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2008-0700-F
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This is not a textual record. This is used as an
administrative marker by the William J. Clinton
Presidential Library Staff.
Collection/Record Group:
Clinton Presidential Records
Subgroup/Office of Origin:
Speechwriting
Series/Staff Member:
Heather Hurlburt
Subseries:
19911
OAIID Number:
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Folder Title:
9-7-00 CBC Africa Event [Congressional Black Caucus/UN Africa Event- Remarks]
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�Hurlburt
PRESIDENT WILLIAM J. CLINTON
CONGRESSIONAL BLACK CAUCUS EVENT
September 7, 2000
�1
Thank you. I want to welcome the African leaders
here today, along with the many diplomats, business
leaders, and Members of Congress.
I also want to
take a moment to thank the Congressional Black
Caucus for all the work you have done to spark a new
beginning, ·and a true partnership, between America
and Africa. You have spread the word that it matters
profoundly to America whether Africa becomes an
engine of growth and opportunity, or a place of
poverty and despair. That it matters to the world
whether Africa's 739 million people get the chance to
live their dreams.
�2
Just two weeks ago, I had the honor of saying
something no American President before ever could:
That it was good to be back in Africa. During my
second trip as President, I saw in Nigeria a nation
beginning to come to terms with its past, while fixing
its eyes on the future, and taking its place as a global
leader. And in Arusha, I saw a region and a continent
deeply engaged in resolving· the conflict in Burundi.
A great deal of work remains. But the determination
of Nigerians building democracy, and the visionary
leadership of President Mandela and his colleagues in
East Africa, give reasons for great confidence in
Africa's future.
�3
Another reason for hope is here with us today:
As
Chairman of the OAU, President Bouteflika worked
tirelessly to silence the guns on the border between
Eritrea and Ethiopia, and saw his efforts bear fruit
with the signing of the cessation of hostilities
agreement on June 18. President Bouteflika, you
have my gratitude, and the gratitude of all those here
and everywhere who hope and work for a world at
peace. Thank you, sir.
Today, I want to talk about the best reasons to have
confidence in Africa's economic future.
For most of history, the central economic reality was
that size and location mattered most. But
·· ·
1
�4
globalization and information technology have
virtually collapsed distance and time; they've made
the riches of the human mind every bit as important
as the riches hidden in the earth. And that is good
news for Africa if it can invest in the potential of its
people.
We have a.shared interest in making. sure. that
Africans can seize their opportunities, and that means
we all have responsibilities to meet.
First of all, government has to get the foundations
right- establishing the rule of law, creating a good
climate for investment, keeping markets open, and --
�5
as I said in Nigeria --·making national investments
that broaden the economic base and provide tangible
benefits for ordinary people.
These principles work - and they work in Afr,ica.
Last year the world's fastest-growing economy was
Mozambique; Botswana was second. Nigeria has
turned a fiscal debt into a surplus, and economic··
growth is up.
When Africa's nations do their part, their wealthier
partners must also play their role. That's why we
have reached out through our Export-Import Bank,
our Overseas Private Investment Corporation, and
�6
our Trade and Development Agency to encourage
American investment in Africa. We are encouraging
the efforts of regional trade blocs like ECOWAS and
SADC, which will unite smaller economies into bigger,
more attractive markets. And earlier this year, I was
proud to sign the Africa Growth and Opportunity
Act, with the support of members of Congress here in
· ,this room.·
When we fully implement it, Africa will have greater
access to America's markets than any region in the
world outside North America. That is something I am
very proud of- and something I hope Africans will
take full advantage of. .
�7
We also need to intensify our efforts to help Africa
benefit from the information age. We need to build
on our Leland Initiative, where we're helping 20
African countries connect to the Internet, and training
more than 1500 government and civic institutions to
use it. We need to do more in rural areas.
Some parts of rural Africa still have less than one
phone line for every 500 inhabitants. Just as there is
a digital divide between Africa and the world, there is
the danger of a digital divide within Africa, between
cities that are connected and villages that are left out.
Taking the benefits of the Internet to those in Africa
who need it most ought to be a high priority for
�8
everyone in this room. It would do Mickey Leland
proud.
