time for the negotiation process about the final form and decision making by countries whether or not to sign EPAs. There are two phases in the negotiation process. The first phase was launched on 27 September 2002.
The second phase is underway, and is progressing gingerly as the ESA grouping try to negotiate in favour of curbing some challenges that they see arising from the EPAs, and these include:
(a) How to ensure development needs are adequately addressed through the EPAs;
(b) How to manage and finance expected costs of adjustment;
(c) How to manage the expected losses of fiscal revenue;
(d) How to cope with more competition expected to arise due to the principle of reciprocity of the EPAs;
(e) How to ascertain net benefits from the EPAs, especially in LDCs, that is, incentive compatibility between EPAs and the EBA provisions that do not require reciprocity;
(f) How to deal with limited negotiations capacity because EPAs negotiations are stretching the already limited resources available to the ACP countries;
(g) How to ensure consistency between the negotiations under the EPAs and that under the Doha Work Programme (DWP), in particular, how to improve market access for agricultural and non-agricultural products to the EU that continue to impose difficulties in trade negotiations at the multilateral level.
Given this background, this paper provides an assessment, among other things, aimed at informing EPA negotiations so that they benefit to the maximum poor people in Malawi and other ACP countries and to aid the Government of Malawi to make an informed decision when the time of signing comes.
This paper is therefore designed to contribute analytical and qualitative work towards assessing the potential benefits or de-benefits from the EPAs on the part of Malawi’s industry, agriculture, and services sectors. Moreover, the paper hopes to play a crucial role as an indispensable building block for eliciting common negotiating positions, for the consultations in Malawi and Malawi’s input into the Regional Negotiating Forum.
The paper is an academic contribution the Development Economics training by the University of KwaZulu Natal and ActionAid International Malawi. Much as this is so, the paper contributes to effective participation and evidence for lobby for all people centred organizations within the ESA-EU framework, it also hopes to play a part in expediting work on alternatives as it is becoming clearer that the EPAs will not benefit small economies.
3. The Malawi Economy
Malawi is a landlocked country with an estimated GDP of 1.75 billion and a per capita GDP of $163[2] making it one of the 10 poorest countries in the world. Over 60 % of the population live below the poverty line[3]. Malawi’s growth has also been severely affected by the HIV/AIDS pandemic whereby about 16.4 % of the adult population between the ages 15 to 49 years is estimated to be infected with the virus. HIV/AIDS-related diseases account for some 70 % of hospital in-patient deaths (United Nations, 2003).
The country has a predominantly agrarian economy and is dependent on subsistence farming, with 3.5 million people wholly dependent on agriculture. Agriculture contributes between 35 to 39 % to Gross Domestic Product and over 90 % of export earnings[4]. It employs about 80 % of the labour force. This dependence on raw agricultural commodities for exports has made the country vulnerable to fluctuations in world commodity prices (over which it has no control); and has tied aggregate real GDP growth to fluctuations in the climatic conditions[5]. This is evidenced by the drop of Real GDP (at factor cost) in years when the country has experienced drought.
Table 1: ECONOMIC OVERVIEW OF MALAWI
Natural resources
Limestone, arable land, hydro power, unexploited deposits of uranium, coal, and bauxite
Agriculture products
Tobacco, sugarcane, cotton, tea, corn, potatoes, cassava (tapioca), sorghum, pulses, groundnuts, Macademia nuts, cattle, goats
Industries
Tobacco, tea, sugar, sawmill products, cement, consumer goods
Share in GDP
Agriculture: 37% Industry: 16% Services: 47%
Malawi’s growth performance has generally been weak. Between 2000 and 2001, Real GDP growth per capita registered negative digits (Table 1). Subsequently, there has been an improvement in GDP growth from 2002-04, mainly as a result of stronger showing in the agriculture sector. The slow growth of GDP was mainly due to economic mismanagement and the poor performance of the agriculture sector.
Table 2: GDP and GDP Growth
2000
2001
2002
2003
2004
2005
GDP at Factor Cost (MK millions)
13,166
12,6206
12,883
13,386
14,066
14,326
Real GDP growth per capita
-1.1
-5.9
0.2
2.0
3.1
0.0
GDP growth at Factor Cost
0.8
-4.1
2.1
3.9
5.1
1.9
Source: RBM, NSO (2006)
Tobacco is the largest export crop, followed by tea, sugar, coffee and cotton. Despite the growing anti-tobacco lobbies, growth in sales in Eastern markets has maintained demand. However, Malawi’s over reliance on raw tobacco trade makes it vulnerable to commodity price shocks as has been the experience in the past. The manufacturing sector remains small, volatile and has shrunk considerably and more visibly from 1989 with the manifestation of world bank/IMF induced ‘adjustment’ policies since 1981.
Although the agriculture sector has been making significant contributions to GDP since independence, in recent years the growth of the services sector has seen it eclipse the agri-sector in terms of contribution to the country’s GDP (see table 3 below).
Table 3: Sectoral Percentage contribution to GDP
2000
2001
2002
2003
2004
2005
Agriculture
39.5
38.8
39
39.8
38.9
34.7
Smallscale
30.8
30.6
29.9
32.3
30.3
26.3
Largescale
8.7
8.2
9.2
7.5
8.6
8.4
Mining and Quarrying
1.4
1.6
1
1.1
1.5
2.3
Manufacturing
12.9
11.5
11.3
11.2
11.4
12.5
Electricity and Water
1.4
1.4
1.4
1.4
1.5
1.5
Construction
2.2
2.2
2.4
2.6
2.8
3.1
Ownership of Dwellings
1.4
1.5
1.5
1.5
1.5
1.5
Services
41.1
43
43.4
42.4
42.5
44.4
Distribution
20.9
22
21.9
21
21.3
22.7
Transport and Communication
4.2
4.3
5
5.2
5.3
5.9
Financial and Professional Services
8
8.1
8.5
8.6
9
9.4
Private Social and Community Services
2.1
2.2
2.2
2.2
2.2
2.2
Producers of Government Services
9
9.4
9.2
9
8.7
8.7
Unallocable Finance Charges
-2.9
-3.1
-3.4
-3.6
-4
-4.5
Source: RBM, NSO (2006)
4. The Cotonou Agreement & Malawi’s Involvement
4.1 History of Africa Trade With Europe
In 1975, the 9 Member States of the EEC (the future European Union) and 46 ACP signed the first of five year agreements called Lome Conventions. This agreement defined the aid and trade relations between these two regions. It was remarkably original in that it was negotiated and ratified between “donor” countries and “beneficiary” countries. In terms of trade, the special feature of Lome Agreement was the acknowledgement that the difference in development between European countries and ACP countries must result in a difference of obligations. That led to the introduction of non-reciprocal trade preferences.
The Lome Convention and its system of non-reciprocal trade preferences has contributed to establishing the EU as the ACP’s premier export market. It has provided preferential access to EU markets for ACP countries manufacturing exports (like refined sugar from Malawi) and a wide range of ACP agricultural exports.
Due to the non-reciprocal nature of the Lome system of trade preferences, other countries have argued that they do not qualify as a “regional free trade arrangement” (FTA) and therefore, require a waiver from WTO regulations[6]. The current waiver expires in 2007.
In the light of these challenges, the EU decided that it needed to rethink its trade relationship with the ACP countries in order to comply more fully with WTO rules and in an attempt to find a new developmental trade perspective. The successor to the Lome Convention, the Cotonou Agreement, was to provide the framework within which this was to take place.
4.2 The Cotonou Agreement
On 23 June 2000, after 18 months of negotiations, the European Union and 77 African (including South Africa), ACP countries signed a new partnership agreement governing their aid and trade relations. The new agreement, called Cotonou, was signed for 20 years. Whilst the Cotonou Agreement lasts until 2020, its trade regime is due to be replaced by 2007 with a set of EPAs which fulfil the requirements of the World Trade Organization (WTO) for free trade agreements[7].
It was landed as the beginning of a new era in economic and political cooperation between ACP countries and the EU as it was to have poverty reduction and sustainable development as its main focus and equality of participation for its partners as one of its guiding principles. These ideas are clearly stated in the signing agreement:
“The partnership shall be centred on the objective of reducing and eventually eradicating poverty, consistent with the objectives of sustainable development and the gradual integration of the ACP countries into the world economy”
The principles underpinning the ACP-EU Partnership Agreement (Article 2 of CPA) are:
1. Equality of partners and ownership of development strategies: In principle, is up to ACP states, in all sovereignty, to determine how their societies and economies should develop.
2. Participation: Apart from central government as the main partner, partnership is open to non-state actors, which include: civil society, private sector, and local government/authorities and members of parliament through the joint parliamentary assembly.
3. Dialogue and mutual obligations: The Cotonou Agreement is supposed to create a platform of dialogue. The parties have assumed mutual obligations (e.g. respect for human rights). These will be monitored through dialogue.
At institutional level, the ACP-EU cooperation is overseen by a set of ‘joint institutions’, including the ACP/EU Council of Ministers, the Committee of Ambassadors and the Joint Parliamentary Assembly.
4.3 Economic Partnership Agreement
Article 37 of CPA provides for a new trading framework termed EPAs. Technically, an EPA will be a Free Trade Agreement between the ACP and the EU. In addition and worth pointing out is one salient characteristic of this new trading agreement - ‘reciprocity’: The ACP will have to remove tariffs on imports from the EU, in contrast to Lomé which were non-reciprocal i.e. in return for preferential access to the EU market the ACP had only to treat imports from the EU no less favourably than from other sources.
Negotiations on the ESA-EC EPA began formally on 7 February 2004 in Mauritius with the adoption of the official roadmap for the talks. The ESA side consists of Burundi, Comoros, Djibouti, DR Congo, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Kenya, Madagascar, Malawi, Mauritius, Rwanda, Seychelles, Sudan, Uganda, Zambia and Zimbabwe.
Europe[8] is the most important trade and investment partner for the ESA region as a whole as well as for nearly all the countries in the region. The EC is ESA’s largest trading partner. The average value of total trade flows between this group and the EC is about €10 billion per year. For example, latest figures show that in 2004 ESA exports to the EU were €5.1 billion, while ESA imports were €4.8 billion[9] Exports to the EC are dominated by a few products such as fish (both marine and freshwater), textiles, diamonds, vegetables, sugar, cut-flowers and tobacco.. Agriculture still represents more than half of total ESA exports. Overall, ESA exports remain largely confined to agricultural and primary goods.
ESA is confronted with at least three overlapping economic integration schemes with different political and economic priorities. The main regional integration arrangements with a trade policy agenda are the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA), the East African Community (EAC) and the Southern African Development Community (SADC). COMESA has a Free Trade Area with 11 members and is working towards a customs union in 2008. EAC launched its Customs Union in January 2005. SADC has planned a Free Trade Area in 2008 and a Customs Union in 2010. The Indian Ocean Commission (IOC) and the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD) are other important regional organisations, but are sub-groups of the larger COMESA integration scheme and follow COMESA’s overall regional integration agenda.
All 16 ESA members which are negotiating an EPA belong to COMESA[10]. COMESA is the geographically widest regional organisation in Africa, with 20 members stretching from Egypt to Swaziland and including the 4 Indian Ocean ACP States. COMESA’s main areas of intervention include: standards, customs management and procedures, SPS, private sector development, investment policies, competition policy, public procurement, movement of persons, tax harmonisation, monetary harmonisation, trade (transport) facilitation, air traffic and telecom. COMESA’s functional policies cover agriculture and food security, infrastructure, transport, energy, fisheries and conflict prevention. However, progress towards the successful implementation of these regional goals has been slow and in some cases non-existent.
COMESA has a Court of Justice which establishes COMESA as a rules-based organisation, with rules which can be enforced through a court of law. In addition there are a number of specialised COMESA institutions such as the PTA Bank and the PTA re-insurance company, the leather and leather products institute and a few others.
Integration within COMESA is proceeding at different speeds but all COMESA members have agreed to the December 2008 date for the customs union. Intra-COMESA trade increased in 2004 by 10% to reach €4.8 billion, [11]which shows the potential to expand trade links between the countries of the region. COMESA is also working on the introduction of harmonised rules in areas such as transport, investment and competition.
The main challenge for the EPA negotiations is the overlapping membership of various regional integration organisations with diverging integration agendas; and the interplay of this scenario with having a Free Trade Area (FTA) with the EU at the same time. They are basically caused by the impossibility for any given country to be a member of two customs unions at the same time. Tanzania, Kenya and Uganda form the EAC Customs Union. Tanzania is a member of SADC, but not of COMESA, while Kenya and Uganda are members of COMESA, but not of SADC. Malawi, Mauritius, Zambia and Zimbabwe are in the SADC Free Trade Protocol with South Africa and also in the COMESA Free Trade Area. Both SADC and COMESA aspire to become a Customs Union. Based on this alone, the EPA proposal can only work if there is a strong regional integration impetus behind it. There is therefore a need for countries in the ESA region to clarify the economic integration agenda if they are to enter into any form of economic partnership with the EU.
5. Economic and Social Impacts of the EPA on Malawi
Malawi’s external trade structure paints a gloomy picture. Firstly, the country has experienced a sustained trend of current account deficits, to the magnitude of US$200-500million[12]. Secondly, over-dependency on a narrow range of primary commodities, with tobacco accounting for nearly 70% of exports, increases the country’s vulnerability to demand shocks. In recent years, there has been modest growth in non-traditional exports of textiles and garments but the overall position is far from diversified. Besides, uncertainty surrounds these products with the phasing out of WTO Multi Fibre agreement in January, 2005. The country’s other exports of tea and coffee also continue to face challenges in developed country export markets such as silent EU private sector protective tendencies, inability to meet ‘standards’, lack of economies of scale to meet demand, just to name a few . Malawi has a high product concentration, with low value addition and the reliance on imported raw materials and intermediate goods; low productivity due to lack of investment in new technology and over dependence on rain fed production in the case of agriculture; low capacity utilization; and poor infrastructure which makes transportation costs account for up to 40%-60% of total production costs thereby drastically reducing export competitiveness[13]. This is in contrast to a 17% average for developing countries and 8% for OECD countries.
Despite being a signatory to a number of bilateral, regional and international agreements, the supply-side constraints highlighted in earlier sections of this report significantly lower the effectiveness of Malawi’s capacity to exploit these markets and restrict it to a passenger status. The general conditions of trade facilitation are poor especially customs procedures.
Although Malawi has embarked on the formulation of an export strategy it still lacks a comprehensive overarching trade policy and strategy into which this export strategy should fit. A strategy whose goal would be a complete structural transformation that would end in Malawi being more competitive on the international market through among others, value addition, and elimination of supply side constraints.
In terms of trade with the EU, the table below presents an outlook of the import and export structure (2005 figures).
Table 4: HS4 main traded products imported into EU
Product
Value US$
Share of Total Imports from EU
Cumulative Percentage
H0: All commodities
122,387,052
100%
39%
H490700: Documents of title (bonds etc), unused stamps etc
7,702,182
6.3%
6%
H300220: Vaccines, human use
7,690,118
6.3%
13%
H300439: Hormones nes, except contraceptives, in dosage
7,567,681
6.2%
19%
H310590: Fertilizers, mixes, nes
6,272,056
5.1%
24%
H490199: Printed reading books, except dictionaries etc
5,059,973
4.1%
28%
H300490: Medicaments nes, in dosage
3,110,572
2.5%
31%
H840710: Aircraft engines, spark-ignition
3,017,740
2.5%
33%
H870120: Road tractors for semi-trailers (truck tractors)
2,653,316
2.2%
35%
H870323: Automobiles, spark ignition engine of 1500-3000 cc
2,635,036
2.2%
37%
H481910: Cartons, boxes & cases, of corrugated paper or board
2,388,840
2.0%
39%
Source: Comext 2005 and own calculations
The structure of EU-MALAWI indicates that Malawi is a predominantly agricultural commodity exporter to the EU, and the EU is a manufactures exporter to Malawi As such, imports and exports between the two countries are not in direct competition and are not direct substitutes, however there exists a significant level of complimentarity that will be explored in the next section[14].
Looking at overall trade statistics for Malawi they indicate that the country is a net importing country. However, Malawi has been running a trade surplus with the EU for at least the past five years. In terms of value, based on 2005 figures, the value of exports from Malawi to the EU was €172 million. Imports from the EU amounted to € 71 million. The main exported commodities were unmanufactured tobacco[15], cane sugar, tea, nuts, and raw coffee-accounting for 96% of total exports. On the importing front, the major products include medicines; fertilisers, worn clothing, tractors, motor cars, milk and cream, wheat, machinery, and malt among many others.
Trade with EU-Malawi Trade represents 0.01%[16] of EU world trade. Although this might not seem significant for the EU, for Malawi the EU market is the most important export destination especially for the major exporting commodity tobacco which is the bloodline of the economy. However, it is worthy noting at this point that the regional market (COMESA) is increasingly becoming important for the other types of exports as private sector succumb to the difficulties they are facing in accessing the EU market[17].
This has been the structure of trade between the EU and Malawi for the past thirty years or more and would continue to be the structure of trade unless Malawi would undergo structural transformation that would allow for Value Addition, Industrialisation, and the elimination of supply side constraints.
5.1 General Economic Impacts
Trade policy analysis such as that required in the evaluation of the potential impacts of EPAs largely involves analysing implications of trade policy instruments on the production structure in economies at the national and global level. Trade policy instruments such as tariffs and quotas have direct and indirect effects on the relative prices of commodities produced in a given country. As the mix of goods and services produced change, the demands for factors of production also change. Consequently, in any given economy, it is difficult to conceive a situation where the change in trade policy would affect only one sector. Due to the forward and backward linkages and their related strengths existing in a particular economy, the result is always one in which the relative mix of sectoral outputs change. This by extension affects the relative mix of the different factors of production in the different sectors.
Country-level effects on output mix and demands for factors of production can in the context of international trade be extended to the global economy. Changes in relative prices of outputs and inputs resulting in a given country’s change in trade policy are transmitted to the industries and input markets of other economies that the country trades with. Therefore, for trade policy analysis to be meaningful and for robust results to be produced, the interactions that prevail among different sectors as a result of a change in a given or group of countries trade policy instruments must be taken into account.
Since, the EPAs will potentially have these kind of impacts, the general equilibrium methodology presents itself as the most appropriate analytical framework that would allow the inter- and intra-sectoral changes in output mix and by extension the demand for different factors of production to be captured. However, the scope of this paper does not allow for this model to be utilized as it is not intended to analyse the potential impact EPAs on the ESA region. And in addition to this, such a model would only allow the assessment of the EPAs at the continental level through a hypothetical ESA-EU EPA due to data limitation with respect to representation of African countries in the GTAP database as stand-alone regions. It was therefore necessary to look for an alternative methodology that would allow analysis at the country level and also at HS 6-digit level of products classification. This paper found it necessary to consider a partial equilibrium methodology, in spite of its weakness of ignoring sectoral and regional feedbacks when trade policy instruments are changed either in a given sector or all sectors in a given country.
Given its capacity to allow analysis at high level of disaggregation, the partial equilibrium models become indispensable especially because of the interest to establish sensitive sectors either with regards to industrial or fiscal policies. The World Integrated Trade Solution (WITS/SMART) model[18] was chosen as the applied partial equilibrium framework. The WITS/SMART model brings together various databases ranging from bilateral trade, commodity trade flows and various levels and types of protection.
WITS also integrate analytical tools that support simulation analysis. The SMART simulation model is one of the analytical tools in WITS for simulation purposes. SMART contains in-built analytical modules that support trade policy analysis such as effects of multilateral tariff cuts, preferential trade liberalization and ad hoc tariff changes. The underlying theory behind this analytical tool is the standard partial equilibrium framework that considers dynamic effects constant. Like any partial equilibrium model, it allows for a pre and post analysis by taking a somewhat static picture. This is because the model has strong assumptions allowing the trade policy analysis to be undertaken on a country at a time. In spite of this weakness, WITS/SMART[19] helped to estimate trade creation, diversion, welfare and revenue effects for Malawi.
