Agence France-Presse (AFP)

June 4, 2004

Maputo: Big business called on African governments quickly to get to work on its peer review system, warning that the continent’s mutually agreed instrument of self-monitoring was in danger of losing its impact.

“Business likes a stable environment. But business is impatient, there has to be a real sense of urgency in implementing peer review,” said Stanley Subramoney, deputy director in Johannesburg of PriceWaterhouseCoopers, one of the world’s largest accounting firms.

The New Partnership for Africa’s Development (NEPAD) is seeking to encourage investment and trade by embracing key principles such as good governance and public financial accountability.

One of its key pillars is the African Peer Review Mechanism (APRM), a voluntary programme whereby African countries are reviewed by other African countries to see whether they adhered to the principles set out by NEPAD.

South Africa is scheduled to be reviewed early next year.

“The global world is moving on,” said Subramoney.

“If we slow down the process we are going to lose the race. Time is a luxury that we don’t have,” he told delegates at the World Economic Forum for Africa in the Mozambican capital.

The peer review system is the most tangible product of NEPAD, which was set up three years ago as the continent’s economic rescue plan, he said.

“We cheer and want to support APRM, the process is fine but we would like to see it being speeded up.”

Wiseman Nkuhlu, who chairs the NEPAD steering committee, admitted that there were delays within the process.

“The process was supposed to start in July last year, but it has been delayed because we needed more time to deliberate on the APRM’s guidelines,” he told delegates at the meeting, which is being attended by some 700 delegates from 48 countries and at least three heads of state.

A NEPAD team has traveled to Ghana, which is ready to become the first African country to submit itself to peer review.

South Africa earlier on Thursday called for a tough stance on corruption, a key barrier to economic growth in Africa, proposing a name-and-shame campaign against big companies involved in the practice.

“Clearly, corruption is a very big issue,” South Africa’s Finance Minister Trevor Manuel told a plenary session.

“But we also need to look at those who corrupt. We need to get to the corruptors as hard as those who take it,” said Manuel.

Manuel cited the example of Lesotho, where several major international companies have been found guilty of paying bribes to officials at the Lesotho Highlands Water Project, which supplies water and electricity to neighbouring South Africa.

He said Lesotho and South Africa were frustrated in their attempts to have these companies blacklisted by the World Bank.

“The World Bank is giving us the run-around. These companies need to be clearly marked and space should be left open for companies who have not done this sort of thing,” Manuel said.

A report on African competitiveness released Wednesday by the Swiss-based World Economic Forum painted a bleak picture of Africa’s economies, saying the “long-awaited renaissance of the African economy has not taken place”, describing dismal performance as “the worst 20th century tragedy” after decolonization.

Manuel criticized rich countries’ approach to Africa, saying trade relations are still driven by commodities.

He said “a colonial relationship based on the extraction of wealth” in Africa still existed, especially in the oil industry.