We must also remember that trade and technology
alone won't take Africa where it needs to go.
Too many countries doing all the right things are still
held back by debt. One year ago, I announced that we
would completely write off the debts of as-many as 27.
African nations. Ueanda has already used savings on
debt payments to double its primary-school
enrollment, Senegal to hire 2000 teachers,
Mozambique to buy much-needed medicines. I ask
my friends in Congress and my friends with influence
in Congress: Help us get the $435 million I have
�9
requested for debt relief this year, and help us extend
relief to other deserving countries in coming years.
It's the smart thing to do, and it's the right thing to
do.
We must -also do more to promote ~ducation. Sixteen
sub-Saharan countries still send fewer than half of
their children to primary school. I have launched a ,
$300 million initiative to provide free meals that will·
encourage the parents of 9 million boys and girls to
send them to school. We need also to invest more in
basic education. If other nations will join us, we can
dramatically increase school enrollment. And we can
help Africa get on the fast track to healthier citizens
and stronger economies.
�10
Finally, we must work hard to fight infectious
diseases, especially AIDS, that are stealing the future
in too many parts of Africa. I hope the members of
Congress here will help us pass the $1 billion vaccine
tax credit I proposed earlier this year. But even as we
· . invest in,vaccine research, we. should remember: .
AIDS is 100 percent preventable. All of us need to do
more to support edu~ation and prevention programs,
and to help break the silence about how AIDS is
'I
transmitted and how it can be stopped.
�11
If there is one message I have for America about
Africa and for Africa about America, it's this: we
have a chance to take on the great human challenges
together. Together, we can fight disease, promote
education, build peace, advance prosperity, and help
our children live their dreams. We've already begun.
We're working together more than ever before. Let's
·.keep on picking up speed. Thank you.
�"Kittrie, Orde F." <KittrieO@STATE.GOV>
09/07/2000 10:31:54 AM
Record Type:
To:
Record
Heather F. Hurlburt/WHO/EOP
"Chapman, Geoffrey W' <ChapmanGW@state.gov>, "Pence, Constance A." <PenceC@STATE.GOV>,
"Kittrie, Orde F." <KittrieO@STATE.GOV>
Subject: RE: FW: Very Helpful World Bank Paper Re Pro-Competitive Policies as Key to Digital Divide
cc:
Heather: I spoke to Lane Smith, the Leland Initiative Coordinatorat AID,
and he said he would be comfortable with the President saying the following:
"On January 31, 2000 specialists from the Eritrean phone company, aided by
technical experts from the Leland Initiative, installed the Eritrea National
Internet Gateway, bringing the only remaining country on the African
continent without Internet into the information age." He confirmed that
Somalia and Liberia received internet access before Eritrea. I hope this
helps.
> -----Original Message-> From: Heather_F._Hurlburt@who.eop.gov
> [SMTP: Heather_F ._Hurlburt@who.eop.gov]
> Sent: Wednesday, September 06, 2000 12:16 PM
>To: Kittrie, Orde F.
> Subject:
Re: FW: Very Helpful World Bank Paper Re Pro-Competitive
> Policies
as Key to Digital Divide
>
> I got this, but my computer doesn't want to let me view it. I suppose
>it's
> too long to fax?
>
>(Tell Anne Pence I said hello.)
>
�Draft 09/06/00 5:30pm
Heather Hurlburt
PRESIDENT WILLIAM J. CLINTON
REMARKS TO CONGRESSIONAL BLACK CAUCUS
NEW YORK, NEW YORK
September 7, 2000
Thank you [TBD]. I want to welcome the [15] African leaders who are here today, as
well as many senior officials, diplomats, business leaders, Members of Congress, and guests.
And I want to take a moment to thank the Congressional Black Caucus for your support over the
last eight years. Thank you for all the work you have done to spark a new beginning, and a true
partnership, between America and Africa. You have done a great deal to spread the word that
Africa matters -because 30 million Americans trace their heritage to the continent. Because of
your size and the wealth of your national resources. But most of all, because we are
interdependent - we need each other to meet the challenges and seize the great opportunities of
this new century.