5.2 SMART Model Results
The question that this analysis sought to respond to was: what are the impacts on trade, revenue and welfare of eliminating tariff barriers that EU exports to Malawi face? In other words, what does it mean for Malawi to reciprocate on the trade preferences that it currently receives through EU’s trade preferences regime for ACP countries?
5.2.1 The simulation scenario
The only scenario simulated in this analysis looks at the reciprocity principal. Due to the weaknesses already pointed out especially the ceteris paribus assumption upon which this model operates; only one-way liberalization is possible. The results discussed here are the possible outcomes of reducing to zero the import duties that Malawi will impose on EU goods. This is not a far fetched approximation to put forward because practically, the EU and ESA countries are going to bind themselves to a schedule of reducing tariffs between themselves the idea being the creation of a Free Trade Area. Therefore although a country is a Least Developed Country and may claim some exemptions in as far as tariff reductions are concerned, for a Free Trade Area to be operational these concerns may have to be pushed aside in favour of lenient schedules for tariff reductions. As such, if Malawi signs on to a free trade agreement with the EU through EPAs, they will ultimately have no tariffs between them. In addition to this, Malawi has already liberalised to a great extent and does not maintain a significant level of tariffs on imports from EU countries.
However, referring to the present state of negotiations, the EU has stated consistently in GATT/WTO committees that it believes the Article XXIV requirement that an FTA must cover ‘substantially all’ trade can be fulfilled if both parties reduce to zero tariffs on products that account for 90 percent on average of the current trade between them. It has also indicated that it believes this average figure can be achieved asymmetrically, with the EU liberalising on more than 90 percent and its partner on less. In the specific case of the EU–South Africa TDCA, South Africa has liberalised on products accounting for 86 percent of its imports from the EU while Europe has liberalised on 94 percent. The agreement also indicates that the EU believes the Article XXIV requirement that liberalisation occur ‘within a reasonable period of time’ can be achieved through a transitional period of up to 12 years[20].
In light of the above a 100% reciprocity impact assessment might seem unrealistic or unrepresentative of a situation that is going to happen. Inspite of this possible shortfall, and in the absence of a clear and agreed definition of ‘substantially all trade’, what is of critical importance at this stage is to determine the direction of the impact (i.e. direction of the vectors of trade creation, diversion, and welfare). It is important for instance to gauge in which direction the trade being created is going; in which direction the trade being diverted is going; and most importantly the direction in which the welfare benefits are heading. In as much as the magnitudes are an important part of a quantitative assessment, in-light of the short falls that a partial equilibrium tools presents and in-light of the discussions in the negotiations thus far, they may only serve as a proxy for the 90% liberalisation. Thus this study places greater emphasis on the direction that the vectors of trade creation, diversion, welfare take in its interpretation of the results.
The transmission mechanism for the trade effects is simple: the elimination of existing tariffs on EU imports reduces the prices that consumers will face compared to domestic substitutes and the responsiveness of demand to the price change influences the amount of trade created or diverted. The substitutability of the EU goods for domestic goods is implicitly assumed. The Armington assumption[21] at HS 6-digit level is that goods imported from different countries are imperfect substitutes. It is also assumed that the supply response to the price reduction will allow the EU producers and exporters to meet any demand arising in the importing countries as a result of price reduction. That is, export supplies are perfectly elastic which means that world supplies of each variety of the goods by origin are given.
5.3 Trade creation and diversion effects
The partial equilibrium effects of reciprocal trade preferences between EU and Malawi, through ESA are shown clearly in Table 9. The results presented on the trade effects indicate there will be significant trade creation for the EU goods. Overall, the EPAs reciprocity principal, with all things being equal, will lead to expansion of trade. Another critical observation is that trade diversion does not exceed trade creation, meaning that there will be positive trade effect as a result of the EPAs. However it is worth noting that the trade creation indicated in the table is in favour of the expanded EU exports into Malawi within ESA. The created trade in the classical sense imply supplanting of domestic production in Malawi i.e. lower production from the productive sectors (agriculture/agro-processing, manufacturing, services)[22].
Trade diversions indicated on the other hand signify the level of trade that is shifted from the rest of the world including other ESA countries to the EU producers. Given similar conditions, the rest of the world would more efficiently produce the diverted trade, but because of the tariff reductions on EU imports, the more inefficient EU producers are favoured over the more efficient rest of the world producers.
The results presented in Table 9 can be interpreted as follows. If Malawi were to dismantle the tariffs it imposes on the goods from the 25 member-countries of the enlarged EU, trade worth US$15.1 million would be created in favour of the EU. This arises from the point raised above, that more efficient EU producers and exporters will supplant producers who have not yet built their competitive edge to produce ( and not yet benefiting from economies of scale or in some cases not present) in Malawi. While this created trade is considered to be welfare enhancing since it expands the consumer surplus and choice, the tariff dismantlement will also lead to a net trade diversion of US$6.5 million[23]. The EU captures this diverted trade; hence the overall EU’s trade gain of US$21.6 million. Of the US$6.5million worth of diverted trade, 17 percent is trade that before the tariff dismantlement originated from the COMESA region, the REC in which Malawi is a member. The tariff dismantlement by Malawi, while it appears to be trade expanding overall, has three potential negative implications. First, the overall diverted trade will be welfare decreasing for Malawians as it was originally from more efficient non-EU rest of the world. Secondly, there is significant loss within the regional economic community, and thirdly it will surplant Malawi domestic producers[24].
Thus, looking closely at the simulation results presented in the table, it is clear that producers in Malawi will face serious competition from the EU as the country becomes a market for EU exports. History has proved that the Malawi producer has failed to withstand such competition and has succumbed to such pressures. Malawi will lose out on 17% of trade from its neighbours and partners in COMESA as it is diverted to the EU.
MALAWI
Trade Creation
Net trade diversion
Diverted trade
EU’s trade gain
15,124,010.00
-6,545,825.00
-331,774.00
21,669,845.00
5.4 Revenue Implications
Malawi relies to a great extent on its revenues collected from import duties. After the RSA, the EU serves as a significant source of imports and is therefore a major component of the import taxes base. The elimination of the import tariffs on EU-sourced imports is therefore an important factor in the economic analysis of EPAs. Table 9 indicates the likely losses in revenue due to the reciprocal treatment of EU goods into Malawi’s market. The results of WITS/SMART simulations indicate Malawi would forego US$7,100,420.00 of tax revenue under the reciprocal arrangement for trade policy between the EU and ESA nations.[25]
This foregone revenue in itself presents a major challenge on Malawi’s ability to reciprocate on the trade preferences obtained from the EU. The reliance on trade taxes is dictated both by the simplicity of their administration and also their use as part of industrial policy[26]. In terms of their use due to ease of collection, the country is likely to find it difficult even in the short-term to come up with ways to replace the foregone revenues. This is likely to be made more difficult by the low productivity (both in terms of elasticity and buoyancy) of the alternative taxes to the import duties. The speed within which tax policy and administration changes can be effected to raise productivity of the other taxes to fill the shortfall from import taxes becomes a major determinant of the practicability of the reciprocal principle of the EPAs.
The adjustment costs of undertaking tax policy and administration reforms are likely to weigh heavily on Malawi. This is because the nature of these adjustment costs is such that they are not only financial, but involve also human resources. Administration of income taxes and consumption taxes such as the VAT are more human capital demanding than the administration of import duties.
Moreover, the EPAs generated revenue shortfalls will also have economic, social and political dimensions in as far as public service delivery is concerned. The fact that Malawi will most likely need to resort to income and consumption taxes will introduce growth and equity issues. Policy makers will be faced with the unwelcome option of having to rely on income taxes, which tend to have a more defined negative relationship with economic growth. And on the aspect of equity, consumption taxes are likely to be more regressive.
To further put this loss in perspective consider the following: The National Budget allocations for Protected Pro-poor Expenditure on Agriculture (Food Security Initiatives, Agricultural Extension, Technology Generation and technical services) for the past three years has been around US$7million annually.
The above results are consistent with other analysis[27] who found that annually the government coffers would be losing US$7.5 million from reciprocity via EPAs. They went on further to simulate scenarios where some tariff lines (of concern to the EU) would be exempted from reductions. The level of protection for which the simulations were carried out was 10% and 20% of tariff lines, respectively based on the importance to revenue criteria. The criteria was restricted to revenue because the Government of Malawi has not yet stated which criteria (e.g. revenue loss, food security, protection of manufactures, etc) it is likely to base its tariff line protection on.
Based on the IDS methodology[28], and using data coming from Euro stat on imports into Malawi, if the negotiations agree on a 20% mark up for the exclusion list (80 per cent liberalisation), this would translate to approximately US$ 1,664,035.71 (Malawi Kwacha 232,965,000) revenue loss on the other hand, if the hand if the mark up will be 10% or 90% liberalisation, the loss would be US$ 3,380,107.14 (Malawi Kwacha 473,215,000).
5.5 Welfare implications of the EU-ESA EPA
Welfare enhancing properties of trade liberalization have always made it an attractive policy and an excuse by the proponents of liberalization to unleash it on countries as a common denominator for development. Nonetheless, measuring the welfare accruing to a country as a result of trade liberalization has not been simple.
Empirical investigation of this question due to measurement problems has therefore not been a straight forward matter. Welfare changes arising from tariff changes have been analysed within the context of consumer and producer surpluses[29]. In addition, implicit welfare changes derived from government revenues arising from tariffs alterations can also be considered on top of the consumer and producer surpluses. In the case of Malawi, the welfare implications (consumer surplus) is US$ 2,105,759.00[30]
The WITS/SMART model applied to measure welfare implications of the reciprocal principle of the EPAs under estimates the total welfare change in that it quantifies only the consumer surplus change but ignores the producer surplus movements. Thus, the results reported in Table 10 are for the consumer surplus changes due to the EPAs reciprocity. The results indicate that Malawi stands to gain in terms of consumer welfare, and would lose out completely on producer surplus.
Weighed against the revenue loss, the trade expansion effect and positive welfare changes present the EPAs as potentially beneficial arrangements the country. However, these are static results and the welfare results do not account for the producer surplus loss that occurs due to the supplanting of domestic producers in Malawi by the EU producers. Moreover, the partial analysis ignores the changes in the economic structure, which in a dynamic sense are likely to have tampering effects on the potential gains indicated from the partial analysis.
6. Conclusion
The main conclusions that can be drawn from the results and the discussion are that country’s opening up to the EU will accrue benefits in favour of the EU and at the expense of Malawi. Irrespective of the magnitude or money value of loss to the Malawi Economy (which will be depended on the level of liberalisation the negotiations parties agree to), the above analysis shows that the direction of the benefits is in favour of the EU players and not Malawi.
Hence, trade created will be in favour of EU exports and consequently the EU producer; Trade diverted from other countries with-in and with-out the agreement will be towards the EU; Malawi will lose revenue, and welfare (for consumers from increased commodity choice) is most likely to be eroded by reductions in Malawi’s producer surplus as producers are surplanted from the economy, resulting in low production levels and consequently lower incomes.
One could therefore hypothesise that the situation would be different (in the sense that Malawi would have an offensive trading possibility) if Malawi was a competitive producer. And this is what might have prompted DFID-Malawi (2005) and some respondents from the private sector in Malawi to state that in the mean time the country should concentrate on regional integration and trade, as they build their capacity to trade competitively and profitably for the benefit of the county’s growth and development.
“Logistically alone, we do not see the EU as a profitable market…we would rather concentrate on our neighbours and brothers before we can think of anyone else or anywhere else”. Simon Itaye - Chairman, Malawi National Working Group on Trade Policy
The respondents further propose that EPAs should look beyond 12 years as the possible dates for introducing reciprocity. Before then, unrestricted market access, deeper ESA integration, structural transformation will have provided sufficient room for supply capacities and exports diversity to be built in the country. Not allowing for this would be tantamount to maintaining the status quo as expressed in the literature review section of this report and thus on the overall Malawi would not stand to gain from any form of trade cooperation with the EU.
The dangers to the regional integration process in COMESA emerged also as potential challenges against the EPAs. Two consistent stories underpin these concerns. The first outcome is that the EU stands to gain significantly in terms of expanded trade into Malawi and consequently into the RECs markets. While part of this trade expansion will result from trade creation, which is welfare improving, significant proportions of the trade gain will also be due to trade diversion from the rest of the world and from within the ESA- EPA grouping itself. As a result, while the reciprocity principle appears to be trade expanding, it will pose serious implications for deepened regional integration in Africa. In deed, unless there are clear mitigating measures, the EPAs could seriously undermine the gains that have been achieved so far in the integration process of the continent.
Another consistent result is the potential adjustment costs that Malawi will have to bear as a result of revenue shortfalls. Given the prominence of EU imports into Malawi and the country’s reliance on tariff revenues, tariff dismantlement result in significant revenue shortfalls. The major challenge that these revenue shortfalls will pose is the adjustment costs associated with tax policy and administration reforms.
A detailed analysis and accounting of potential adjustment costs would have to be implemented to assess the burden of the EPAs on the fiscal economy[31]. Interviews through this research showed that Government of Malawi has not done adequate impact assessments or analysis as to the level of adjustment costs. Such an analysis would be critical before the country signs on to an EPA with the EU, as adjustment costs stand to undermine any ‘gain’ and exaceberate negative impacts from the EPAs[32]. However, looking at some of the impacts above, Government will have to be prepared to foot the bill for adjustment in the production sectors as they are surplanted by more efficient EU producers; structural transformation, as they try to make the country competitive, The EPAs, if no appropriate measures are put in place to forestall the macroeconomic imbalances that are likely to result from falling revenues, and these other adjustment costs may undermine developmental objectives, that are the only hope for the majority poor people of Malawi.
Having experienced underdevelopment in the past 50 years, and having lived through the hard times under Cotonou Agreement, Malawi needs to break off the chains of exploitation. But offering it EPA is like inviting Malawi from the hard place into a rock.
APPENDIX 1
IDS Methodology Ideology and Assumptions
The Institute of Development Studies (IDS) has developed an analytical framework for assessing the impact of EPAs on revenue (international taxes) with the aim of supporting an informed national debate in members of the ACP group. It is part of an IDS project to help countries assess the implications of ‘reciprocity’.
Rightly or wrongly, reciprocity is perceived as a ‘cost to be borne in order to gain the ‘benefits’ of aid and trade preferences for exports. The extent to which an EPA would be a ‘good deal’ for any country will depend on the relative scale of these potential costs and benefits.
If Malawi reduces its tariffs on imports from the EU, this will have potential ‘revenue’ and ‘competition’ effects. The scale of these will be determined by the extent to which imports increase and their price in the domestic market falls. Their distribution (between sectors, producers and consumers) will be set by which tariffs are reduced.
The revenue effect of EPAs is easiest to describe and hardest to calculate. Most ACP countries rely heavily on import taxes to raise government revenue because they are relatively easy to collect. Reducing tariffs will tend to reduce revenue (unless alternative, administratively more difficult, taxes replace them), but not necessarily in a linear fashion. If a country levies an import duty of 20 percent on imports of $1 million it will raise revenue of $200,000; if the tariff is cut to 10 percent but the value of imports jumps to $2 million, exactly the same level of revenue will be raised.
Just as the scale of the revenue effect will depend partly on what happens to the flow of imports, so will the scale of the competition effect. If, following the tariff cut, importers reduces prices on the domestic market, sales can be expected to rise –putting pressure on domestic producers of competitive goods. Imports will increase and domestic production of the competitive goods decline. But a tax cut does not always feed through into a price cut! If prices do not fall (e.g. because suppliers increase their margins) there will be no increased competition for domestic suppliers.
Naturally this depends on the levels of tariff reductions. Thus the broader assumptions of the IDS methodology are that:
One about the proportion of imports that can be excluded from liberalisation;
the other that the country will wish to exclude the products that currently face the highest tariffs.
Bibliography
ActionAid Malawi and MEJN, 2005, The ABC of WTO and Malawi’s Involvement, Montfort Print, Malawi
Bivens, L. Josh. 2004. Shifting Blame for Manufacturing Job Loss. Briefing Paper #149. Washington D.C.: Economic Policy Institute.
Chirwa, E. W. (1994) Malawi: Industrial Sector Opportunities - The Domestic Market and Market Structure, Department of Economics, University of Malawi (Zomba): Report prepared for Maxwell Stamp Plc, London
Christian Aid, (2005), “The Economics of Failure: The Real Cost of ‘Free Trade’ for Poor Countries”, A Christian Aid Briefing Paper, June.
EU Trade Statistics. http://ec.europa.eu/trade/
EUROSTAT. epp.eurostat.ec.europa.eu
Gondwe T and Magalasi C (2006), Quantitative and Qualitative Assessment of EPA on Malawi, Lilongwe
Government of Malawi, (2005), Malawi Growth and Development Strategy, Draft final volumes 1 and 2
Government Of Malawi, National Economic Reports, 2000-2005
Imani Development, (2006), Identification Of Sensitive Products for Malawi, Prepared for Ministry of Industry and Private Sector Development
Kaluwa, B. M. (1992) "Malawi Industry: Problems, Policies and Performance", in Mhone G C, Malawi at the Cross-roads: A Post-Political Economy, Harare: SAPES
Khandelwal, (2004), COMESA and SADC: Prospects and Challenges for Regional Integration, IMF Working Paper WP/04/227, Policy Development and Review Department.
Madeley J., (2003), The Impact of Trade Liberalisation on Food Security and Poverty, Forum Syd, www.agobservatory.org
Magalasi C, 2006, Hong Kong Outcomes and Impact on Service Delivery in the SADC Region, SARPN discussion paper, South Africa www.sarpn.org
Magalasi, C, (2006), In the Kitchen of Civil Society in Malawi, in ‘Civil Society and Governance in Southern Africa,’ Institute for Security Studies, South Africa
MEJN, 2005, Trade Liberalisation: A Poverty Trap for the Poor in Malawi, Montfort Media, Malawi
OECD/ECMT (2005), International Trade and Transport, paper prepared for Transportation Research Board Summer Conference.
Reserve Bank of Malawi. Financial and Economic Review. Volume 38, Number 1. 2006
Santos-Paulomo, (2002), Trade Liberalisation and The Balance of Payments in Selected Developing Countries, Keynes College, University of Kent.
Tyson, Laura D'Andrea. 2005. Those manufacturing myths. Business Week. December 12 2005.
UNIDO Industrial Statistics- www.unido.org
World Bank (1989) Malawi Industrial Sector Memorandum, Washington: World Bank
World Bank (2003). Malawi: The Challenge of Competitiveness and Diversification. Washington, DC.
WTO (2003) Trade Policy Review: Southern African Customs Union, Geneva: World Trade Organization
WTO (2004), World Trade Report 2004, Geneva: World Trade Organization
[1] See Article 34 of Cotonou Partnership Agreement
[2] Over the past 5years, Per capita GDP has been hovering at an average of US$ 200
[3] As defined by the World Bank
[4] Business Climate Survey 2005 shows Agriculture trade in terms of exports is about 99% raw commodities
[5] Malawi’s agriculture is dependent on rain and thus vulnerable to erratic weather patterns.
[6]These are set out in WTO Article XXIV in relation to goods and the analogous GATS Article V in relation to services.
[7] EPAs will remain in existence past the 2020 timeline.
[8] See Ministry of Trade and Private Sector, Government of Malawi
[9] Source: Comtext 2004
[10] Note that there are a number of COMESA members that are not part of the ESA group. E.g. Egypt, Swaziland, and Angola
[11] See COMESA 2005 Annual Report
[12] See National Economic Reports.2000-2004
[13] See MGDS 2005, National Economic Reports,
[14] For example, Malawi produces tobacco which is an industrial input for EU Cigarette manufacturers.
[15] Tobacco accounted for 66.5% of total exports to the EU in 2005
[16] Source EuroStat
[17] See COMESA 2005 Annual Report
[18] See derivations and methodology in appendix 1
[19] http://www.wits.worldbank.org/
[20] The Commission for Africa Report recommends a minimum of 20 years.
