Africa: rich in resources, developing its potential.

Ahmedou Ould Abdallah of Mauritania is the Special Coordinator for Africa and the Least Developed Countries, as well as the Secretary of the Panel of High-level Personalities on African Development. The UN Chronicle spoke with him about new approaches to African development and the upcoming Tokyo Conference on 5 and 6 October 1993.

* The UN Programme of Action for African Economic Recovery and Development, 1986-1990 raised hopes, which were dashed by poor economic performance in that period. Can we hope for a better success for the New Agenda for the Development of Africa in the 1990s?

Yes. We can say that the 1986-1990 Programme, which took place under bad economic conditions, was a test programme that listed African desires and priorities. The New Agenda, by contrast, is the product of a consensus between African countries and the donor community, a mutual commitment on a number of priorities. It states that African development is primarily the responsibility of African countries themselves. The continent is rich in resources and the challenge is to develop them in the most beneficial way.

Another reason for optimism is the personal commitment of Secretary-General Boutros Boutros-Ghali, who chairs the Panel of High-Level Personalities. He knows perfectly well the political, economic and social situation of Africa, is very familiar with the donors' approach and he ultimately believes in a better future for the continent. He has created a momentum in favour of African economic development and also political and security issues.

* Is the current thinking on development different from, say, 10 or 15 years ago?

It is completely different from even just five years ago, not only concerning the development of Africa, but also Latin America, Asia and Eastern Europe. The old thinking emphasized big government and central planning, and hardly took the individual into account. Today, the emphasis is on more popular participation in development projects and more reliance on the market economy.

* Some Asian countries have achieved spectacular economic growth in the last few decades. is their experience applicable to Africa?

There are six themes selected for the Tokyo Conference on African development, and one of them is lessons from the Asian experience.

Of course, no model for economic development can be entirely exported from one region to another. The international context in Africa now is not the same as it was in Asia in the 1960s, when the United States and Japan were, partly for political reasons, committed to East Asian development.

However, some of those lessons are applicable, such as Asian countries' emphasis on basic education, land reform and the private sector.

The Tokyo conference will be the first major meeting on African development held in Asia. Such conferences have been held in America and Europe, but not in Japan, which has no historical, geographical or cultural link to Africa. This is a great opportunity for all to move towards greater cooperation.

* Is having to deal with crisis management in places such as Somalia, Angola and Liberia diverting attention and resources from long-term development.?

It seems that resources allocated for emergency assistance are diverted from official development assistance (ODA).

The Secretary-General is now preparing an "Agenda for development" to complement his Agenda for Peace". A main issue will be the linkage between peace and development, and in particular addressing economic situations which lead to despair, civil strifes and open wars. There has been considerable support from the international community in addressing natural and man-made disasters in Africa - drought, famine, civil war - but there needs to be a continuous link between emergency assistance, rehabilitation, and long-term development. There is no neat division between them, but a continuum.

* Corruption has been cited as an important reason for the failure of development aid to live up to its potential. is it a big factor in Africa?

It should be noted that a large number of civil crises in Africa could be linked to a lack of transparency and accountability including diversion of resources from health, education and other important concerns. The toll of corruption in Africa is immense as elsewhere, but in Africa it is especially its cultural and social dimension which frightens.