Just two weeks ago, I felt very fortunate to be able to say something no American
President ever could. That it was good to be back in Africa - for my second time as President. I
saw in Nigeria a nation beginning to come to terms with its past while fixing its eyes on the
future, and taking up a full share of global leadership. And in Arusha, I saw a region and a
continent deeply engaged in resolving-the conflict in Burundi. In Egypt, I met leaders working
for peace from Africa to the Middle East. In each place, a great deal of work remains to be done.
There are no easy answers to the challenges. But in the determination of Nigerians building
democracy, in the visionary leadership of President Mandela and his colleagues in East Africa, I
saw plenty of reasons for confidence about Africa's future.
Today, I want to talk about the best reasons for hope in Africa's economic future- and
what we must do to make those hopes come true in this new, uncharted age.
For most of history, the central economic reality was that size and location mattered
most. But that has all changed. And that is good news for Africa - an opportunity to· be seized.
Thanks to globalization and the information revolution, old walls are falling and new
opportunities are opening. Information technology has virtually collapsed distance and time; it's
made the riches of the human mind every bit as important as riches that lie in the ground.
So now we have a shared interest in making sure that Africans can seize those
opportunities, and become full members ofthe 21st-century global community. That gives us all
responsibilities.
First of all, even in this age of globalization, government policy still matters. Any
government that wants to build its economy has to get the foundations right - establishing the
rule of law, creating a good climate for investment, keeping markets open. And~ as I said in
�Nigeria, making national investments that broaden the base of the economy - and that provide
tangible benefits for ordinary people.
These principles work - and they work in Africa. Look at the record. Last year the
world's fastest-growing economy was Mozambique; Botswana was second. Nigeria has turned a
fiscal debt into a surplus, and economic growth is up.
Now, when Africa's nations do their part, then their partners among the world's wealthier
nations must do their part as well.
We have a responsibility to help African nations grow and diversify their economies. We
have reached out through our Export-Import Bank and our Trade and Development Agency to
encourage American investment in Africa. We support the efforts of regional trade blocs like
ECOWAS and SADC, which will unite smaller economies into bigger, more attractive markets.
And earlier this year, we signed the Africa Growth and Opportunity Act, with the support of
[every member of Congress in this room.] When we fully implement it, Africa will have the
most liberal access to America's market of any region in the world outside of North America.
That is something every American should be proud of- and something I hope Africans will take
full advantage of.
Now, let me talk a little more about opportunities for Africa in the information age.
Through our Leland Initiative, the United States is helping 20 African countries connect to the
Internet. We've already helped train more than 1500 government and civic institutions to use it.
We will try to do more, and we will encourage our corporations and foundations to do more as
well. But we have a long way to go. Some parts of rural Africa still have less than one phone
line for every 500 inhabitants. Fewer than one in every 600 Africans has ever used the Internet.
From inner-city America to rural India, I've seen how the Internet can help educate children,
improve health care and empower communities. Taking the benefits of the Internet to those in
Africa who need it most -- ought to be a high priority for everyone in this room. It would do
Mickey Leland proud.
We must also remember that trade and technology alone will not take Africa where it
needs to go. Too many countries are doing all the right things but are still held back by debt. A
year ago, I announced that we would completely write off the debts of as many as 27 African
nations. We're working with other nations to make that happen, and the first seven African
nations are already receiving the benefits. Uganda has already used that money to double its
primary-school enrollment, and Benin is committed to doing the same. Senegal·plans to hire
2000 teachers a year for the next three years; Mozambique is buying much-needed medicines for
government clinics.
Now we must finish the job. I ask the Americans in the audience, and especially my
friends from Congress, to help us get from Congress the $435 million I have requested for debt
relief this year, and help us extend debt relief to other deserving countries in the years to come.
This is vitally important- if we do not follow through on our commitment, funding will dry up,
and some countries will do all the work to qualify but see no reduction in debt. That would be
wrong- and it is not in America's interest to let it happen.