[21] This is economic term referring to model of analyzing imperfect substitution between home and foreign goods in consumption, often examining the role of product, industry, political, and 'home bias' factors as determinants
[22] The results from structured interviews presented further below qualify as to which sector this impact will mostly pertain to and to the nature of surplantation.
[23] It is worth recalling that the current indications are that there will be 90% liberalization, as such these figures are not exact; however again it is worth noting that this is a partial equilibrium analysis that does not consider dynamic implications of tariff dismantlement. Considering dynamic impacts, the magnitude may be higher considering the direction of the vectors.
[24] This outcome is confirmed by the private sector in Malawi, who were part of this study process.
[25] WITS/SMAT simulations
[26] A practical case in point: Malawi is currently building a fertilizer plant in Kanengo, Lilongwe. The aim of this industrialization drive is to enable the poor Malawian to access cheaper fertilizers at national level in the mid to long term. At this time, the country imports fertilizers from the EU and as such has low (or zero tariffs) on these imports to allow their affordability to poor farmers. However, when the plant is ready, it would be in the interest of the Government and people of Malawi to protect it from competition coming from cheaper, established (with economies of scale), producers of the EU so as to unleash its mid to long term benefits. The aim of protection here will be to enable the plant to overcome high start up costs, build capacity that will enable production of cheaper fertilizers for the farmer in the mid to long term and in the process promote sustainability, self sustenance and livelihoods. Tariff policy is one such mechanism that can be used to protect this fertilizer plant.
[27] See MEJN 2006, McGrath (2003)
[28] See Appendix 1: IDS Methodology
[29] The debate on Consumer vs. Producer Surplus is the most common and heated in as far as trade policy goes. Whose benefits should trade policy prioritise? The producer or the consumer? The consumer basic argument has been the right to choice and the presence of competition that lowers down prices. On the other hand producers have argued that they should be prioritized because they provide incomes through employment and also government revenue through corporate taxes.
[30] WITS/SMART Model
[31] Such an exercise would prove difficult in the absence of an Economic Partnership Agreement- Ministry of Finance (Malawi)
[32]“ It is about adding and subtracting sums-if the costs are greater than the benefits, why would anyone want to agree to sign on to such a scenario?” Temwa Gondwe-MEJN
Friday, August 15, 2008
Collins Magalasi and Fighting Corruption
COLLINS MAGALASI
YOUNG LEADER, AFRICA-GERMAN PARTNERSHIP
1. Introduction
As a young leader in the Africa – Germany Partnership, I feel honoured to be in the middle of promotion of youth political participation. Recently I was appointed member of the Blue Ribbon Committee to advise and report to the State President H.E. Dr. Bingu Wa Mutharika on the fight against corruption and the development of a national anti-corruption strategy in Malawi. This appointment comes at a time I was already entrusted by the executive and the nation to function as Commissioner for the Competition and Fair Trading Commission. I am also President of Catholic University of Malawi Parents and Guardians Association, despite my having only a brother at the university.
1.1 Responsibility 1: Member of Blue Ribbon Committee (BRC), Government of Malawi. Appointed by and accountable to His Excellency the State President
Background
The dawn of the 1990s brought with it winds of change over Malawi and resulted in the change of the system of governance in 1993/94 from one party system to multiparty democracy. In 1995 Malawi adopted a new democratic constitution. Section 13 (o) of the Constitution of Malawi talks about the need for government to deliberately put in place measures to guarantee accountability, transparency, personal integrity and financial probity and which by virtue of their effectiveness and transparency will strengthen confidence in public institutions.
It is against this background that Parliament passed a law on corruption - The Corrupt Practices Act (CPA) number 18 of 1995. The Act established the Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB), which became operational in 1998, with mandate to carry out two main functions namely (a) to prevent corrupt practices in both public and private institutions and (b) to enforce the law on corruption. The ACB is a government but autonomous institution that is mandated by law to spearhead the fight against corruption.
The fight against Corruption in Malawi
Despite having the institution of ACB, corruption went up in the previous regime. Development partners such as Denmark, and the IMF pulled out/suspended their programmes in Malawi. Malawi scored 2.7 from year to year on corruption perception index, compared to Namibia, Seychelles, South Africa, Botswana and Swaziland that were improving. In 2004 Malawi went to the polls and saw the current State President Dr. Bingu Wa Mutharika get to power. As he spelt his vision of post 2004 Malawi, it was clear the President had zero tolerance policy on corruption and was committed to financial prudence, transparency and accountability. The same 2004, the Corrupt Practices Act (CPA) was amended in order to align it with regional and global conventions on corruption i.e. SADC protocol, AU Convention on Prevention of Corruption, UN Convention against corruption, but also to widen the definition of corruption and powers of the ACB.
Since the time the ACB started operations in 1998, no comprehensive assessment of the extent and locus of corruption had been done. In the year 2005/2006, a Governance and Corruption Baseline Survey was therefore conducted and the report was launched on 5th February 2007 – as part of commemoration of the National Anti-Corruption Day - by His Excellency the State President of the Republic of Malawi. The survey revealed the many gaps that existed, including the need to involve everyone in the fight against corruption, and increase civic awareness on corruption and reporting. (As at December 2007, the ACB had received a total of 13,400 complaints, of which 5,200 were authorized for investigations and the remaining 8,200 did not disclose corruption and were referred to other relevant institutions). The country had to come up with a National Anti-Corruption Strategy to deal with the shortfalls.
The Blue Ribbon Committee
It pleased His Excellency the State President of the Republic of Malawi Dr. Bingu Wa Mutharika to appoint an inclusive group of eminent Malawians into a Blue Ribbon Committee (BRC) to oversee the development of a national Anti-Corruption Strategy and advise him on the same from time to time. The BRC has the following as members: the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Appeal, the Speaker of the National Assembly, Representative of the Private Sector, Head of Traditional Chiefs – Inkosi ya Makosi, the Chief Secretary to the President and Cabinet, and me as Representative of all Civil Society. The BRC constituted a National Implementation Steering Committee (NISC) to do the drafting of the strategy under the guidance of the BRC. The BRC meets the State President and his Cabinet to report and advise on the fight against corruption in Malawi and the development of the anti-corruption strategy in particular.
In support of the President’s Political vision and Will, both the private sector and civil society have come up with own initiatives: the Business Action Against Corruption (BAAC) and the Civil Society Action Against Corruption (CSAAC) respectively. I am the current Chairman of the CSAAC. CSAAC contributes to the prevention, detection and prosecution dimensions of anti-corruption work through input into formulation and implementation of anti-corruption strategies, monitoring corruption (e.g. collecting and in-depth analysis of data and systematic documentation) and also through evidence-based advocacy. Our added advantage is in that we have the potential to depoliticise corruption and we also operate relatively flexibly.
1.2 Responsibility 2: Commissioner for The Competition and Fair Trading Commission (CFTC), Government of Malawi. Appointed by His Excellency the State President, but reporting to the National Assembly
The responsibilities are defined by an Act of Parliament – Competition and Fair Trading Act of 2000. As Commissioner I am responsible for:
· the functioning of the CFTC secretariat, including appointment and management of Directors and staff.
· carrying out investigations, in relation to the conduct of business so as to determine whether any enterprise is carrying on anti-competitive trade practices or unfair trading and the extent of such practices, if any;
· taking such action as we consider necessary or expedient to prevent or redress the creation of a merger or the abuse of a dominant position by an enterprise;
· providing persons engaged in business with information regarding their rights and duties under the Competition and Fair Trading Act;
· providing information for the guidance of consumers regarding their rights under the above Act;
· undertaking studies and make available public reports regarding the operation of the Act
· cooperating with and assisting any association or body of persons to develop and promote the observance of standards of conduct for the purpose of ensuring compliance with the provisions of the Act;
· advising the Minister of Trade and Private Sector Development on such matters relating to the operation of the Act as we think fit or as may be requested by the Minister;
· doing all such acts and things as are necessary, incidental or conducive to the better carrying out of the commission’s functions under the Act.
2.1 President of Catholic University of Malawi Parents and Guardians Association (CUNIMA – PGA); 2007 to-date
The PGA Executive:
· is the link between parents/guardians and the CUNIMA management;
· forms and works through subcommittees (e.g. student life, discipline, finance, development, communications etc) as necessary.
· develops and enforces the association’s by-laws (roles and responsibilities, Code of Conduct, calendar of events, etc).
· organises meetings for the PGA and facilitates setting of the meeting agenda,
· coordinates matters as referred to by the full association, and provides feedback to the association
· facilitates communication between the parents/guardians and the university
YOUNG LEADER, AFRICA-GERMAN PARTNERSHIP
1. Introduction
As a young leader in the Africa – Germany Partnership, I feel honoured to be in the middle of promotion of youth political participation. Recently I was appointed member of the Blue Ribbon Committee to advise and report to the State President H.E. Dr. Bingu Wa Mutharika on the fight against corruption and the development of a national anti-corruption strategy in Malawi. This appointment comes at a time I was already entrusted by the executive and the nation to function as Commissioner for the Competition and Fair Trading Commission. I am also President of Catholic University of Malawi Parents and Guardians Association, despite my having only a brother at the university.
1.1 Responsibility 1: Member of Blue Ribbon Committee (BRC), Government of Malawi. Appointed by and accountable to His Excellency the State President
Background
The dawn of the 1990s brought with it winds of change over Malawi and resulted in the change of the system of governance in 1993/94 from one party system to multiparty democracy. In 1995 Malawi adopted a new democratic constitution. Section 13 (o) of the Constitution of Malawi talks about the need for government to deliberately put in place measures to guarantee accountability, transparency, personal integrity and financial probity and which by virtue of their effectiveness and transparency will strengthen confidence in public institutions.
It is against this background that Parliament passed a law on corruption - The Corrupt Practices Act (CPA) number 18 of 1995. The Act established the Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB), which became operational in 1998, with mandate to carry out two main functions namely (a) to prevent corrupt practices in both public and private institutions and (b) to enforce the law on corruption. The ACB is a government but autonomous institution that is mandated by law to spearhead the fight against corruption.
The fight against Corruption in Malawi
Despite having the institution of ACB, corruption went up in the previous regime. Development partners such as Denmark, and the IMF pulled out/suspended their programmes in Malawi. Malawi scored 2.7 from year to year on corruption perception index, compared to Namibia, Seychelles, South Africa, Botswana and Swaziland that were improving. In 2004 Malawi went to the polls and saw the current State President Dr. Bingu Wa Mutharika get to power. As he spelt his vision of post 2004 Malawi, it was clear the President had zero tolerance policy on corruption and was committed to financial prudence, transparency and accountability. The same 2004, the Corrupt Practices Act (CPA) was amended in order to align it with regional and global conventions on corruption i.e. SADC protocol, AU Convention on Prevention of Corruption, UN Convention against corruption, but also to widen the definition of corruption and powers of the ACB.
Since the time the ACB started operations in 1998, no comprehensive assessment of the extent and locus of corruption had been done. In the year 2005/2006, a Governance and Corruption Baseline Survey was therefore conducted and the report was launched on 5th February 2007 – as part of commemoration of the National Anti-Corruption Day - by His Excellency the State President of the Republic of Malawi. The survey revealed the many gaps that existed, including the need to involve everyone in the fight against corruption, and increase civic awareness on corruption and reporting. (As at December 2007, the ACB had received a total of 13,400 complaints, of which 5,200 were authorized for investigations and the remaining 8,200 did not disclose corruption and were referred to other relevant institutions). The country had to come up with a National Anti-Corruption Strategy to deal with the shortfalls.
The Blue Ribbon Committee
It pleased His Excellency the State President of the Republic of Malawi Dr. Bingu Wa Mutharika to appoint an inclusive group of eminent Malawians into a Blue Ribbon Committee (BRC) to oversee the development of a national Anti-Corruption Strategy and advise him on the same from time to time. The BRC has the following as members: the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Appeal, the Speaker of the National Assembly, Representative of the Private Sector, Head of Traditional Chiefs – Inkosi ya Makosi, the Chief Secretary to the President and Cabinet, and me as Representative of all Civil Society. The BRC constituted a National Implementation Steering Committee (NISC) to do the drafting of the strategy under the guidance of the BRC. The BRC meets the State President and his Cabinet to report and advise on the fight against corruption in Malawi and the development of the anti-corruption strategy in particular.
In support of the President’s Political vision and Will, both the private sector and civil society have come up with own initiatives: the Business Action Against Corruption (BAAC) and the Civil Society Action Against Corruption (CSAAC) respectively. I am the current Chairman of the CSAAC. CSAAC contributes to the prevention, detection and prosecution dimensions of anti-corruption work through input into formulation and implementation of anti-corruption strategies, monitoring corruption (e.g. collecting and in-depth analysis of data and systematic documentation) and also through evidence-based advocacy. Our added advantage is in that we have the potential to depoliticise corruption and we also operate relatively flexibly.
1.2 Responsibility 2: Commissioner for The Competition and Fair Trading Commission (CFTC), Government of Malawi. Appointed by His Excellency the State President, but reporting to the National Assembly
The responsibilities are defined by an Act of Parliament – Competition and Fair Trading Act of 2000. As Commissioner I am responsible for:
· the functioning of the CFTC secretariat, including appointment and management of Directors and staff.
· carrying out investigations, in relation to the conduct of business so as to determine whether any enterprise is carrying on anti-competitive trade practices or unfair trading and the extent of such practices, if any;
· taking such action as we consider necessary or expedient to prevent or redress the creation of a merger or the abuse of a dominant position by an enterprise;
· providing persons engaged in business with information regarding their rights and duties under the Competition and Fair Trading Act;
· providing information for the guidance of consumers regarding their rights under the above Act;
· undertaking studies and make available public reports regarding the operation of the Act
· cooperating with and assisting any association or body of persons to develop and promote the observance of standards of conduct for the purpose of ensuring compliance with the provisions of the Act;
· advising the Minister of Trade and Private Sector Development on such matters relating to the operation of the Act as we think fit or as may be requested by the Minister;
· doing all such acts and things as are necessary, incidental or conducive to the better carrying out of the commission’s functions under the Act.
2.1 President of Catholic University of Malawi Parents and Guardians Association (CUNIMA – PGA); 2007 to-date
The PGA Executive:
· is the link between parents/guardians and the CUNIMA management;
· forms and works through subcommittees (e.g. student life, discipline, finance, development, communications etc) as necessary.
· develops and enforces the association’s by-laws (roles and responsibilities, Code of Conduct, calendar of events, etc).
· organises meetings for the PGA and facilitates setting of the meeting agenda,
· coordinates matters as referred to by the full association, and provides feedback to the association
· facilitates communication between the parents/guardians and the university
MEETING OF THE YOUNG LEADERS NETWORK OF THE GERMAN PARTNERSHIP WITH AFRICA
MEETING OF THE YOUNG LEADERS NETWORK OF THE GERMAN PARTNERSHIP WITH AFRICA
PARTICIPATION REPORT
BY Collins Magalasi
30 January 2008
A. Introduction
I attended the meeting of Young Leaders (YLs) network of the German Partnership with Africa (PwA) held in Germany from 23-26 January 2008 with support form GTZ. The PwA is an initiative started in 2005 by the Federal President of Germany His Excellency Horst Köhler in partnership with the Zeit Foundation. My participation in the network activities dates back to year 2006 when I was nominated by the Bucerius Summer School of Global Governance that I attended with support from ActionAid International.
The meeting was held in Berlin Germany and was follow up to similar YLs meetings held in November 2006 in Germany and January 2007 in Accra Ghana. Thirty five Young Leaders attended the meeting representing Germany, Madagascar, Ghana, Uganda, Sierra Leone, Zambia, Cameroon, DR Congo, Burundi, Kenya, South Africa, Mozambique, Botswana, Nigeria Togo and Malawi.
Conference moderators were Dr. Bruno Wenn and Dr. Andreas Proksch - Director of the Sub-Sahara Africa Department at KfW Entwicklungsbank and Director of the Africa Department at GTZ respectively.
B. Meeting Progress
B.1 Day 1: Meeting with President Horst Köhler
On day one, the Young Leaders met the Patron, the German Federal President Horst K̦hler, at his residence Рthe Schloss Bellevue.
The meeting looked back to the origin, objective, procedures of the YL Network, and also took stock of what has happened since Accra.
Specifically the YLs had to update the President on the activities and projects they have been involved in since Accra. I, Collins Magalasi (Malawi), together with Lars Allenstein (Germany), made presentations on behalf of the YLs.
In the evening the Young Leaders were welcomed by Andreas Proksch, GTZ GmbH and Bruno Wenn, KfW Entwicklungsbank at the GTZ Haus Berlin.
B.2 Day 2: Deliberations
Day 2 started with sessions that looked back in detail to what has happened since Accra at the global level in the fields of (a) Environment and the Natural Habitat, (b) Education and Employment opportunities, (c) Violence in Everyday Life and Armed Conflicts, and (d) Political Participation in Society. Experts from KfW (employment and conflict) and GTZ (environment and participation) facilitated the sessions and presented inputs about recent developments in the respective field of interest, taking into account the YLs’ Accra-Declaration.
Working Group1: Environment and Natural Habitat
Working Group 1 was chaired by Dr Rolf Mack, GTZ GmbH. The discussion was on the UNFCCC conference in Bali, Indonesia last year. The group recognized that huge steps were marked in connection with slowing down global warming. It is scientific consensus that rising temperatures could cause glaciers to melt and sea levels rise sharply, threatening islands and coastal areas, storms, droughts to become more intense. All effects cause serious harm to economies, societies and life sustaining ecosystems worldwide and lead finally to mass migration of climate refugees. In our discussion we looked at what happened in Mozambique at that time. Without any attempt to reduce the green house gas emissions, hundreds of millions people will be affected.
“Urgency of action on climate change has provided a political response to what science has been telling us that are needed”. Negative consequences of climate change, such as droughts and floods have brought new ways to reduce green house gas emissions, ways to widely deploy climate friendly technologies and financing both adaptation and mitigation measures into action. Poor countries are to be rewarded for protecting their existing forests and sell carbon credits to rich countries that want to compensate their carbon emissions.
At the UNFCCC conference a fund was agreed to help poor countries to adapt to the negative impacts of climate change, but no figure was mentioned. Despite the great achievement the UNFCCC agreement brought forward, it still leaves ample scope for scepticism and much more has to be done.
Working Group 2: Violence in Everyday Life and Armed Conflicts
Starting point for working group 2 was a presentation by KfW-Representative Patrick Rudolph about the conflict(s) in Sierra Leone and KfW’s engagement in Sierra Leone that helps to support constructive conflict resolution. In response members of working group 2 discussed the use of the Accra Declaration in the present situation in Sierra Leone. They came to the conclusion that two steps should be followed up on the process of inclusion of the CRC and its optional protocols into national legislation as well as the new gender acts. A monitoring process by the Working Group should be possible as some members are active in Sierra Leone.
Apart from some fundamental subjects regarding the structure of the Young Leaders' Network, working group 2 discussed the possible succession of the current President Kufuor of Ghana by Minister Akufo Addo. He participated in the 2nd Forum in Accra and should be approached by Young Leaders in Ghana referring to the Accra Declaration and reminding him of his participation in working group 2.
The last but strongly discussed point was a statement on the Kenyan crisis. As the Working Group was convinced of the urgent need for action, they deemed a statement to be useful for the Kenyan side, youth associations etc. as well as for the Presidential Office, BMZ etc. It was decided that this statement should include a brief analysis of the situation as well as suggestions for the steps to be taken by different actors from a young peoples’ perspective. Its focus should be on solidarity with youth organisations calling them to a non violent way of influence. It was important for working group 2 that the statement should not put the Kenyan members at risk. Their consent and contribution were regarded as indispensable. The Kenya Statement was then referred to the plenary.
Working Group 3: Education and Employment Opportunities
The third working group was chaired by Ulrich Jahn of KfW. Mr. Jahn opened the discussion with a presentation on the “Programme Based Approach in Education for All”. Throughout Mr. Jahn’s presentation the members of the working group articulated numerous comments and criticism initiating various discussions. The given financial approach was somewhat new to the working group members and consequently quite informative. Among the discussed issues were problems of public finance management and its necessary monitoring, organizing and distribution of funds through the Fast Track Initiative (FTI) for the implementation of Education For All (EFA) as well as the hypothesis that says increased access to education tends to lower quality. Most important reasons identified for the latter are still the lack of teachers, their bad payment resulting in low motivation, as well as problems caused by untrained or inexperienced teachers.
Woking Group 4: Political Participation in Society
Working Group 4, which was chaired by Ingo Imhoff, GTZ GmbH, looked at some events that have occurred since the Accra Declaration. These included the “Weltwärts Programme,” and the follow up of the African Youth Charter. Of the countries in the group it was learned that in Ghana the youth policy is still at the drafting stage and the youth of Ghana still face the question whether the in-coming government will continue with the youth policy process after the current President John Kufour has left office. Zambia has a youth policy in print which is accessible to a minority of Zambian youth mostly to those living in urban areas, while Malawi has a Youth Policy that is under review. Tanzania and Benin have their youth policies undergoing the ratification process though Benin has no concrete dates for the ratification, and Tanzania may discuss the fate of their Youth Policy in the next Parliamentary sitting.
The working group also discussed to coming AU Ministers of Youths meeting in Addis Ababa from 12-15 February, 2008. members agreed to negotiate for participation in the meeting. Members therefore agreed to take up the request with their Youth Ministries, German embassies and GTZ for support.
The working group also looked at various conferences that occurred in 2002 involving youths. These included the Africa-Europe Youth Summit, Junior G8, and the Pan African Youth Leadership forum. There were also some leadership programmes such as “Go Africa-Go Germany”, a German-African Scholarship Exchange Programme which is also an initiative of the German Federal President in cooperation with the Federal Agency for Civic Education. Last year’s exchange programme was held in Berlin, Germany and Windhoek, Namibia.
EU-Africa Policy
Later in the day, the YLs engaged discussions on European Africa Policy with inputs from respected panellists of Matthias Mülmenstädt, (Federal Foreign Office); Wolfgang Kroh, KfW Bankengruppe; Bruno Wenn (KfW) and Wolfgang Schmitt (GTZ)
After a hard day, we headed for a good meal and a dance
B.3 Day 3: Network formation and visioning
This day was dedicated to formation processes of the Young Leaders Network. Previously the YLs met at the programme and invitation of the Federal President’s and Zeit’s invitation. A decision was made that the Young Leaders be given the space to decide their own future and operations.
At the end of the day, the following were agreed as YLs Network Profile:
Who we are
We are the Young Leaders Network affiliated to the Partnership with Africa Initiative started by the Federal President of Germany, His Excellency President Horst Kohler in 2005.
Our Objective
We aim to contribute to sustainable development through fostering partnership between Africa and Germany bringing in a young people’s perspective and promoting the interest of young people though not exclusively.
Our Thematic Focus
We address a range of development issues bringing the perspective of young leaders working in a variety of sectors and advocating for the interest of young people though not exclusively. Our starting thematic areas of interest are as shown in our 2006 Accra Declaration namely:
§ Environment and the Natural Habitat
§ Violence in Everyday Life and Armed Conflict
§ Educational and employment opportunities
§ Political Participation in Society
In future we hope to expand to cover other themes of common interest.
What makes our network unique?
A number of features make our network unique. While in and of themselves, the individual items may not be special, the combination of all these elements makes our network distinct from other networks:
· Patronage from the German Federal President, which gives us access to influential policy makers in Germany and Africa. It is our intention to continue with high-level patronage beyond the term in office of the Federal president.
· Our network is made up of young people who are high achievers in their respective fields
· Our members are from a very wide range of professional, personal and national backgrounds ensuring a diversity that leads to innovative ideas.
· We work towards a common positive vision for Africa and Germany
· We function as a partnership of equals
Our methods
Our objective as stated above is met using a range of methods including:
§ Regular communication and exchange of ideas amongst ourselves using our online platform and occasional physical meeting
§ Joint activities involving members of the network including common projects, joint authorships of articles, meetings etc
§ Interaction with and influencing people who make policy in both Germany and Africa through advice, advocacy and lobbying
§ Support each other in striving for excellence in our respective fields of work
§ Advising each other and our external partners on a range of personal and professional issues
B.4 Network Management and Action points
The meeting elected people that would manage the affairs of the network as follows.
Messrs Collins Magalasi and Lars Allenstein were elected Coordinators for Africa and Germany respectively.
Peter Steudtner (Germany) will be responsible for Internal Relations.
The Public Relations team consists of Mwila Chansa (Zambia) and Miriam Haar (Germany).
Apart from the Steering Committee other group members have volunteered to take other responsibilities that the Young Leaders considered essential for a successful network with a long-term perspective, such as, for example, the legal status of the network and its constitution.The Fundraising Committee will be coordinated by Rodgers Atuhaire (Uganda) and Julia Pfinder (Germany).
Michael Kimmel (Germany) will be in charge of moderating the new internet platform
On Friday in the late afternoon after the official closure of the meeting the newly appointed Steering Committee and other group members continued the work on the structure of the Network and decided to undertake concrete steps.
Communication guidelines were set up which would encourage the Young Leaders to faster and livelier communication. Transparency and sharing of information will be the principles of communication among and about the Young Leaders.
To improve the internal communication as well as to provide information to the public the group plans to have its own website which should combine a public website with a non-public forum. A database with projects Young Leaders are involved in will be included into the new website. In addition, a bimonthly internal newsletter will be issued by Peter Steudtner. The option of a public newsletter has been left to further consideration.
A central question considered by the Young Leaders was a possible extension of the current network. Although there has been lively exchange on this issue no decision was taken in Berlin. However, it has been agreed that if the group intends to include new members, criteria for the selection of future members will have to be developed first.
C. Conclusions
The meeting ended on January 26, with commitment of the Young leaders to make a difference in their day-to-day lives.
As immediate actions, the meeting had the following action points:
Back to our respective countries
· Members agreed to report on the meeting to their respective Governments Ministries of Foreign Affairs and Youths; German Embassies and GTZ offices
Letter of Thanks
· Lars and Collins will facilitate letter of thanks to the federal President, GTZ, KFW
So many people played important roles in the success of my travel and meetings. Special mentions however go to the following:
The Country Director of ActionAid Malawi for approving my travel and the Policy unit colleagues for ably doing their jobs while I was away; the GTZ Malawi and Germany for the logistical arrangements including air tickets and accommodation respectively; the German Embassy in Malawi for the immigration facilitation including visas, the Malawi Embassy in Germany for the warm welcome and support provided and the Young Leaders from Germany, Madagascar, Ghana, Uganda, Sierra Leone, Zambia, Cameroon, DR Congo, Malawi, Burundi, Kenya, South Africa, Mozambique, Botswana, Nigeria, and Togo for entrusting their network into my coordination.
PARTICIPATION REPORT
BY Collins Magalasi
30 January 2008
A. Introduction
I attended the meeting of Young Leaders (YLs) network of the German Partnership with Africa (PwA) held in Germany from 23-26 January 2008 with support form GTZ. The PwA is an initiative started in 2005 by the Federal President of Germany His Excellency Horst Köhler in partnership with the Zeit Foundation. My participation in the network activities dates back to year 2006 when I was nominated by the Bucerius Summer School of Global Governance that I attended with support from ActionAid International.
The meeting was held in Berlin Germany and was follow up to similar YLs meetings held in November 2006 in Germany and January 2007 in Accra Ghana. Thirty five Young Leaders attended the meeting representing Germany, Madagascar, Ghana, Uganda, Sierra Leone, Zambia, Cameroon, DR Congo, Burundi, Kenya, South Africa, Mozambique, Botswana, Nigeria Togo and Malawi.
Conference moderators were Dr. Bruno Wenn and Dr. Andreas Proksch - Director of the Sub-Sahara Africa Department at KfW Entwicklungsbank and Director of the Africa Department at GTZ respectively.
B. Meeting Progress
B.1 Day 1: Meeting with President Horst Köhler
On day one, the Young Leaders met the Patron, the German Federal President Horst K̦hler, at his residence Рthe Schloss Bellevue.
The meeting looked back to the origin, objective, procedures of the YL Network, and also took stock of what has happened since Accra.
Specifically the YLs had to update the President on the activities and projects they have been involved in since Accra. I, Collins Magalasi (Malawi), together with Lars Allenstein (Germany), made presentations on behalf of the YLs.
In the evening the Young Leaders were welcomed by Andreas Proksch, GTZ GmbH and Bruno Wenn, KfW Entwicklungsbank at the GTZ Haus Berlin.
B.2 Day 2: Deliberations
Day 2 started with sessions that looked back in detail to what has happened since Accra at the global level in the fields of (a) Environment and the Natural Habitat, (b) Education and Employment opportunities, (c) Violence in Everyday Life and Armed Conflicts, and (d) Political Participation in Society. Experts from KfW (employment and conflict) and GTZ (environment and participation) facilitated the sessions and presented inputs about recent developments in the respective field of interest, taking into account the YLs’ Accra-Declaration.
Working Group1: Environment and Natural Habitat
Working Group 1 was chaired by Dr Rolf Mack, GTZ GmbH. The discussion was on the UNFCCC conference in Bali, Indonesia last year. The group recognized that huge steps were marked in connection with slowing down global warming. It is scientific consensus that rising temperatures could cause glaciers to melt and sea levels rise sharply, threatening islands and coastal areas, storms, droughts to become more intense. All effects cause serious harm to economies, societies and life sustaining ecosystems worldwide and lead finally to mass migration of climate refugees. In our discussion we looked at what happened in Mozambique at that time. Without any attempt to reduce the green house gas emissions, hundreds of millions people will be affected.
“Urgency of action on climate change has provided a political response to what science has been telling us that are needed”. Negative consequences of climate change, such as droughts and floods have brought new ways to reduce green house gas emissions, ways to widely deploy climate friendly technologies and financing both adaptation and mitigation measures into action. Poor countries are to be rewarded for protecting their existing forests and sell carbon credits to rich countries that want to compensate their carbon emissions.
At the UNFCCC conference a fund was agreed to help poor countries to adapt to the negative impacts of climate change, but no figure was mentioned. Despite the great achievement the UNFCCC agreement brought forward, it still leaves ample scope for scepticism and much more has to be done.
Working Group 2: Violence in Everyday Life and Armed Conflicts
Starting point for working group 2 was a presentation by KfW-Representative Patrick Rudolph about the conflict(s) in Sierra Leone and KfW’s engagement in Sierra Leone that helps to support constructive conflict resolution. In response members of working group 2 discussed the use of the Accra Declaration in the present situation in Sierra Leone. They came to the conclusion that two steps should be followed up on the process of inclusion of the CRC and its optional protocols into national legislation as well as the new gender acts. A monitoring process by the Working Group should be possible as some members are active in Sierra Leone.
Apart from some fundamental subjects regarding the structure of the Young Leaders' Network, working group 2 discussed the possible succession of the current President Kufuor of Ghana by Minister Akufo Addo. He participated in the 2nd Forum in Accra and should be approached by Young Leaders in Ghana referring to the Accra Declaration and reminding him of his participation in working group 2.
The last but strongly discussed point was a statement on the Kenyan crisis. As the Working Group was convinced of the urgent need for action, they deemed a statement to be useful for the Kenyan side, youth associations etc. as well as for the Presidential Office, BMZ etc. It was decided that this statement should include a brief analysis of the situation as well as suggestions for the steps to be taken by different actors from a young peoples’ perspective. Its focus should be on solidarity with youth organisations calling them to a non violent way of influence. It was important for working group 2 that the statement should not put the Kenyan members at risk. Their consent and contribution were regarded as indispensable. The Kenya Statement was then referred to the plenary.
Working Group 3: Education and Employment Opportunities
The third working group was chaired by Ulrich Jahn of KfW. Mr. Jahn opened the discussion with a presentation on the “Programme Based Approach in Education for All”. Throughout Mr. Jahn’s presentation the members of the working group articulated numerous comments and criticism initiating various discussions. The given financial approach was somewhat new to the working group members and consequently quite informative. Among the discussed issues were problems of public finance management and its necessary monitoring, organizing and distribution of funds through the Fast Track Initiative (FTI) for the implementation of Education For All (EFA) as well as the hypothesis that says increased access to education tends to lower quality. Most important reasons identified for the latter are still the lack of teachers, their bad payment resulting in low motivation, as well as problems caused by untrained or inexperienced teachers.
Woking Group 4: Political Participation in Society
Working Group 4, which was chaired by Ingo Imhoff, GTZ GmbH, looked at some events that have occurred since the Accra Declaration. These included the “Weltwärts Programme,” and the follow up of the African Youth Charter. Of the countries in the group it was learned that in Ghana the youth policy is still at the drafting stage and the youth of Ghana still face the question whether the in-coming government will continue with the youth policy process after the current President John Kufour has left office. Zambia has a youth policy in print which is accessible to a minority of Zambian youth mostly to those living in urban areas, while Malawi has a Youth Policy that is under review. Tanzania and Benin have their youth policies undergoing the ratification process though Benin has no concrete dates for the ratification, and Tanzania may discuss the fate of their Youth Policy in the next Parliamentary sitting.
The working group also discussed to coming AU Ministers of Youths meeting in Addis Ababa from 12-15 February, 2008. members agreed to negotiate for participation in the meeting. Members therefore agreed to take up the request with their Youth Ministries, German embassies and GTZ for support.
The working group also looked at various conferences that occurred in 2002 involving youths. These included the Africa-Europe Youth Summit, Junior G8, and the Pan African Youth Leadership forum. There were also some leadership programmes such as “Go Africa-Go Germany”, a German-African Scholarship Exchange Programme which is also an initiative of the German Federal President in cooperation with the Federal Agency for Civic Education. Last year’s exchange programme was held in Berlin, Germany and Windhoek, Namibia.
EU-Africa Policy
Later in the day, the YLs engaged discussions on European Africa Policy with inputs from respected panellists of Matthias Mülmenstädt, (Federal Foreign Office); Wolfgang Kroh, KfW Bankengruppe; Bruno Wenn (KfW) and Wolfgang Schmitt (GTZ)
After a hard day, we headed for a good meal and a dance
B.3 Day 3: Network formation and visioning
This day was dedicated to formation processes of the Young Leaders Network. Previously the YLs met at the programme and invitation of the Federal President’s and Zeit’s invitation. A decision was made that the Young Leaders be given the space to decide their own future and operations.
At the end of the day, the following were agreed as YLs Network Profile:
Who we are
We are the Young Leaders Network affiliated to the Partnership with Africa Initiative started by the Federal President of Germany, His Excellency President Horst Kohler in 2005.
Our Objective
We aim to contribute to sustainable development through fostering partnership between Africa and Germany bringing in a young people’s perspective and promoting the interest of young people though not exclusively.
Our Thematic Focus
We address a range of development issues bringing the perspective of young leaders working in a variety of sectors and advocating for the interest of young people though not exclusively. Our starting thematic areas of interest are as shown in our 2006 Accra Declaration namely:
§ Environment and the Natural Habitat
§ Violence in Everyday Life and Armed Conflict
§ Educational and employment opportunities
§ Political Participation in Society
In future we hope to expand to cover other themes of common interest.
What makes our network unique?
A number of features make our network unique. While in and of themselves, the individual items may not be special, the combination of all these elements makes our network distinct from other networks:
· Patronage from the German Federal President, which gives us access to influential policy makers in Germany and Africa. It is our intention to continue with high-level patronage beyond the term in office of the Federal president.
· Our network is made up of young people who are high achievers in their respective fields
· Our members are from a very wide range of professional, personal and national backgrounds ensuring a diversity that leads to innovative ideas.
· We work towards a common positive vision for Africa and Germany
· We function as a partnership of equals
Our methods
Our objective as stated above is met using a range of methods including:
§ Regular communication and exchange of ideas amongst ourselves using our online platform and occasional physical meeting
§ Joint activities involving members of the network including common projects, joint authorships of articles, meetings etc
§ Interaction with and influencing people who make policy in both Germany and Africa through advice, advocacy and lobbying
§ Support each other in striving for excellence in our respective fields of work
§ Advising each other and our external partners on a range of personal and professional issues
B.4 Network Management and Action points
The meeting elected people that would manage the affairs of the network as follows.
Messrs Collins Magalasi and Lars Allenstein were elected Coordinators for Africa and Germany respectively.
Peter Steudtner (Germany) will be responsible for Internal Relations.
The Public Relations team consists of Mwila Chansa (Zambia) and Miriam Haar (Germany).
Apart from the Steering Committee other group members have volunteered to take other responsibilities that the Young Leaders considered essential for a successful network with a long-term perspective, such as, for example, the legal status of the network and its constitution.The Fundraising Committee will be coordinated by Rodgers Atuhaire (Uganda) and Julia Pfinder (Germany).
Michael Kimmel (Germany) will be in charge of moderating the new internet platform
On Friday in the late afternoon after the official closure of the meeting the newly appointed Steering Committee and other group members continued the work on the structure of the Network and decided to undertake concrete steps.
Communication guidelines were set up which would encourage the Young Leaders to faster and livelier communication. Transparency and sharing of information will be the principles of communication among and about the Young Leaders.
To improve the internal communication as well as to provide information to the public the group plans to have its own website which should combine a public website with a non-public forum. A database with projects Young Leaders are involved in will be included into the new website. In addition, a bimonthly internal newsletter will be issued by Peter Steudtner. The option of a public newsletter has been left to further consideration.
A central question considered by the Young Leaders was a possible extension of the current network. Although there has been lively exchange on this issue no decision was taken in Berlin. However, it has been agreed that if the group intends to include new members, criteria for the selection of future members will have to be developed first.
C. Conclusions
The meeting ended on January 26, with commitment of the Young leaders to make a difference in their day-to-day lives.
As immediate actions, the meeting had the following action points:
Back to our respective countries
· Members agreed to report on the meeting to their respective Governments Ministries of Foreign Affairs and Youths; German Embassies and GTZ offices
Letter of Thanks
· Lars and Collins will facilitate letter of thanks to the federal President, GTZ, KFW
So many people played important roles in the success of my travel and meetings. Special mentions however go to the following:
The Country Director of ActionAid Malawi for approving my travel and the Policy unit colleagues for ably doing their jobs while I was away; the GTZ Malawi and Germany for the logistical arrangements including air tickets and accommodation respectively; the German Embassy in Malawi for the immigration facilitation including visas, the Malawi Embassy in Germany for the warm welcome and support provided and the Young Leaders from Germany, Madagascar, Ghana, Uganda, Sierra Leone, Zambia, Cameroon, DR Congo, Malawi, Burundi, Kenya, South Africa, Mozambique, Botswana, Nigeria, and Togo for entrusting their network into my coordination.
The Fifth African Development Forum (ADF-V) Youth and Leadership in the 21 st Century - CONCEPT
The Fifth African Development Forum (ADF-V) Youth and Leadership in the 21 st Century
16 - 18 November 2006 UNCC, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia
Concept paper
Overview:
Africa is a continent of the young, with more than 60% of the total population below the age of 25. Any serious policy for social, political and economic development in Africa must recognize the importance of young people, especially in promoting social progress, reducing political tension and maximizing economic performance. The pace, depth and scope of any society's development depend on how well its youth resources are nurtured, deployed and utilised. Unlike other continents, Africa's population is becoming more youthful, with youth as a proportion of the total population projected at over 75% by 2015, due to the high fertility rate underlying the demographic momentum. Currently, youth account for 45% of the total labour force in Africa; hence, the need for Africa's development efforts to reflect this demographic fact.