�One of the vital investments debt relief helps support is in education. 16 sub-Saharan
countries still send fewer than half of their children to primary school. ·I have launched a $300
million initiative to provide a free breakfast or lunch for 9 million boys and especially girls who
are not in school today. If other nations will join us in this, we can dramatically increase school
enrollment. We can give millions more young people the chance to live their dreams. And we
can help Africa get on the fast track to healthier citizens and stronger economies.
The last shared responsibility I want to mention is the need to fight infectious diseases,
especially AIDS, that are stealing the future in too many parts of Africa. AIDS threatens to
lower the life expectancy in some countries by 20 or 30 years. We need to work together on
affordable treatments and vaccines, and I hope the members of Congress here will help us pass
the $1 billion vaccine tax credit I proposed earlier this year. But while we wait for science to
catch up to our needs, we should remember: AIDS is 100 percent preventable. Most of the
deaths from malaria every year could be prevented. We all - Africans, Americans, public sector
and private - need to do more to support education and prevention programs, and to help break
the silence about how AIDS is transmitted and how it can be stopped.
Let me just close with that point. If there is one thing I hope I have communicated to
Americans about Africa, it is that we must be involved with you. To defeat disease, terrorism
and crime, in your cities and ours. To build prosperity in the farms and factories of all our
nations. And to secure the dream of peace in every community for the century ahead. And if I
have communicated one thing to Africans about America, I hope it is this: that we stand ready to
work with you as true partners, to meet our common challenges and live out our shared dreams.
Thank you very much.
�THE WHITE HOUSE
Office of the Press Secretary
February 17, 2000
For Immediate Release
REMARKS BY THE PRESIDENT
TO OPENING OF NATIONAL SUMMIT ON AFRICA
Washington Convention Center
Washington, D.C.
10:50 A.M. EST
Thank you very, very much.
It's a wonderful thing
THE PRESIDENT:
Old friends and people you have
to be introduced by an old friend.
appointed to office will tell false, good stories about you every time.
(Laughter.)
Africa never had a better friend in America than Andrew Young, and
I thank him.
(Applause.)
I want to say I'm honored to be in the
presence today of so many distinguished Africans. Secretary Salim,
thank you for your visionary remarks and your leadership. ·President
Moi, thank you for coming to the United States and for giving me another
chance to visit with you and for the work we have done together. Vice
President Abubakar, thank you for what you are doing in Nigeria to give
that great country its true promise at long last. We thank you, sir.
(Applause. )
I welcome all our distinguished guests from Africa: Mrs. Taylor,
foreign ministers, ambassadors.
I thank all the Americans who are here,
beginning with Andy's wife, who puts up with :this relentless travel of
his around Africa. Mayor Williams, thank you for welcoming us to
Washington.
There are three members of our Congress here today
representing what I hope will be a stronger and stronger bipartisan
commitment to the future of Africa: Congressman Royce and Congresswoman
Barbara Lee and Congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee, I thank you for being
here.
(Applause.)
I want to thank Leonard Robinson and Herschelle Challenor and all
the people responsible for this remarkable conference.
Thank you, Noah
Samara and thank you, Bishop Ricard, for being here. And I want to say
a special word of appreciation to all the people in our administration
who have worked so hard to give us an Africa policy that we can be proud
of, that I hope will light up the path for America's future.
I know that Secretary Slater has already spoken here. Our AID
Director, Brady Anderson, will speak. Our Vice President will be here.
You said, Secretary Salim, you hope future administrations will follow
our lead in Africa.
I know pne that would.
(Laughter and applause.)
I want to thank Susan Rice at the State Department, Sandy Berger,
Gayle Smith, all the people in our White House, all the ones who have
helped us here.
(Applause.)
Secretary Salim said Africa lacks a strong constituency in the
United States. Well, I open this National Summit on Africa with a
simple message: Africa does matter to the United States.
(Applause.)
Of whatever background Americans claim -- Leonard Robinson told me
when I came here, we even have 17 delegates from Utah here. There they
I of8
9/6/2000 I 0: I7 AM
�IIP-PRESS@Iists.state.gov
Stephanie Adler/OAIEOP@EOP
Daniel R. Wilson/OMB/EOP@EOP
Philip J. Crowley/NSC/EOP@EOP
Joseph B. Trahem/WHO/EOP@EOP
Elliott H. Baer/OPD/EOP@EOP
Zina C. Pierre/WHO/EOP@EOP
Jeffrey K. Nussbaum@OVP
Elizabeth E. Baylor/WHO/EOP@EOP
Rebecca J. Salay/WHO/EOP@EOP
Lisa Zweig Molyneux/OMB/EOP@EOP
Marc I. Hurwitz/NSC/EOP@EOP
Ann Marie Wallace/WHO/EOP@EOP
Brooke D. Anderson/NSC/EOP@EOP
Leah F. Pisar/NSC/EOP@EOP
Rachael F. Goldfarb/WHO/EOP@EOP
Brian A. Reich/OVP/EOP@EOP
Adam L. Rosman/WHO/EOP@EOP
Alice C. Cook/WHO/EOP@EOP
Raj Adlakha/WHO/EOP@EOP
LaJaycee Brown/WHO/EOP@EOP
tkinser@freedomforum.org
Alexander N. Gertsen/WHO/EOP@EOP
Kristina Wolfe/OVP/EOP@EOP
jpayne643@hotmail.com
Drew T. Gardiner/WHO/EOP@EOP
William T. Endicott/WHO/EOP@EOP
Valerie J. Owens/WHO/EOP@EOP
Christine A. Stanek/WHO/EOP@EOP
Mary C. Williams/NSC/EOP@EOP
Cheri L. Stockham/WHO/EOP@EOP
�are, you see?
(Laughter and applause.) Africa matters not simply
because 30 million Americans trace their heritage to Africa, though that
is profoundly important.
(Applause.)
Not simply because we have a
strong interest in a stable and prosperous Africa -- though 13 percent
of our oil comes from Africa, and there are 700 million producers and
consumers in sub-Saharan Africa, though that is important. Africa's
future matters because the 21st century world has been transformed, and
our views and actions must be transformed accordingly.
For most of history, the central reality in international relations
was that size and location matter most.
If you were a big country or on
a trade or invasion route, you mattered.
If not, you are marginalized.
The average American child growing up in the past saw African nations as
colorful flags and exotic names on a map, perhaps read books about the
wonderful animals and great adventures. When colonialism ended, the
colors on the flags were changed and there were more names on the map.
But the countries did not seem nearer to most Americans.
That has all changed now.
Fo~ the central reality of our time is
globalization.
It is tearing down barriers between nations and people;
knowledge, contact and trade acro~s borders within and between every
continent are exploding. And all this globalization is also, as the
barriers come down, making us more vulnerable to one another's problems:
to the shock of economic turmoil, to the spread of conflict, to
pollution and-, as we have painf-ully seen, to disease; the terrorists,
the drug traffickers, the criminals who can also take advantage of new
technologies and globalization, the openness of societies and borders.
Globalization means we know more about one another than ever
before.
You may see the Discovery Channel in Africa.
I was thinking of
that when that little film was on.
The Discovery Channel followed me
to Africa and talked about how they were building communications
networks in African schools to share knowledge and information. We can
find out within seconds now what the weather is in Nairobi, how a
referendum turned out in Zimbabwe, how Cameroon's indomitable Lions
performed in the latest soccer match.
(Laughter and applause.)
We can
go online and read the Addis Tribune, the Mirror of Ghana, the East
African, or dozens of other African newspapers. We sit in front of a
television and watch people in a South African township line up to vote.
We also, now, bear witness to the slaughter of innocents in Rwanda,
or the ravages of AIDS in scores of lands, or the painful coincidence of
remarkable growth and abject poverty in nation after nation.
In other
words, it is no longer an option for us to choose not to know about the
triumphs and the trials of the people with whom we share this small
planet.
Not just America and Africa; I would imagine millions of
Africans identified with the Muslims of Kosovo when they were run out of
their country, all of them at one time. We know about each other; we
can no longer choose not to know. We can only choose not to act, or to
act.
(Applause.)