A youthful population has several potential advantages for national socio-economic development. The social advantages provided by youth include a greater degree of mobility, versatility, openness, adaptability and tolerance. In economic terms, youth provide dynamism in the supply of labour required for faster economic growth. Since youth consumption is generally related to basic needs, for example in housing, a youthful population also provides opportunities for mass production and hence economies of scale required for the development of local industrial and commercial enterprises. Furthermore, where the appropriate mechanisms exist, youthful population can provide a support base for social security systems. Above all, development of a country depends on the creativity of its population. Youth are known to be more creative and innovative than the adult population, and in several areas of development such as in community development, peace building, IT, and HIV/AIDS education youth are already playing catalytic roles in Africa. However, on the whole youth are generally marginalized in national economic, social and political structures.
In 2000 over 200 of the world's political leaders, including African leaders, made a declaration that ushered in the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). Though only Goal 8 of the MDGs specifically mentions young persons, the remaining seven goals directly or indirectly relate to them. Thus at least from the perspective of the MDGs, Africa's young people are tremendously important. However, older people including policy makers, appear not to know much about them- despite their numbers and despite the historical contribution of young people and youth movements to Africa's political history. Even the term 'youth' gives rise to confusion and conflicting images-some see youth as a threat to the established order while others focus on young people as the hope for the future. However, no young person is simply 'future potential' and a receptacle for learning. They are active and contemporary social, political and economic actors in themselves, and need to be sufficiently involved in Africa's development processes.
The scandal of child soldiers in Africa's conflicts, for example, cannot be understood without recognizing that the vast majority of these soldiers are young people who could be readily mobilized by leaders for productive action but instead are left wandering in the streets of African capitals without meaningful engagement. Additionally, the HIV/AIDS pandemic-Africa's number one threat to survival-cannot be overcome without a focus on youth, because they account for the largest proportion of its victims.
Youths are not typically conceived of as productive and constructive social actors, but rather as potential sources of political disruption, delinquency and criminality. Yet, pre-independence social and political movements were often led by young people who defined themselves as 'youth' to provide dynamic support to the leadership of the freedom and independence movements or in opposition to their elders who were supposedly content to be cronies of the colonial regimes. Some political parties were explicitly organized around youth.
The decision to devote the Fifth African Development Forum to youth emanates from the frank acknowledgement by various African development stakeholders that political stability, social solidification, and economic prosperity lie in harnessing the capacities of the youth.
Whilst youth has become a global issue, the situation of youth in Africa- characterized by embarrassingly high levels of unemployment and underemployment, exodus to other continents, involvement in violent political and social conflicts, etc.- is critical and requires strategic regional and national action.
Globally, youth concerns have been receiving increasing attention. The World Bank, for example, is devoting its 2007 edition of the World Development Report to youth under the theme, "Development and the Next Generation".
Within the UN system in 1995 youth issues were debated in the General Assembly leading to the World Programme of Action on Youth (WPAY). The ILO's 93 rd Session of the International Labour Conference in June 2005, where pathways to decent work for youth and the role of the international community in advancing the youth employment agenda were discussed . In October 2005, following the review of progress on the implementation of the WPAY, the UN General Assembly adopted a resolution (RES/60/2) reaffirming WPAY, which among other things:
• Called upon Governments to develop, in consultation with youth organisations, holistic and integrated youth policies based on WPAY,
• Requested the Regional Commissions to organise regional consultations with Member States and youth organisations in order to evaluate the implementation of the WPAY, and
• Called upon organisations, programmes and specialised agencies in the UN system to enhance inter-agency arrangements on youth policies and programmes with a view to improving coordination and enhancing synergies among relevant system activities in this regard.
The African Union Summit held in Khartoum in January 2006 by the decision of the Executive Council (EX.CL/Dec.273) underscored the need to restore hope and confidence to African youth and defined conditions that will enable them play a greater role in African development. In July 2006, The AU Summit held in Banjul by the decision of the Assembly of the Heads of State and Government ((AU/Dec.13 (VII)) adopted the new African Youth Charter that is now ready for signature and ratification from member states.
At the national level several countries have also initiated attempts to develop national youth policies. However, the policy deficiencies in youth development and the gap between the situation of youth in Africa and the realization of the potential contribution of youth towards the achievement of the objectives of development on the continent warrants deeper soul-searching, which would lead to better concerted efforts in developing our youth at all levels.
Vision Statement
The vision of the Fifth African Development Forum (ADF-V) is to endow African youth with material resources, skills, and intergenerational synergies, which would enable them contribute maximally to the democratic, gender-equal, peaceful and rights-based development of Africa.
The Forum, as a multi-stakeholder platform for debating, discussing and initiating concrete strategies for Africa's development, will be organised under the theme " Youth and Leadership in the 21 st Century", from November 16-18, 2006, by the Economic Commission for Africa jointly with its strategic regional partner, the Africa Union and in collaboration with other stakeholders in African development.
Objectives of ADF-V
The immediate objective of ADF-V is to fulfill the requirements of UNGA Resolution 60/2 of October 2005, by providing a platform for regional consultations and discussions on key issues affecting youth with Member States, UN agencies, civil society as well as African youth, with the view to evaluating progress towards the objectives of the WPAY, notably, the development of holistic and integrated youth development policies in member states and the enhancement of synergies among stakeholders including UN system agencies for youth development in Africa.
The ultimate objective of ADF-V is to deepen strategies at the regional and national levels for translating the potential of youth as a development asset into practical benefits for Africa's democratic, gender-equal, peaceful and rights-based development, in line with the objectives of the proposed African Union Youth Charter, NEPAD and internationally agreed development goals including MDGs.
A regional platform on youth development is necessary for a number of reasons. African countries face the same type of crisis of youth: limited access to (quality) education; unemployment; the threat of HIV/AIDS; conflict and post-conflict woes; social, political and economic exclusion; etc. The inter-twinning nature of youth issues across national borders, for example, youth migration, provides potential economies of scale in a joint regional policy making process.
Past ADFs have helped generate innovative ideas for advancing strategic issues affecting Africa's development such as national ICT policies (from ADF 1999) and HIV/AIDS research (from ADF 2000). ADF-V will provide the mechanism for articulating emerging concerns of youth and developing consensus regarding the solutions.
Specifically, ADF-V will:
• Develop strategies for the operationalisation and hence synergetic support for the implementation of the objectives of the proposed African Union Youth Charter, which will lead to new and or more comprehensive national youth policies reflecting the aspirations of youth collated through national consultations;
• Build partnerships, renew impetus, and deepen commitment to youth development, including the establishment of knowledge networks for sharing information and best practices on meeting the challenges of youth, especially challenges facing girls and young women, and
• Offer an opportunity for African youth to dialogue with key personalities as a launching pad for a youth voice at the continental level.
Definition of Youth for ADF-V
Governmental and non-governmental organisations alike have long faced difficulties in dealing with youth, partly because the child-adult dichotomy divides their focus either onto younger children or onto adults, and partly because of the problematic indeterminacy of the category 'youth'.
There are chronological definitions of youth, political definitions, and socio-cultural definitions. However, most official definitions are largely arbitrary. The United Nation's Department of Economic and Social Affairs defines youth as those persons aged between 18 and 24 years. However, in several African countries youth is defined to include lower ages such as 12 and higher ages such as 35. The AU in the adopted African Youth Charter defines youth as those persons aged between 15 to 35 years. This definition will be adopted for the purpose of ADF-V.
ADF-V Work Programme
The ADF-V Work Programme will revolve around the concept of youth as an asset in development. It will aim at developing approaches for maximising the contribution of youth to African development, with a focus on three principal pillars: 1) Youth as a base for economic development; 2) Youth as a dynamic force for social transformation and progress; and 3) Youth as a factor for change in governance and political development in Africa.
Deliberations will be clustered around these pillars, under the following subject areas or sub-themes:
Cluster 1: Youth and Economic Development
(Topics: Education and skills; employment and migration; entrepreneurship; ICT; health and HIV/AIDS; environment and sustainable livelihood; and participation in national economic policy decision-making)
Cluster 2: Youth and Social Development
(Topics : Culture and intergenerational relations; girls and young women; young people and children ; youth in the religious setting; young people and urban Africa; volunteerism; and participation in social transformation)
Cluster 3: Youth and Political Development
(Topics: Characterisation and definition of youth; Africa identity and citizenship; young people in the Diaspora; conflict resolution and peace building; and participation in democratic, rights-based and gender-equal development)
Outline of Thematic Sessions: objectives, sub-themes and issues
Cluster 1: Youth and Economic Development
• Young People, Education and Life Skills
It is estimated that about 133 million young people (more than 50% of the youth population) in Africa are illiterate. Instead of being in school more than 300,000 children serve rebel movements as bush soldiers. Many young people have little or no skills and are excluded from productive economic and social life, existing without hope and without support. Those that have some education exhibit skills irrelevant to current demand in the labour market, in a situation where educational and skill requirements are increasing, resulting in millions of unemployed and underemployed youth. The problem is compounded by continuing decline in real public expenditures on education and training in the face of high population growth.
The need to improve the quality of education and training for the youth cannot be over-emphasised. There is also a need for technical and vocational programmes for out-of-school youth. Technological awareness, problem-solving and scientific approaches in curriculum delivery must be the bedrock of education and training. Above all, access to education has to be expanded, especially for marginalized youth- notably, rural youth, the physically challenged, and isolated ethnic communities.
This session will focus on two broad objectives, namely, a) to review best practices in expanding educational access to young people, especially programmes and activities (including financing strategies) aimed at assisting disadvantaged youth "catch up" with their counterparts elsewhere; and b) to review best practices that improve the quality of education at all levels, especially those helping youth develop their creative skills. The issues to be deliberated upon include: What approaches need to be adopted and implemented towards helping the youth of Africa develop their human capital to meet the challenges of national and regional development in a technology and skill intensive world system? How can Africa sustain its long-term development and improve its competitiveness if it is not able to install an effective educational programmes that constantly inform her young people, equip them with the requisite skills, and develop their creative abilities?
It is expected that the outcomes of the session will contribute to the implementation of the AU Second Decade of Education for Africa (2006-2015).
2) Young People, Employment and Migration
The incidence of youth unemployment in Africa is over 20%, not counting the larger proportion of young people that are underemployed and eke out a living from indecent jobs. The rising hopelessness in the job situation facing African youth has forced an increasing proportion of them to risk their lives crossing dangerous paths and waters- over the Sahara and the Atlantic- in order to reach better pastures in Europe and America. ADF-V will attempt to examine the root causes of the lack of concerted action against youth joblessness, why African countries have been slow in joining the UN Secretary-General's Youth Employment Network, which seeks to assist UN member states to develop programmes for enhancing youth employment around the world, why are youth not being informed effectively about the opportunities in their own countries, what youth who resist the temptation to go abroad are doing to generate jobs for themselves and for others, and what lessons can be learnt from their experiences.
In order to address the issues of youth employment and migration, there is a need to examine youth transitions from the employment perspective- school, entering the labour market, remaining unemployed, and the unemployment-re-training-employment transition. Lack of careful attention and support for youth during these transitions plays a large role in determining their employment experiences. Another issue that requires attention is the provision of information, relating to both national and international labour markets, to facilitate decision making on the part of youth seeking employment. There is also the issue of systematically building the skills of young people systematically through internships, job attachments and volunteer work. Finally, what jobless youth do to sustain themselves and the implications of this for various dimensions of socio-economic development, including, health and HIV/AIDS, crime and violence, environmental degradation needs to be addressed.
The fight against poverty can be won if youth joblessness can be tackled head-on. There is ample evidence to show that inter-generational poverty- poverty from parents to children- is the main contributor to chronic poverty in Africa. A way therefore, must be found to break the poverty transfer cycle by facilitating employment, especially for vulnerable young people. Furthermore it has been shown that employment history at the early stages of entry into the labour market does affect individual performance in later life in terms of employment and income status.
The Forum will therefore document best practices in generating sustainable youth employment, and seek to identify the positive linkages between youth migration and youth employment and poverty reduction from which to develop coherent youth employment policies and programmes. It is expected that outcomes of this session will lead to partnerships in support of the formulation and the implementation of decent jobs policies and programmes in African countries.
• Young People and Entrepreneurship
Entrepreneurship starts from youth. Where support systems exist, the work of young entrepreneurs flourish and society benefits from their creativity and innovation. In Africa most young people end their dreams at the level of single-shop operations or in queues for government jobs. This tendency arises largely from the many limitations to the development of the business creativity of youth in Africa. There are, however, some cases of successful young entrepreneurs in Africa. What lessons can we learn from these successful young entrepreneurs? What message can they share with their peers?
The session on young people and entrepreneurship will review documentation on interventions aimed at developing young people for success in entrepreneurship and self-employment. The focus will be on the elements of their innovative and creative skills, and the type of support required to effectively develop these competencies and to build capacity for replication. Some of the issues to be examined include: What are youth doing to generate employment for themselves? What support are they getting? What are the best practices and lessons to be learnt? What factors inhibit the development and utilization of youth creativity? How can these be addressed at the national and regional level?
• Young People and ICT
The role of ICT in developing and utilizing the creative and productive potential of young people has been articulated in initiatives such as the World Summit on the Information Society and the African Information Society Initiative (AISI). New technologies can be used to unleash creativity, innovation, better education, entrepreneurship, decent employment and leadership among young people. As a tool, ICTs can foster youth leadership . Already ICT has been deployed to assist in peace building by youth in some communities in Africa.
Youth have been observed worldwide to be reliable and effective agents of technological change and harbingers of the information age, bringing existing and emerging technologies into the communities or sectors where lack of access to information has undermined and constrained development. Equipping youth with IT skills, creating an enabling environment for ICT innovations, entrepreneurship and employment, promoting their utilisation in policy-formulation, and in production, consumption and exchange can go a long way to catapult Africa over the digital divide and bring her into the global information society.
The focus of ADF-V session on Youth and ICT is to elaborate an enabling environment for youth leadership in all spheres of life through the deployment of ICT. The main issues for discussion will include: How to harness and spread ICT for quality youth education? How has ICT promoted youth education on the continent? What lessons can we draw from existing programmes and policies? In what ways can youth employment and entrepreneurship be enhanced by ICT deployment? How are the youth involved in the digital economy? How are the youth leading and pioneering ICT initiatives in the countries? What specific elements does ICT policy and regulatory environment need in order to promote youth SMMEs ? Are there policies regarding technology parks and business incubations? What is the role of the public, private, and international organizations? How can best practices from other regions be adapted to the Africa environment? What capacity building in research and development is needed to create an environment that promotes the involvment of youth in creative innovations? What are the lessons learnt?
It is expected that the outcomes of the session will promote the objectives of the African Youth in ICT for Development Network (AYIN), an offshoot of the World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS).
• Young People, Health and HIV/AIDS
HIV/AIDS is the number one threat to Africa's young people. The median age of infection for women in Africa is in the early twenties, implying that a substantial majority of girls that are HIV positive were infected before they turned 20. Only by focusing on young people will it be possible to halt the HIV/AIDS pandemic. There is much that can be done with young women themselves, both directly (by providing access to sex education, life skills, condoms, microbicides, etc.) and indirectly (by addressing the social environment in which girls and young women live, increasing girl's educational and socio-economic opportunities, and thereby increasing their power and decreasing their reliance on selling or trading sex).
HIV/AIDS is a major item for consideration in this session, but other communicable diseases, including especially sexually-transmitted infections, drug, alcohol and tobacco abuse and their health implications, accidents associated with dangerous occupations, violent crime, etc. should not be overlooked.
ADF-V deliberations will aim at articulating youth health concerns, in particular persistent social practices that affect the health of young women; review youth health initiatives; identify key factors explaining successes (or failures) of youth health initiatives; and discuss ways and means for strengthening youth health programmes and youth led health initiatives. This session will focus on interventions for improving the health status of young people and reducing their vulnerability to HIV/AIDS, and the role of young people in implementing these interventions.
6) Young People, Environment and Sustainable Livelihood
The United Nations Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED) 1992, identified youth as key players in the implementation of the environment and development agenda. Agenda 21, the programme of action for sustainable development that was adopted at the Conference dedicated Chapter 25 to the contribution of children and youth in sustainable development. Further, the Johannesburg Plan of Implementation (JPOI) adopted at the World Summit on Sustainable Development (WSSD) 2002, commits countries and organizations to promoting and supporting youth participation in programmes and activities relating to sustainable development.
Africa faces several environmental challenges: mitigating the effects of drought, reducing the rate of depletion of forest and mineral resources, clearing chemical waste, improving urban sanitation, etc. These challenges cannot be met without the participation of the youth population. The overall objective of the session will be to identify options for strengthening the involvement of youth in sustainable development decision-making and in the implementation of Agenda 21 at all levels. Specific issues to be covered include:
• Sustainable development from a youth perspective and how this fits in with the Johannesburg Declaration and the JPOI
• How have youth been involved in the implementation of JPOI and in particular, the Africa chapter of the Plan?
• What are the best practices and lessons learnt by youth in natural resource management?
It is expected that deliberations will, among other things, lead to the i ntegration of youth concerns in decision making pertaining to sustainable development, increased networking among youth active in the field of sustainable development, e stablishing or strengthening partnerships between youth and other stakeholders, and creating a c lear roadmap on the involvement of youth in the sustainable development programmes of ECA and partner organizations.
7) Participation of Young People in Economic Decision-making
Africa's youth feel excluded from policy platforms, even in matters that affect them. The results of this alienation go beyond individual self-esteem. They feel left out on the NEPAD initiative and the implementation of the MDGs. This affects their general sense of citizenship, which explains why the majority of youth would want to leave the continent. For the youth, the problem of economic governance cannot be solved just by allowing them to participate in decision-making, but also requires their inclusion in the distribution of the benefits of social progress.
All over the continent young people are developing platforms among themselves on various development initiatives such as NEPAD, MDG and PRSs; what they need are entry points into national and regional economic policy cycles. The Forum will examine the important role of youth in decision-making, models of participation and lessons and experiences that could guide future initiatives to harness youth for improvement of economic governance in Africa.
Cluster 2: Youth and Social Development
• Culture and Intergenerational Relations
African culture is highly heterogeneous, given her numerous ethnic groupings. One of the characteristics common to all, however, is that they are neither traditional nor modern, but a hybrid of old indigenous systems and foreign legacies of the colonial or imperial past. Hence, according to Nsamenang (2000), youth experiences today are shaped by "acculturative stress" and "behavioural shifts" incidental to the coexistence of the internal (local) and external (foreign) traditions.
The foreign culture's siege on indigenous African traditions is leaving African youth almost without a sense of cultural belongingness, with no embodiment of national or community values to hold on to in the face of the challenges of a global community. Culture is supposed to help society survive and make progress materially, emotionally and spiritually. For the youth of Africa there is a need to examine the apparent failure of African culture to resist external forces- slavery, colonialism and globalisation- and to overcome chronic poverty and underdevelopment; and which positive aspects of "culture" should be preserved.
Another major challenge to youth is the preservation of the "family" in terms of its ability to cater to its members economically, socially and politically. The traditional family is breaking down mainly as a result of economic exigencies. In some areas of Africa major additional threats to the family as well as the community are armed conflict and HIV/AIDS. What is being done to strengthen and support families that find themselves in these situations?
This forum will examine the mechanisms for intergenerational transfer of social values and skills, the issue of youth culture and how it should be nurtured to contribute to national and regional development, and meeting the special needs of Africa's young household heads in conflict and post-conflict areas. The aim of the session will be to document best practices in intergenerational transfer of skills and in youth development in general, define the main elements of African "positive" culture to pass on to the youth, and formulate the framework and action plans to rid the continent of obnoxious traditional practices.
• Girls and Young Women
Men and women experience life differently; men and women do not face the same constraints; they do not have the same options and incentives; and men and women frequently have different priorities and are affected differently by policy and development interventions. In most African societies, girls and young women are subject to socially imposed constraints that dampen their economic and social conditions. Adopting a gender approach in the formulation, programming and planning of development policies means taking into account the productive, social, reproductive and community roles and needs of both young women and men.
While the activities of African girls and young women have not often been the primary focus of research, their roles are nonetheless revealed in many spheres of African life, both past and present. We know, for instance, that household economies are heavily dependent on the labor of African girls, but how this labor is understood, and its effect on other spheres of life- such as the education of girls in the contemporary period and their economic and health prospects in the longer run-is of considerable interest. Young women in developing counties are known to be especially vulnerable to health problems, such as sexually transmitted infections (including HIV) that are compounded by inadequate health care and education, as well as poverty.
Women in general are emerging as leaders in many very contemporary and youthful cultural fields, including art, literature and music as well as in politics. There are many challenges, however. ADF-V will examine interventions that enhance the participation of girls and young women in mainstream socio-economic and political life. The session will also examine the extent to which African countries have implemented commitments such as the Convention on the Elimination of all forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW), the African platform for Action adopted at the 5 th African Conference on Women in Dakar (Senegal), the Beijing Platform for Action, African Charter on Human and People's rights and the Millennium Development Goals with respect to girls and young women. It is expected that the session will develop a clear road map for ridding the continent of traditions and practices that impede the socio-economic progress of girls and young women.
• Young People and Children
Child-focused organizations tend to regard parents (especially mothers) as the key intermediaries for promoting the welfare of children. The pivotal role of mothers cannot be disputed. Young people-a substantial proportion of them children themselves-are also crucial intermediaries. Most African women bear their first child before the age of twenty, and teenage mothers account for about 15-20% of all births, many of who are unemployed and are in unstable relationships. This situation has according to the evidence, adverse consequences for the children. Currently, most programmatic interventions target these young women solely or primarily in their capacity as mothers, without also seeing them as young people embedded in the social networks and sharing the cultural and social attributes of this social group.
Young people relate directly to children. They are role models for children. Young people are older siblings, neighbours, part-time carers, schoolmates and friends to children. The social and cultural environment of non-infant children is strongly influenced by youth subculture, and this influence becomes stronger as children get older. Young people influence the attitudes of younger children about health, education and social norms as well as political development. We cannot expect Africa's children to make progress in these areas unless there is positive influence from young people.
This session will seek out ways to incorporate young people in public policy-making in order to enhance the social development of children in Africa. It is expected that the session will lead to the development of community level programmes to shape the influence of young role models on children.
• Young People and Religion
Religion plays a critical role in human development, according to socio-psychological studies, by building responsible and law-abiding citizenry. African societies are highly religious. But how has religion helped Africa in its development? In particular, how is religion passed on to young people and how do young people respond to religion and utilize the powers of religion to achieve their own economic and social goals in life?
Among the best-studied youth-based social movements in Africa are the evangelical and Pentecostal churches and Islamic movements. These formidable contemporary social movements are marked by a powerful youth orientation, and by the message that personal moral rejuvenation can redeem or transform a corrupt public order. What are the impacts-present and future-of these religious movements on governmental policy-making in Africa? How are we to engage with these religious organizations for social development?
This session will attempt to document best practices in youth development undertaken by various religious groups including traditional religious organizations, discuss ways and means to reduce youth vulnerability to religious extremism, and develop approaches to strengthen the role of religious organizations in national and regional development. It is expected that this session will initiate a draft social-religious code that reflects the principles of human rights, tolerance, transparency and accountability.
• Young People and Urban Africa
The rate of urbanization in Africa is one of the highest, and young people are more likely to move to cities. Whether they partake of the pleasures of urban life, form part of a vast Diaspora network, an increasing number of Africa's youth are choosing the city over the countryside or deliberately straddling the rural-urban divide as they make their way into adulthood. To navigate the opportunities and difficulties of urban life young people need to be economically and socially creative.
ADF-V will explore the symbols, strategies, and tools that youth employ to seek shelter, build self-esteem, make a living, and protect themselves physically and emotionally within and across diverse urban settings. To what extent does the urban landscape frame the choices that particular young people make? What interventions are available to mitigate the likely impact on urban social services and living spaces of the increasing number of youth some of whom have joined gangs or contracted HIV/AIDS? Alternatively, what mechanisms and modes have young people themselves adopted and adapted to confront the challenges of 21 st century urbanism? It is expected that this session will build on the strategic outcomes of the World Urban Youth Forum (Vancouver 2006) in terms of reducing the risks that young people face and enhancing opportunities for the fulfillment of their aspirations in the urban setting.
• Youth Volunteerism
The focus of this session will be on the activity of young persons in the mobilisation of civil energies for development at the community, national and regional level. Most youth programmes are designed to deliver services to young people, abut fail to recognise that youth can assist in delivering services to others, according Susan Shroud and others (Innovations for Civic Participation, 2005). Volunteerism is a mechanism that offers young Volunteering benefits both society at large and the individual volunteer. It makes important contributions, economically as well as socially and politially, by facilitating a more cohesive society through building trust and reciprocity among citizens. Yet in Africa the only volunteers we have are foreign nationals. Young Africans have been made to believe that they cannot afford to volunteer.
The absence of volunteerism makes it more difficult to serve the cause of peace, transmit the values of free will, commitment, engagement and solidarity among African people. The exigencies of post-conflict reconstruction in which more than a dozen African states find themselves require that African youth, the most populous and the most energetic demographic group, be mobilised for peaceful coexistence and economic prosperity.
This session will focus on the participation of youth in voluntary activities, including those organised by national, regional and international, both UN-based and non-UN, organisations with the view to making proposals for facilitating the creation of opportunities and strengthening youth volunteering; identifying and documenting the youth role in the processes of awareness creation regarding communicable and infectious diseases, environmental management, peace and conflict resolution. Some of the possible discussion topics are: what are the existing manifestations of youth volunteering in Africa? How relevant do young people consider the establishment of a regional (or sub-regional) mechanism of African youth volunteering? It is expected deliberations in this session will lead to the development of a framework for establishing an African Youth Volunteer programmes and the implementation of the African Youth Chater articles 15 on Sustainable Livelihoods and Youth Employment; article 17 (f) on Peace and Security; and article 26 (e & k) on Youth Responsiblities.
• Participation of Young People in Social Transformation
This session will attempt to reach a consensus on how to utilise the identifiable skills of young people to secure stable and sustainable progress in Africa's social transformation. In particular, the session will review the role of young people in the music and arts as well as through sport in establishing social cohesion and tranquility in African communities.
Young people are the principal actors in Africa's social and political creativity today. Under the onslaught of a range of adversities-HIV/AIDS, unemployment, political repression, conflict, and the collapse of education systems-young people are actively fashioning new social orders. Most of these emergent social networks, organizations and belief systems are poorly understood. Youth through music and art and through excellence in sport show their refusal to accept the deplorable social and political circumstances in which they find themselves, and their determination to find new ways to give meaning to their lives in an environment in which almost all avenues for self-advancement are closed. Through sport, youth redeem their self-esteem, learn team building skills, tolerance and adherence to rules- critical factors in social development. It is expected that the session will develop ways to mainstream sport, music and art in national development strategies, and in doing so create further entry points for youth participation in national development.
Cluster 3: Youth and Political Development
• Characterisations and Official Definitions of Youth
The discussion under this topic will attempt to reach consensus on: "who are Africa's youth?" Traditional African societies had sequences for the maturing individual: for men, child to single man or warrior or labourer, to married self-supporting adult and elder, and for women, from girl to wife then to mother (Aryee, 1997). In modern societies, the sequence has become: from school to employment, with perhaps an intermediate stage for higher education or training (with consequent delay in marriage). 'Youth' in social terms is therefore a problematic, intermediary and ambivalent category, chiefly defined by what it is not: youths are not dependent children, but neither are they independent, socially responsible adults.
With social and economic development, and the ratification of international conventions by African governments, a single juridical age of maturity has gradually been introduced, though not fully accepted, across Africa. The age definition and classification of different age ranges of young people such as teenagers, middle-age youth, and mature youth, has implications for public policy and individual welfare, which must be addressed. It is expected that the session will lead to a consensus on the rationale for the "definition of youth" adopted in the African Youth Charter.
• African Identity and Citizenship
This session will examine the issue of national and African identity, the transition that youth undergo as they become citizens; how early political and civic experience shape patterns of citizenship throughout life, and the impact of "meaningful" citizenship on participation, accountability and collective action in achieving development. How do young people perceive African identity in a globalised world? Are their perspectives different from "national" ones? What are the implications for national development if divergences exist in these perceptions? These are some of the issues that this session will be concerned with.
Many young people feel left out of national processes, and they show their frustration in terms of non-participation in voting, for example. To them citizenship has not much real meaning, in the absence of quality education, employment, access to political structures, and roles in business and finance for young people. What it means to be an African young citizen needs to be defined and strategies need to be developed for the protection of the privileges embodied in such definitions.
It is expected that the session will lead to a consensus on strategies for developing skills for national and African citizenship as well as nurturing the environment for the actualization of the African citizenship among youth.
• Young Africans in Diaspora
The population of African youth in the Diaspora is substantial and may be classified into four groups, namely, students, completed students not returning, recent immigrants other than students, and African youth born outside the continent.
Most African students are concentrated in the developed countries, especially Western Europe and North America. Africa accounted for nearly 5.0 per cent of the population of foreign students in US in 2002/2003. Some African countries like Kenya ranked among the largest student sending countries to the United States with a total student population of 7862 in 2002/2003. The number of African youth in the US is significantly higher if United States-born children of African immigrants are included.
The main determining factors for student migration from the perspective of the sending (home) country are lack of facilities, and hence an inability of African higher learning institutions to absorb the increasing demand by youth for education and the narrow range of specialized courses offered by these institutions. Student migration represents a potential flow of skilled workers, either during the course of their studies or when they have completed their studies.
The direct role of Africa's youth in the Diaspora in the continent's development is low compared with that of foreign youth on the continent. Is Africa offering opportunities for others and not for her sons and daughters? What can be done to tap the resources of young Africans living abroad? How could they be re-integrated in African society?
The session will a) discuss and share experiences arising from African Diaspora initiatives such as the AU Diaspora Initiative, explore and identify innovative ways and mechanisms at the national and regional level for harnessing the resources (financial, intellectual and otherwise) of the African youth in Diaspora, and develop consensus on practical and strategic plans for inclusion of Youth in Diaspora in Africa's development processes.
• Young People, Conflict Resolution and Peace Building
In Africa, due to the sheer number of young people and their estrangement from the formal social and political order, mass mobilization of youth for war has not had the effect of sparking political change. Young people are not a scarce resource, and as a result, political and military leaders tend to use them with impunity. Information about the socio-economic and political profile of regular and rebel armies in Africa is vital for effective disarmament, demobilization and reintegration programmes, and also for the project of building truly peaceful civilian regimes.
This session will cover issues such as: the reasons why young people have been involved in recent armed conflicts, both as victims and agents; effective options for addressing youth needs in immediate post conflict situations as well as during periods of peace-building and post-war reconstruction; experiences of best practices on these issues; and experiences on conflict prevention. Specifically, the session will attempt to cover the following: a) r ole of youth in African conflicts; b) the youth dimension of conflict resolution; and c) youth solutions to peace-building and post-conflict reconstruction.
Child soldiers have become the subject of much programming, advocacy and research in recent years. The focus has been on the illegitimacy of recruiting children (initially under 15, more recently under 18) as combatants, and the need for their demobilization and rehabilitation. The next stage in a campaign against child soldiers is to broaden the agenda to include young people and militarism. While it is not possible to make a legal or human rights case against young soldiers, it is both necessary and possible to address the structural conditions that make it so easy to militarise Africa's youth and to pave the way for solid social and political reconstruction.
The use of underage soldiers by armed groups is a war crime and efforts must be up scaled to deal with this scourge. However, we must be careful not to view the role of youth in conflict situations simply as that of victims of war. In order to effectively deal with these issues, the agency and rationale for wielding arms must also be taken into account. In that context, it is similarly important to focus specifically on addressing youth needs when dealing with issues of conflict resolution and peace building. In West Africa and SADC regions this is happening, and ADF-V should document best practices for emulation elsewhere.
It is expected that this session will develop strategies for strengthening youth's role in peace building and conflict resolution, and for embedding employment in the pursuit of collective security in the communities.
• Participation of Young People in Democratic, Rights-based and Gender-equal Development
Most young people are social and political beings, impatient to express themselves, organize and engage in the social and political affairs of their communities and nations. They often long to escape from their families and are already engaged with extra-familial networks. Given the chance, many join political parties and become among their most active and dedicated members. Some volunteer for armed rebel movements, which in some cases can become a means for personal as well as political emancipation and self-actualisation.
How could governments best engage with the force for positive change represented by Africa's multifarious informal youth movements? How could the potential for a positive contribution of young 'party militants' be maximised, and their criminal or radical potential minimized? How could the political motivations that child soldiers might harbour be translated into peaceful activism? What might be the best way to engage fruitfully with student unions and youth political movements? In countries, such as in Uganda, there are representatives of youth in Parliament. This is a positive step and other countries could learn some lessons.
The participation rights of young people need to be taken seriously, so that they are more adequately represented in community and national mechanisms for ensuring that citizens' voices are heard and taken into account. Institutions that represent the young, and that deal with the young need their capacities enhanced. Mechanisms for delivering services to the young, ranging from schools and clinics to banks and micro-credit institutions, need strengthening with greater and more effective participation by their young clients and stakeholders. Civil society organizations, youth organizations, schools and universities, government departments, and regional organizations should all become concerned with young people, as citizens in their own right. Addressing all of these issues promises to yield benefits not only for children and young people, but also to increase the stability of the governments that are able to engage their young citizens in the national project.
The session will consider the following among other questions:
• How can the visions and dreams of youth as well as the dynamic components of youth sub-culture be transformed into positive contributions towards the establishment and sustenance of rights- and peace-based governance systems in African society, from the community to the regional and global level?
• How best can marginalized groups be included in political governance processes
• What contribution has youth been making in support of Africa's political integration? How can this be strengthened?
• What can "traditional youth chiefs" tell us in drawing up programmes and mechanisms for youth participation and inclusion?
IMPLEMENTATION STRATEGIES
The implementation of the objectives of the Forum will be revolve around three building blocks:
• Principles underpinning consultations, involvement and participation of key stakeholders, notably youth in the ADF-V processes;
• Processes for the determination of the content of all core documents, including the Consensus Statement, selection of participants, including keynote speakers and resource persons; and
• Organisation, Format and Timelines covering the work programme and documentation; media and publicity; participation; logistics; budget and finance; and post-forum activities.
Documentation
Documented reports and background papers will inform the discussions at the Forum. The core documents include:
• Thematic papers- These will highlight practical approaches to and serve as background reports on youth development in the major areas of concern to youth, as classified under the sub-thematic and subject areas above, namely, a) youth and economic development, b) youth and social development and c) youth and political development. The papers will also attempt to consolidate youth proposals on approaches and specific actions for youth development in the specified areas of concern. These papers will be produced by joint teams made up of the collaborating partners working with their youth partners, under the oversight of the Joint Technical Team and the Steering Committee.
• Country Briefs prepared by national youth representatives through a process of national consultations undertaken by the Core Partners in collaboration with the national Ministries responsible for youth, which will highlight the national youth vision, key youth concerns and the way these concerns are being addressed, and will make recommendations for the way forward. The Country Briefs will be reviewed by a Technical sub-committee and consolidated into one document to be titled, African Youth Briefs.
• The AUC report "Status of African Youth 2006", which gives a comprehensive information about the socio-economic and cultural situation of African youth as well as national youth policies.
Parallel Workshops, Exhibitions and Cultural Activities
The Forum will encourage collaborating agencies to run skill building and information sharing workshops, exhibitions and cultural expositions, and to prepare participating youth for the relevant ADF-V sessions, in the following areas, among others:
• ICT Entrepreneurship
• National Youth Employment Policies and Entrepreneurship
• Motivation, Role Modeling and Mentoring
• Peace Building and Post-Conflict Reconstruction
• Youth in Development through Sport, and
• Youth and Volunteerism.
Partnership and Collaboration
In accordance with the general desire to participate in ADF-V and the UN General Assembly Resolution 60/2, ADF-V planning and execution will revolve around five main partnership and collaborative arrangements:
• Joint Organisers - It is expected that AU (and the regional communities) will join ECA in organising the forum, as strategic partners;
• Core Partners - It is expected that UN system agencies with established mandates for youth development, such as UNICEF, UNESCO, UNFPA, ILO, UN-Habitat, and UNDP, as well as regional bodies such as Organisation Internationale de la Francophonie (OIF) will also join as core partners and contribute technically and financially regarding the preparation of background reports and country case studies; running workshops; and assist in the identification, recruitment and sponsorship of key personalities and resource persons, youth groups and individuals;
• Other collaborators- ECA, AU and joint partners will individually or jointly solicit further support from other institutions such as national institutions, bilateral and private sector organisations, civil society organizations, and other UN agencies (and the UNCTs), to undertake specific activities such as the organization of workshops, preparation of documentation, and provision of funding for needy participants and resource persons;
• Funding partners- Will provide financial support for pre-forum, forum and post-forum activities; and
• Youth organizations- will assist in the preparation of the draft Consensus Statement, country, sub-regional and regional briefs and background documents and in the running of workshops, and general servicing of the Forum and related meetings.
Target Participants
Youth is a development issue. Hence, all development stakeholders are expected to participate actively in the Forum, including the following:
• Regional Economic Communities
• Ministers responsible for youth affairs
• Youth organisations
• National (official) youth organizations
• Regional Youth Organisations
• International Youth Organisations
• UN partners
• Private sector organisations
• Bilateral organizations
• Multilateral organizations
• Key Personalities, such as youth-oriented heads of government, intellectuals, business and civil society leaders
• Resource persons and youth role models
• Traditional and religious leaders of youth, and
• Civil Society Organisations
Core and collaborating agencies are expected to include youth in their sponsored delegation to the Forum, in accordance with Resolution 60/2. The full list of participants would be completed by August 31, 2006.
Pre-Forum Processes and Activities
Regional Experts Meeting
A regional Meeting on Youth Development in Africa will be held at the end of June 2006, involving UN/DESA Youth Unit and other collaborating agencies and youth, to prepare, among other things, Africa's contribution to the UN S-G's Report on the WPAY. The meeting will also discuss the proposed strategies for achieving the objectives of ADF-V, including the work programme, modalities for conducting the national consultations, and partnership arrangements for ADF-V.
National Consultations
The aim of the national consultations is to 1) develop country briefs summarising the vision of national youth in terms of youth role in African Development, identifying supporting environments and mechanisms they need in order to play their role effectively, and determine how these environment and mechanisms could be installed and operationalised; 2) set out criteria for selecting youth participants for the ADF; 3) identify best practices in youth development; and 4) establish networks for the implementation of post-forum activities and programmes.
This would be undertaken between mid-July and mid-August 2006 by a team of the core partners through the UNCTs and under the auspices of ministries responsible for youth in member states in collaboration with national youth organizations, private sector and non-governmental organizations as well as others involved in youth development. The report of the national consultations will be fed into the core documents of the Forum.
Post-Forum Activities
ADF-V is expected strengthen the process towards the ratification and operationalisation of the African Youth Charter. ADF-V partners will collaborate in support of this process by including awareness of the Charter in their activities and programmes. ECA will establish a programme on youth to assist African countries develop and implement their national youth policies, in collaboration with its partners.
---------------Youth participants would be selected on the basis of 1) accomplishment in one or more of the thematic areas, and 2) gender, age and regional balance, with the view to achieving broad-based participation- reflecting Africa's youth demographic realities.
16 - 18 November 2006 UNCC, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia
Concept paper
Overview:
Africa is a continent of the young, with more than 60% of the total population below the age of 25. Any serious policy for social, political and economic development in Africa must recognize the importance of young people, especially in promoting social progress, reducing political tension and maximizing economic performance. The pace, depth and scope of any society's development depend on how well its youth resources are nurtured, deployed and utilised. Unlike other continents, Africa's population is becoming more youthful, with youth as a proportion of the total population projected at over 75% by 2015, due to the high fertility rate underlying the demographic momentum. Currently, youth account for 45% of the total labour force in Africa; hence, the need for Africa's development efforts to reflect this demographic fact.
A youthful population has several potential advantages for national socio-economic development. The social advantages provided by youth include a greater degree of mobility, versatility, openness, adaptability and tolerance. In economic terms, youth provide dynamism in the supply of labour required for faster economic growth. Since youth consumption is generally related to basic needs, for example in housing, a youthful population also provides opportunities for mass production and hence economies of scale required for the development of local industrial and commercial enterprises. Furthermore, where the appropriate mechanisms exist, youthful population can provide a support base for social security systems. Above all, development of a country depends on the creativity of its population. Youth are known to be more creative and innovative than the adult population, and in several areas of development such as in community development, peace building, IT, and HIV/AIDS education youth are already playing catalytic roles in Africa. However, on the whole youth are generally marginalized in national economic, social and political structures.
In 2000 over 200 of the world's political leaders, including African leaders, made a declaration that ushered in the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). Though only Goal 8 of the MDGs specifically mentions young persons, the remaining seven goals directly or indirectly relate to them. Thus at least from the perspective of the MDGs, Africa's young people are tremendously important. However, older people including policy makers, appear not to know much about them- despite their numbers and despite the historical contribution of young people and youth movements to Africa's political history. Even the term 'youth' gives rise to confusion and conflicting images-some see youth as a threat to the established order while others focus on young people as the hope for the future. However, no young person is simply 'future potential' and a receptacle for learning. They are active and contemporary social, political and economic actors in themselves, and need to be sufficiently involved in Africa's development processes.
The scandal of child soldiers in Africa's conflicts, for example, cannot be understood without recognizing that the vast majority of these soldiers are young people who could be readily mobilized by leaders for productive action but instead are left wandering in the streets of African capitals without meaningful engagement. Additionally, the HIV/AIDS pandemic-Africa's number one threat to survival-cannot be overcome without a focus on youth, because they account for the largest proportion of its victims.
Youths are not typically conceived of as productive and constructive social actors, but rather as potential sources of political disruption, delinquency and criminality. Yet, pre-independence social and political movements were often led by young people who defined themselves as 'youth' to provide dynamic support to the leadership of the freedom and independence movements or in opposition to their elders who were supposedly content to be cronies of the colonial regimes. Some political parties were explicitly organized around youth.
The decision to devote the Fifth African Development Forum to youth emanates from the frank acknowledgement by various African development stakeholders that political stability, social solidification, and economic prosperity lie in harnessing the capacities of the youth.
Whilst youth has become a global issue, the situation of youth in Africa- characterized by embarrassingly high levels of unemployment and underemployment, exodus to other continents, involvement in violent political and social conflicts, etc.- is critical and requires strategic regional and national action.
Globally, youth concerns have been receiving increasing attention. The World Bank, for example, is devoting its 2007 edition of the World Development Report to youth under the theme, "Development and the Next Generation".
Within the UN system in 1995 youth issues were debated in the General Assembly leading to the World Programme of Action on Youth (WPAY). The ILO's 93 rd Session of the International Labour Conference in June 2005, where pathways to decent work for youth and the role of the international community in advancing the youth employment agenda were discussed . In October 2005, following the review of progress on the implementation of the WPAY, the UN General Assembly adopted a resolution (RES/60/2) reaffirming WPAY, which among other things:
• Called upon Governments to develop, in consultation with youth organisations, holistic and integrated youth policies based on WPAY,
• Requested the Regional Commissions to organise regional consultations with Member States and youth organisations in order to evaluate the implementation of the WPAY, and
• Called upon organisations, programmes and specialised agencies in the UN system to enhance inter-agency arrangements on youth policies and programmes with a view to improving coordination and enhancing synergies among relevant system activities in this regard.
The African Union Summit held in Khartoum in January 2006 by the decision of the Executive Council (EX.CL/Dec.273) underscored the need to restore hope and confidence to African youth and defined conditions that will enable them play a greater role in African development. In July 2006, The AU Summit held in Banjul by the decision of the Assembly of the Heads of State and Government ((AU/Dec.13 (VII)) adopted the new African Youth Charter that is now ready for signature and ratification from member states.
At the national level several countries have also initiated attempts to develop national youth policies. However, the policy deficiencies in youth development and the gap between the situation of youth in Africa and the realization of the potential contribution of youth towards the achievement of the objectives of development on the continent warrants deeper soul-searching, which would lead to better concerted efforts in developing our youth at all levels.
Vision Statement
The vision of the Fifth African Development Forum (ADF-V) is to endow African youth with material resources, skills, and intergenerational synergies, which would enable them contribute maximally to the democratic, gender-equal, peaceful and rights-based development of Africa.
The Forum, as a multi-stakeholder platform for debating, discussing and initiating concrete strategies for Africa's development, will be organised under the theme " Youth and Leadership in the 21 st Century", from November 16-18, 2006, by the Economic Commission for Africa jointly with its strategic regional partner, the Africa Union and in collaboration with other stakeholders in African development.
Objectives of ADF-V
The immediate objective of ADF-V is to fulfill the requirements of UNGA Resolution 60/2 of October 2005, by providing a platform for regional consultations and discussions on key issues affecting youth with Member States, UN agencies, civil society as well as African youth, with the view to evaluating progress towards the objectives of the WPAY, notably, the development of holistic and integrated youth development policies in member states and the enhancement of synergies among stakeholders including UN system agencies for youth development in Africa.
The ultimate objective of ADF-V is to deepen strategies at the regional and national levels for translating the potential of youth as a development asset into practical benefits for Africa's democratic, gender-equal, peaceful and rights-based development, in line with the objectives of the proposed African Union Youth Charter, NEPAD and internationally agreed development goals including MDGs.
A regional platform on youth development is necessary for a number of reasons. African countries face the same type of crisis of youth: limited access to (quality) education; unemployment; the threat of HIV/AIDS; conflict and post-conflict woes; social, political and economic exclusion; etc. The inter-twinning nature of youth issues across national borders, for example, youth migration, provides potential economies of scale in a joint regional policy making process.
Past ADFs have helped generate innovative ideas for advancing strategic issues affecting Africa's development such as national ICT policies (from ADF 1999) and HIV/AIDS research (from ADF 2000). ADF-V will provide the mechanism for articulating emerging concerns of youth and developing consensus regarding the solutions.
Specifically, ADF-V will:
• Develop strategies for the operationalisation and hence synergetic support for the implementation of the objectives of the proposed African Union Youth Charter, which will lead to new and or more comprehensive national youth policies reflecting the aspirations of youth collated through national consultations;
• Build partnerships, renew impetus, and deepen commitment to youth development, including the establishment of knowledge networks for sharing information and best practices on meeting the challenges of youth, especially challenges facing girls and young women, and
• Offer an opportunity for African youth to dialogue with key personalities as a launching pad for a youth voice at the continental level.
Definition of Youth for ADF-V
Governmental and non-governmental organisations alike have long faced difficulties in dealing with youth, partly because the child-adult dichotomy divides their focus either onto younger children or onto adults, and partly because of the problematic indeterminacy of the category 'youth'.
There are chronological definitions of youth, political definitions, and socio-cultural definitions. However, most official definitions are largely arbitrary. The United Nation's Department of Economic and Social Affairs defines youth as those persons aged between 18 and 24 years. However, in several African countries youth is defined to include lower ages such as 12 and higher ages such as 35. The AU in the adopted African Youth Charter defines youth as those persons aged between 15 to 35 years. This definition will be adopted for the purpose of ADF-V.
ADF-V Work Programme
The ADF-V Work Programme will revolve around the concept of youth as an asset in development. It will aim at developing approaches for maximising the contribution of youth to African development, with a focus on three principal pillars: 1) Youth as a base for economic development; 2) Youth as a dynamic force for social transformation and progress; and 3) Youth as a factor for change in governance and political development in Africa.
Deliberations will be clustered around these pillars, under the following subject areas or sub-themes:
Cluster 1: Youth and Economic Development
(Topics: Education and skills; employment and migration; entrepreneurship; ICT; health and HIV/AIDS; environment and sustainable livelihood; and participation in national economic policy decision-making)
Cluster 2: Youth and Social Development
(Topics : Culture and intergenerational relations; girls and young women; young people and children ; youth in the religious setting; young people and urban Africa; volunteerism; and participation in social transformation)
Cluster 3: Youth and Political Development
(Topics: Characterisation and definition of youth; Africa identity and citizenship; young people in the Diaspora; conflict resolution and peace building; and participation in democratic, rights-based and gender-equal development)
Outline of Thematic Sessions: objectives, sub-themes and issues
Cluster 1: Youth and Economic Development
• Young People, Education and Life Skills
It is estimated that about 133 million young people (more than 50% of the youth population) in Africa are illiterate. Instead of being in school more than 300,000 children serve rebel movements as bush soldiers. Many young people have little or no skills and are excluded from productive economic and social life, existing without hope and without support. Those that have some education exhibit skills irrelevant to current demand in the labour market, in a situation where educational and skill requirements are increasing, resulting in millions of unemployed and underemployed youth. The problem is compounded by continuing decline in real public expenditures on education and training in the face of high population growth.
The need to improve the quality of education and training for the youth cannot be over-emphasised. There is also a need for technical and vocational programmes for out-of-school youth. Technological awareness, problem-solving and scientific approaches in curriculum delivery must be the bedrock of education and training. Above all, access to education has to be expanded, especially for marginalized youth- notably, rural youth, the physically challenged, and isolated ethnic communities.
This session will focus on two broad objectives, namely, a) to review best practices in expanding educational access to young people, especially programmes and activities (including financing strategies) aimed at assisting disadvantaged youth "catch up" with their counterparts elsewhere; and b) to review best practices that improve the quality of education at all levels, especially those helping youth develop their creative skills. The issues to be deliberated upon include: What approaches need to be adopted and implemented towards helping the youth of Africa develop their human capital to meet the challenges of national and regional development in a technology and skill intensive world system? How can Africa sustain its long-term development and improve its competitiveness if it is not able to install an effective educational programmes that constantly inform her young people, equip them with the requisite skills, and develop their creative abilities?
It is expected that the outcomes of the session will contribute to the implementation of the AU Second Decade of Education for Africa (2006-2015).
2) Young People, Employment and Migration
The incidence of youth unemployment in Africa is over 20%, not counting the larger proportion of young people that are underemployed and eke out a living from indecent jobs. The rising hopelessness in the job situation facing African youth has forced an increasing proportion of them to risk their lives crossing dangerous paths and waters- over the Sahara and the Atlantic- in order to reach better pastures in Europe and America. ADF-V will attempt to examine the root causes of the lack of concerted action against youth joblessness, why African countries have been slow in joining the UN Secretary-General's Youth Employment Network, which seeks to assist UN member states to develop programmes for enhancing youth employment around the world, why are youth not being informed effectively about the opportunities in their own countries, what youth who resist the temptation to go abroad are doing to generate jobs for themselves and for others, and what lessons can be learnt from their experiences.
In order to address the issues of youth employment and migration, there is a need to examine youth transitions from the employment perspective- school, entering the labour market, remaining unemployed, and the unemployment-re-training-employment transition. Lack of careful attention and support for youth during these transitions plays a large role in determining their employment experiences. Another issue that requires attention is the provision of information, relating to both national and international labour markets, to facilitate decision making on the part of youth seeking employment. There is also the issue of systematically building the skills of young people systematically through internships, job attachments and volunteer work. Finally, what jobless youth do to sustain themselves and the implications of this for various dimensions of socio-economic development, including, health and HIV/AIDS, crime and violence, environmental degradation needs to be addressed.
The fight against poverty can be won if youth joblessness can be tackled head-on. There is ample evidence to show that inter-generational poverty- poverty from parents to children- is the main contributor to chronic poverty in Africa. A way therefore, must be found to break the poverty transfer cycle by facilitating employment, especially for vulnerable young people. Furthermore it has been shown that employment history at the early stages of entry into the labour market does affect individual performance in later life in terms of employment and income status.
The Forum will therefore document best practices in generating sustainable youth employment, and seek to identify the positive linkages between youth migration and youth employment and poverty reduction from which to develop coherent youth employment policies and programmes. It is expected that outcomes of this session will lead to partnerships in support of the formulation and the implementation of decent jobs policies and programmes in African countries.
• Young People and Entrepreneurship
Entrepreneurship starts from youth. Where support systems exist, the work of young entrepreneurs flourish and society benefits from their creativity and innovation. In Africa most young people end their dreams at the level of single-shop operations or in queues for government jobs. This tendency arises largely from the many limitations to the development of the business creativity of youth in Africa. There are, however, some cases of successful young entrepreneurs in Africa. What lessons can we learn from these successful young entrepreneurs? What message can they share with their peers?
The session on young people and entrepreneurship will review documentation on interventions aimed at developing young people for success in entrepreneurship and self-employment. The focus will be on the elements of their innovative and creative skills, and the type of support required to effectively develop these competencies and to build capacity for replication. Some of the issues to be examined include: What are youth doing to generate employment for themselves? What support are they getting? What are the best practices and lessons to be learnt? What factors inhibit the development and utilization of youth creativity? How can these be addressed at the national and regional level?
• Young People and ICT
The role of ICT in developing and utilizing the creative and productive potential of young people has been articulated in initiatives such as the World Summit on the Information Society and the African Information Society Initiative (AISI). New technologies can be used to unleash creativity, innovation, better education, entrepreneurship, decent employment and leadership among young people. As a tool, ICTs can foster youth leadership . Already ICT has been deployed to assist in peace building by youth in some communities in Africa.
Youth have been observed worldwide to be reliable and effective agents of technological change and harbingers of the information age, bringing existing and emerging technologies into the communities or sectors where lack of access to information has undermined and constrained development. Equipping youth with IT skills, creating an enabling environment for ICT innovations, entrepreneurship and employment, promoting their utilisation in policy-formulation, and in production, consumption and exchange can go a long way to catapult Africa over the digital divide and bring her into the global information society.
The focus of ADF-V session on Youth and ICT is to elaborate an enabling environment for youth leadership in all spheres of life through the deployment of ICT. The main issues for discussion will include: How to harness and spread ICT for quality youth education? How has ICT promoted youth education on the continent? What lessons can we draw from existing programmes and policies? In what ways can youth employment and entrepreneurship be enhanced by ICT deployment? How are the youth involved in the digital economy? How are the youth leading and pioneering ICT initiatives in the countries? What specific elements does ICT policy and regulatory environment need in order to promote youth SMMEs ? Are there policies regarding technology parks and business incubations? What is the role of the public, private, and international organizations? How can best practices from other regions be adapted to the Africa environment? What capacity building in research and development is needed to create an environment that promotes the involvment of youth in creative innovations? What are the lessons learnt?
It is expected that the outcomes of the session will promote the objectives of the African Youth in ICT for Development Network (AYIN), an offshoot of the World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS).
• Young People, Health and HIV/AIDS
HIV/AIDS is the number one threat to Africa's young people. The median age of infection for women in Africa is in the early twenties, implying that a substantial majority of girls that are HIV positive were infected before they turned 20. Only by focusing on young people will it be possible to halt the HIV/AIDS pandemic. There is much that can be done with young women themselves, both directly (by providing access to sex education, life skills, condoms, microbicides, etc.) and indirectly (by addressing the social environment in which girls and young women live, increasing girl's educational and socio-economic opportunities, and thereby increasing their power and decreasing their reliance on selling or trading sex).
HIV/AIDS is a major item for consideration in this session, but other communicable diseases, including especially sexually-transmitted infections, drug, alcohol and tobacco abuse and their health implications, accidents associated with dangerous occupations, violent crime, etc. should not be overlooked.
ADF-V deliberations will aim at articulating youth health concerns, in particular persistent social practices that affect the health of young women; review youth health initiatives; identify key factors explaining successes (or failures) of youth health initiatives; and discuss ways and means for strengthening youth health programmes and youth led health initiatives. This session will focus on interventions for improving the health status of young people and reducing their vulnerability to HIV/AIDS, and the role of young people in implementing these interventions.
6) Young People, Environment and Sustainable Livelihood
The United Nations Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED) 1992, identified youth as key players in the implementation of the environment and development agenda. Agenda 21, the programme of action for sustainable development that was adopted at the Conference dedicated Chapter 25 to the contribution of children and youth in sustainable development. Further, the Johannesburg Plan of Implementation (JPOI) adopted at the World Summit on Sustainable Development (WSSD) 2002, commits countries and organizations to promoting and supporting youth participation in programmes and activities relating to sustainable development.
Africa faces several environmental challenges: mitigating the effects of drought, reducing the rate of depletion of forest and mineral resources, clearing chemical waste, improving urban sanitation, etc. These challenges cannot be met without the participation of the youth population. The overall objective of the session will be to identify options for strengthening the involvement of youth in sustainable development decision-making and in the implementation of Agenda 21 at all levels. Specific issues to be covered include:
• Sustainable development from a youth perspective and how this fits in with the Johannesburg Declaration and the JPOI
• How have youth been involved in the implementation of JPOI and in particular, the Africa chapter of the Plan?
• What are the best practices and lessons learnt by youth in natural resource management?
It is expected that deliberations will, among other things, lead to the i ntegration of youth concerns in decision making pertaining to sustainable development, increased networking among youth active in the field of sustainable development, e stablishing or strengthening partnerships between youth and other stakeholders, and creating a c lear roadmap on the involvement of youth in the sustainable development programmes of ECA and partner organizations.
7) Participation of Young People in Economic Decision-making
Africa's youth feel excluded from policy platforms, even in matters that affect them. The results of this alienation go beyond individual self-esteem. They feel left out on the NEPAD initiative and the implementation of the MDGs. This affects their general sense of citizenship, which explains why the majority of youth would want to leave the continent. For the youth, the problem of economic governance cannot be solved just by allowing them to participate in decision-making, but also requires their inclusion in the distribution of the benefits of social progress.
All over the continent young people are developing platforms among themselves on various development initiatives such as NEPAD, MDG and PRSs; what they need are entry points into national and regional economic policy cycles. The Forum will examine the important role of youth in decision-making, models of participation and lessons and experiences that could guide future initiatives to harness youth for improvement of economic governance in Africa.
Cluster 2: Youth and Social Development
• Culture and Intergenerational Relations
African culture is highly heterogeneous, given her numerous ethnic groupings. One of the characteristics common to all, however, is that they are neither traditional nor modern, but a hybrid of old indigenous systems and foreign legacies of the colonial or imperial past. Hence, according to Nsamenang (2000), youth experiences today are shaped by "acculturative stress" and "behavioural shifts" incidental to the coexistence of the internal (local) and external (foreign) traditions.
The foreign culture's siege on indigenous African traditions is leaving African youth almost without a sense of cultural belongingness, with no embodiment of national or community values to hold on to in the face of the challenges of a global community. Culture is supposed to help society survive and make progress materially, emotionally and spiritually. For the youth of Africa there is a need to examine the apparent failure of African culture to resist external forces- slavery, colonialism and globalisation- and to overcome chronic poverty and underdevelopment; and which positive aspects of "culture" should be preserved.
Another major challenge to youth is the preservation of the "family" in terms of its ability to cater to its members economically, socially and politically. The traditional family is breaking down mainly as a result of economic exigencies. In some areas of Africa major additional threats to the family as well as the community are armed conflict and HIV/AIDS. What is being done to strengthen and support families that find themselves in these situations?
This forum will examine the mechanisms for intergenerational transfer of social values and skills, the issue of youth culture and how it should be nurtured to contribute to national and regional development, and meeting the special needs of Africa's young household heads in conflict and post-conflict areas. The aim of the session will be to document best practices in intergenerational transfer of skills and in youth development in general, define the main elements of African "positive" culture to pass on to the youth, and formulate the framework and action plans to rid the continent of obnoxious traditional practices.
• Girls and Young Women
Men and women experience life differently; men and women do not face the same constraints; they do not have the same options and incentives; and men and women frequently have different priorities and are affected differently by policy and development interventions. In most African societies, girls and young women are subject to socially imposed constraints that dampen their economic and social conditions. Adopting a gender approach in the formulation, programming and planning of development policies means taking into account the productive, social, reproductive and community roles and needs of both young women and men.
While the activities of African girls and young women have not often been the primary focus of research, their roles are nonetheless revealed in many spheres of African life, both past and present. We know, for instance, that household economies are heavily dependent on the labor of African girls, but how this labor is understood, and its effect on other spheres of life- such as the education of girls in the contemporary period and their economic and health prospects in the longer run-is of considerable interest. Young women in developing counties are known to be especially vulnerable to health problems, such as sexually transmitted infections (including HIV) that are compounded by inadequate health care and education, as well as poverty.
Women in general are emerging as leaders in many very contemporary and youthful cultural fields, including art, literature and music as well as in politics. There are many challenges, however. ADF-V will examine interventions that enhance the participation of girls and young women in mainstream socio-economic and political life. The session will also examine the extent to which African countries have implemented commitments such as the Convention on the Elimination of all forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW), the African platform for Action adopted at the 5 th African Conference on Women in Dakar (Senegal), the Beijing Platform for Action, African Charter on Human and People's rights and the Millennium Development Goals with respect to girls and young women. It is expected that the session will develop a clear road map for ridding the continent of traditions and practices that impede the socio-economic progress of girls and young women.
• Young People and Children
Child-focused organizations tend to regard parents (especially mothers) as the key intermediaries for promoting the welfare of children. The pivotal role of mothers cannot be disputed. Young people-a substantial proportion of them children themselves-are also crucial intermediaries. Most African women bear their first child before the age of twenty, and teenage mothers account for about 15-20% of all births, many of who are unemployed and are in unstable relationships. This situation has according to the evidence, adverse consequences for the children. Currently, most programmatic interventions target these young women solely or primarily in their capacity as mothers, without also seeing them as young people embedded in the social networks and sharing the cultural and social attributes of this social group.
Young people relate directly to children. They are role models for children. Young people are older siblings, neighbours, part-time carers, schoolmates and friends to children. The social and cultural environment of non-infant children is strongly influenced by youth subculture, and this influence becomes stronger as children get older. Young people influence the attitudes of younger children about health, education and social norms as well as political development. We cannot expect Africa's children to make progress in these areas unless there is positive influence from young people.
This session will seek out ways to incorporate young people in public policy-making in order to enhance the social development of children in Africa. It is expected that the session will lead to the development of community level programmes to shape the influence of young role models on children.
• Young People and Religion
Religion plays a critical role in human development, according to socio-psychological studies, by building responsible and law-abiding citizenry. African societies are highly religious. But how has religion helped Africa in its development? In particular, how is religion passed on to young people and how do young people respond to religion and utilize the powers of religion to achieve their own economic and social goals in life?
Among the best-studied youth-based social movements in Africa are the evangelical and Pentecostal churches and Islamic movements. These formidable contemporary social movements are marked by a powerful youth orientation, and by the message that personal moral rejuvenation can redeem or transform a corrupt public order. What are the impacts-present and future-of these religious movements on governmental policy-making in Africa? How are we to engage with these religious organizations for social development?
This session will attempt to document best practices in youth development undertaken by various religious groups including traditional religious organizations, discuss ways and means to reduce youth vulnerability to religious extremism, and develop approaches to strengthen the role of religious organizations in national and regional development. It is expected that this session will initiate a draft social-religious code that reflects the principles of human rights, tolerance, transparency and accountability.
• Young People and Urban Africa
The rate of urbanization in Africa is one of the highest, and young people are more likely to move to cities. Whether they partake of the pleasures of urban life, form part of a vast Diaspora network, an increasing number of Africa's youth are choosing the city over the countryside or deliberately straddling the rural-urban divide as they make their way into adulthood. To navigate the opportunities and difficulties of urban life young people need to be economically and socially creative.
ADF-V will explore the symbols, strategies, and tools that youth employ to seek shelter, build self-esteem, make a living, and protect themselves physically and emotionally within and across diverse urban settings. To what extent does the urban landscape frame the choices that particular young people make? What interventions are available to mitigate the likely impact on urban social services and living spaces of the increasing number of youth some of whom have joined gangs or contracted HIV/AIDS? Alternatively, what mechanisms and modes have young people themselves adopted and adapted to confront the challenges of 21 st century urbanism? It is expected that this session will build on the strategic outcomes of the World Urban Youth Forum (Vancouver 2006) in terms of reducing the risks that young people face and enhancing opportunities for the fulfillment of their aspirations in the urban setting.
• Youth Volunteerism
The focus of this session will be on the activity of young persons in the mobilisation of civil energies for development at the community, national and regional level. Most youth programmes are designed to deliver services to young people, abut fail to recognise that youth can assist in delivering services to others, according Susan Shroud and others (Innovations for Civic Participation, 2005). Volunteerism is a mechanism that offers young Volunteering benefits both society at large and the individual volunteer. It makes important contributions, economically as well as socially and politially, by facilitating a more cohesive society through building trust and reciprocity among citizens. Yet in Africa the only volunteers we have are foreign nationals. Young Africans have been made to believe that they cannot afford to volunteer.
The absence of volunteerism makes it more difficult to serve the cause of peace, transmit the values of free will, commitment, engagement and solidarity among African people. The exigencies of post-conflict reconstruction in which more than a dozen African states find themselves require that African youth, the most populous and the most energetic demographic group, be mobilised for peaceful coexistence and economic prosperity.
This session will focus on the participation of youth in voluntary activities, including those organised by national, regional and international, both UN-based and non-UN, organisations with the view to making proposals for facilitating the creation of opportunities and strengthening youth volunteering; identifying and documenting the youth role in the processes of awareness creation regarding communicable and infectious diseases, environmental management, peace and conflict resolution. Some of the possible discussion topics are: what are the existing manifestations of youth volunteering in Africa? How relevant do young people consider the establishment of a regional (or sub-regional) mechanism of African youth volunteering? It is expected deliberations in this session will lead to the development of a framework for establishing an African Youth Volunteer programmes and the implementation of the African Youth Chater articles 15 on Sustainable Livelihoods and Youth Employment; article 17 (f) on Peace and Security; and article 26 (e & k) on Youth Responsiblities.
• Participation of Young People in Social Transformation
This session will attempt to reach a consensus on how to utilise the identifiable skills of young people to secure stable and sustainable progress in Africa's social transformation. In particular, the session will review the role of young people in the music and arts as well as through sport in establishing social cohesion and tranquility in African communities.
Young people are the principal actors in Africa's social and political creativity today. Under the onslaught of a range of adversities-HIV/AIDS, unemployment, political repression, conflict, and the collapse of education systems-young people are actively fashioning new social orders. Most of these emergent social networks, organizations and belief systems are poorly understood. Youth through music and art and through excellence in sport show their refusal to accept the deplorable social and political circumstances in which they find themselves, and their determination to find new ways to give meaning to their lives in an environment in which almost all avenues for self-advancement are closed. Through sport, youth redeem their self-esteem, learn team building skills, tolerance and adherence to rules- critical factors in social development. It is expected that the session will develop ways to mainstream sport, music and art in national development strategies, and in doing so create further entry points for youth participation in national development.
Cluster 3: Youth and Political Development
• Characterisations and Official Definitions of Youth
The discussion under this topic will attempt to reach consensus on: "who are Africa's youth?" Traditional African societies had sequences for the maturing individual: for men, child to single man or warrior or labourer, to married self-supporting adult and elder, and for women, from girl to wife then to mother (Aryee, 1997). In modern societies, the sequence has become: from school to employment, with perhaps an intermediate stage for higher education or training (with consequent delay in marriage). 'Youth' in social terms is therefore a problematic, intermediary and ambivalent category, chiefly defined by what it is not: youths are not dependent children, but neither are they independent, socially responsible adults.
With social and economic development, and the ratification of international conventions by African governments, a single juridical age of maturity has gradually been introduced, though not fully accepted, across Africa. The age definition and classification of different age ranges of young people such as teenagers, middle-age youth, and mature youth, has implications for public policy and individual welfare, which must be addressed. It is expected that the session will lead to a consensus on the rationale for the "definition of youth" adopted in the African Youth Charter.
• African Identity and Citizenship
This session will examine the issue of national and African identity, the transition that youth undergo as they become citizens; how early political and civic experience shape patterns of citizenship throughout life, and the impact of "meaningful" citizenship on participation, accountability and collective action in achieving development. How do young people perceive African identity in a globalised world? Are their perspectives different from "national" ones? What are the implications for national development if divergences exist in these perceptions? These are some of the issues that this session will be concerned with.
Many young people feel left out of national processes, and they show their frustration in terms of non-participation in voting, for example. To them citizenship has not much real meaning, in the absence of quality education, employment, access to political structures, and roles in business and finance for young people. What it means to be an African young citizen needs to be defined and strategies need to be developed for the protection of the privileges embodied in such definitions.
It is expected that the session will lead to a consensus on strategies for developing skills for national and African citizenship as well as nurturing the environment for the actualization of the African citizenship among youth.
• Young Africans in Diaspora
The population of African youth in the Diaspora is substantial and may be classified into four groups, namely, students, completed students not returning, recent immigrants other than students, and African youth born outside the continent.
Most African students are concentrated in the developed countries, especially Western Europe and North America. Africa accounted for nearly 5.0 per cent of the population of foreign students in US in 2002/2003. Some African countries like Kenya ranked among the largest student sending countries to the United States with a total student population of 7862 in 2002/2003. The number of African youth in the US is significantly higher if United States-born children of African immigrants are included.
The main determining factors for student migration from the perspective of the sending (home) country are lack of facilities, and hence an inability of African higher learning institutions to absorb the increasing demand by youth for education and the narrow range of specialized courses offered by these institutions. Student migration represents a potential flow of skilled workers, either during the course of their studies or when they have completed their studies.
The direct role of Africa's youth in the Diaspora in the continent's development is low compared with that of foreign youth on the continent. Is Africa offering opportunities for others and not for her sons and daughters? What can be done to tap the resources of young Africans living abroad? How could they be re-integrated in African society?
The session will a) discuss and share experiences arising from African Diaspora initiatives such as the AU Diaspora Initiative, explore and identify innovative ways and mechanisms at the national and regional level for harnessing the resources (financial, intellectual and otherwise) of the African youth in Diaspora, and develop consensus on practical and strategic plans for inclusion of Youth in Diaspora in Africa's development processes.
• Young People, Conflict Resolution and Peace Building
In Africa, due to the sheer number of young people and their estrangement from the formal social and political order, mass mobilization of youth for war has not had the effect of sparking political change. Young people are not a scarce resource, and as a result, political and military leaders tend to use them with impunity. Information about the socio-economic and political profile of regular and rebel armies in Africa is vital for effective disarmament, demobilization and reintegration programmes, and also for the project of building truly peaceful civilian regimes.
This session will cover issues such as: the reasons why young people have been involved in recent armed conflicts, both as victims and agents; effective options for addressing youth needs in immediate post conflict situations as well as during periods of peace-building and post-war reconstruction; experiences of best practices on these issues; and experiences on conflict prevention. Specifically, the session will attempt to cover the following: a) r ole of youth in African conflicts; b) the youth dimension of conflict resolution; and c) youth solutions to peace-building and post-conflict reconstruction.
Child soldiers have become the subject of much programming, advocacy and research in recent years. The focus has been on the illegitimacy of recruiting children (initially under 15, more recently under 18) as combatants, and the need for their demobilization and rehabilitation. The next stage in a campaign against child soldiers is to broaden the agenda to include young people and militarism. While it is not possible to make a legal or human rights case against young soldiers, it is both necessary and possible to address the structural conditions that make it so easy to militarise Africa's youth and to pave the way for solid social and political reconstruction.
The use of underage soldiers by armed groups is a war crime and efforts must be up scaled to deal with this scourge. However, we must be careful not to view the role of youth in conflict situations simply as that of victims of war. In order to effectively deal with these issues, the agency and rationale for wielding arms must also be taken into account. In that context, it is similarly important to focus specifically on addressing youth needs when dealing with issues of conflict resolution and peace building. In West Africa and SADC regions this is happening, and ADF-V should document best practices for emulation elsewhere.
It is expected that this session will develop strategies for strengthening youth's role in peace building and conflict resolution, and for embedding employment in the pursuit of collective security in the communities.
• Participation of Young People in Democratic, Rights-based and Gender-equal Development
Most young people are social and political beings, impatient to express themselves, organize and engage in the social and political affairs of their communities and nations. They often long to escape from their families and are already engaged with extra-familial networks. Given the chance, many join political parties and become among their most active and dedicated members. Some volunteer for armed rebel movements, which in some cases can become a means for personal as well as political emancipation and self-actualisation.
How could governments best engage with the force for positive change represented by Africa's multifarious informal youth movements? How could the potential for a positive contribution of young 'party militants' be maximised, and their criminal or radical potential minimized? How could the political motivations that child soldiers might harbour be translated into peaceful activism? What might be the best way to engage fruitfully with student unions and youth political movements? In countries, such as in Uganda, there are representatives of youth in Parliament. This is a positive step and other countries could learn some lessons.
The participation rights of young people need to be taken seriously, so that they are more adequately represented in community and national mechanisms for ensuring that citizens' voices are heard and taken into account. Institutions that represent the young, and that deal with the young need their capacities enhanced. Mechanisms for delivering services to the young, ranging from schools and clinics to banks and micro-credit institutions, need strengthening with greater and more effective participation by their young clients and stakeholders. Civil society organizations, youth organizations, schools and universities, government departments, and regional organizations should all become concerned with young people, as citizens in their own right. Addressing all of these issues promises to yield benefits not only for children and young people, but also to increase the stability of the governments that are able to engage their young citizens in the national project.
The session will consider the following among other questions:
• How can the visions and dreams of youth as well as the dynamic components of youth sub-culture be transformed into positive contributions towards the establishment and sustenance of rights- and peace-based governance systems in African society, from the community to the regional and global level?
• How best can marginalized groups be included in political governance processes
• What contribution has youth been making in support of Africa's political integration? How can this be strengthened?
• What can "traditional youth chiefs" tell us in drawing up programmes and mechanisms for youth participation and inclusion?
IMPLEMENTATION STRATEGIES
The implementation of the objectives of the Forum will be revolve around three building blocks:
• Principles underpinning consultations, involvement and participation of key stakeholders, notably youth in the ADF-V processes;
• Processes for the determination of the content of all core documents, including the Consensus Statement, selection of participants, including keynote speakers and resource persons; and
• Organisation, Format and Timelines covering the work programme and documentation; media and publicity; participation; logistics; budget and finance; and post-forum activities.
Documentation
Documented reports and background papers will inform the discussions at the Forum. The core documents include:
• Thematic papers- These will highlight practical approaches to and serve as background reports on youth development in the major areas of concern to youth, as classified under the sub-thematic and subject areas above, namely, a) youth and economic development, b) youth and social development and c) youth and political development. The papers will also attempt to consolidate youth proposals on approaches and specific actions for youth development in the specified areas of concern. These papers will be produced by joint teams made up of the collaborating partners working with their youth partners, under the oversight of the Joint Technical Team and the Steering Committee.
• Country Briefs prepared by national youth representatives through a process of national consultations undertaken by the Core Partners in collaboration with the national Ministries responsible for youth, which will highlight the national youth vision, key youth concerns and the way these concerns are being addressed, and will make recommendations for the way forward. The Country Briefs will be reviewed by a Technical sub-committee and consolidated into one document to be titled, African Youth Briefs.
• The AUC report "Status of African Youth 2006", which gives a comprehensive information about the socio-economic and cultural situation of African youth as well as national youth policies.
Parallel Workshops, Exhibitions and Cultural Activities
The Forum will encourage collaborating agencies to run skill building and information sharing workshops, exhibitions and cultural expositions, and to prepare participating youth for the relevant ADF-V sessions, in the following areas, among others:
• ICT Entrepreneurship
• National Youth Employment Policies and Entrepreneurship
• Motivation, Role Modeling and Mentoring
• Peace Building and Post-Conflict Reconstruction
• Youth in Development through Sport, and
• Youth and Volunteerism.
Partnership and Collaboration
In accordance with the general desire to participate in ADF-V and the UN General Assembly Resolution 60/2, ADF-V planning and execution will revolve around five main partnership and collaborative arrangements:
• Joint Organisers - It is expected that AU (and the regional communities) will join ECA in organising the forum, as strategic partners;
• Core Partners - It is expected that UN system agencies with established mandates for youth development, such as UNICEF, UNESCO, UNFPA, ILO, UN-Habitat, and UNDP, as well as regional bodies such as Organisation Internationale de la Francophonie (OIF) will also join as core partners and contribute technically and financially regarding the preparation of background reports and country case studies; running workshops; and assist in the identification, recruitment and sponsorship of key personalities and resource persons, youth groups and individuals;
• Other collaborators- ECA, AU and joint partners will individually or jointly solicit further support from other institutions such as national institutions, bilateral and private sector organisations, civil society organizations, and other UN agencies (and the UNCTs), to undertake specific activities such as the organization of workshops, preparation of documentation, and provision of funding for needy participants and resource persons;
• Funding partners- Will provide financial support for pre-forum, forum and post-forum activities; and
• Youth organizations- will assist in the preparation of the draft Consensus Statement, country, sub-regional and regional briefs and background documents and in the running of workshops, and general servicing of the Forum and related meetings.
Target Participants
Youth is a development issue. Hence, all development stakeholders are expected to participate actively in the Forum, including the following:
• Regional Economic Communities
• Ministers responsible for youth affairs
• Youth organisations
• National (official) youth organizations
• Regional Youth Organisations
• International Youth Organisations
• UN partners
• Private sector organisations
• Bilateral organizations
• Multilateral organizations
• Key Personalities, such as youth-oriented heads of government, intellectuals, business and civil society leaders
• Resource persons and youth role models
• Traditional and religious leaders of youth, and
• Civil Society Organisations
Core and collaborating agencies are expected to include youth in their sponsored delegation to the Forum, in accordance with Resolution 60/2. The full list of participants would be completed by August 31, 2006.
Pre-Forum Processes and Activities
Regional Experts Meeting
A regional Meeting on Youth Development in Africa will be held at the end of June 2006, involving UN/DESA Youth Unit and other collaborating agencies and youth, to prepare, among other things, Africa's contribution to the UN S-G's Report on the WPAY. The meeting will also discuss the proposed strategies for achieving the objectives of ADF-V, including the work programme, modalities for conducting the national consultations, and partnership arrangements for ADF-V.
National Consultations
The aim of the national consultations is to 1) develop country briefs summarising the vision of national youth in terms of youth role in African Development, identifying supporting environments and mechanisms they need in order to play their role effectively, and determine how these environment and mechanisms could be installed and operationalised; 2) set out criteria for selecting youth participants for the ADF; 3) identify best practices in youth development; and 4) establish networks for the implementation of post-forum activities and programmes.
This would be undertaken between mid-July and mid-August 2006 by a team of the core partners through the UNCTs and under the auspices of ministries responsible for youth in member states in collaboration with national youth organizations, private sector and non-governmental organizations as well as others involved in youth development. The report of the national consultations will be fed into the core documents of the Forum.
Post-Forum Activities
ADF-V is expected strengthen the process towards the ratification and operationalisation of the African Youth Charter. ADF-V partners will collaborate in support of this process by including awareness of the Charter in their activities and programmes. ECA will establish a programme on youth to assist African countries develop and implement their national youth policies, in collaboration with its partners.
---------------Youth participants would be selected on the basis of 1) accomplishment in one or more of the thematic areas, and 2) gender, age and regional balance, with the view to achieving broad-based participation- reflecting Africa's youth demographic realities.
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