In this world, we can be indifferent or we can make a difference.
America must choose, when it comes to Africa, to make a difference.
(Applause.)
Because we want to live in a world which is not dominated
by a division of people who live on the cutting edge of a new economy
and others who live on the bare edge of survival, we must be involved in
Africa.
Because we want to broaden global growth and expand markets for
our own people, we must be involved in Africa.
Because we want to build
a world in which our security is not threatened by the spread of armed
conflict, in which bitter ethnic and religious differences are resolved
by the force of argument, not the force of arms, we must be involved in
Africa.
~
Because we want to build a world where terrorists and criminals
have no place to hide, and where those who wish harm to ordinary people
2 of8
9/6/2000 10: 17 AM
�Kymberly M. Escobar/CEQ/EOP@EOP
Justin G. Cooper/WHO/EOP@EOP
sean.carr@cnn.com
Lisa Ferdinando/WHO/EOP@EOP
masonjulie@aol.com
Debra D. Alexander/WHO/EOP@EOP
Lisel Loy/WHO/EOP@EOP
jonathan.kaplan@varsitybooks.com
Rebecca J. Salay/WHO/EOP@EOP
kit.judge@mail.house.gov
Jordanindc@aol.com
Deanne E. Benos/OPD/EOP@EOP
Jenni R. Engebretsen/WHO/EOP@EOP
Gilbert S. Gonzalez/WHO/EOP@EOP
Sonya N. HebertJWHO/EOP@EOP
Stephen N. Boyd/WHO/EOP@EOP
Emily KarcherJWHO/EOP@EOP
Maureen A. Hudson/WHO/EOP@EOP
Sonya N. HebertiWHO/EOP@EOP
Christine L. Anderson/WHO/EOP@EOP
Erica_Lepping@ed.gov
Mark D. MaganaJWHO/EOP@EOP
Brian A. Barreto/WHO/EOP@EOP
Victoria L. Valentine/WHO/EOP@EOP
Lauren M. SupinaiWHO/EOP@EOP
Adrian E. MillerJWHO/EOP@EOP
Justin G. Cooper/WHO/EOP@EOP
Renee Sagiv/WHO/EOP@EOP
Heather F. HurlburtJWHO/EOP@EOP
Sean R. Dobson/OPD/EOP@EOP
Pamela P. Carpenter/WHO/EOP@EOP
Elizabeth J. Potter/WHO/EOP@EOP
James E. Kennedy/WHO/EOP@EOP
Angela Blake/WHO/EOP@EOP
Eileen P. McCaugheyJWHO/EOP@EOP
RSocarides@rlmnet.com
kamena@washpost.com
Mara A. Silver/WHO/EOP@EOP
Jennifer I. Hoelzer/NSC/EOP@EOP
Paul K. Orzulak/NSC/EOP@EOP
Alon J. Kupferman/WHO/EOP@EOP
William T. Glunz/WHO/EOP@EOP
Helen L. LanganiWHO/EOP@EOP
Erica R. Morris/WHO/EOP@EOP
Brooke B. Livingston/OMB/EOP@EOP
Lissa Muscatine/WHO/EOP@EOP
Carolyn E. Cleveland/WHOIEOP@EOP
Angela Blake/WHO/EOP@EOP
Lauren M. Supina/WHO/EOP@EOP
Linda Sinoway/WHO/EOP@EOP
Elizabeth E. Baylor/WHO/EOP@EOP
BARRY_TOIV@was.bm.com
George E. Lewis/OAIEOP@EOP
Pubs_Distribution
Seth J. ApplebaumJWHO/EOP@EOP
Jennifer L. DewittiWHO/EOP@EOP
David B. Stockweii/NSC/EOP@EOP
anders@lifetimetv.com
Heather H. Howard/OPD/EOP@EOP
Zina C. Pierre/WHO/EOP@EOP
�cannot acquire the means to do them harm, we must be involved in Africa.
Because we want to build a world in which we can harness our natural
resources for economic growth without destroying the environment, so
that future generations will also have the chance to do the same, we
must be involved in Africa.
(Applause.)
That is why I set out in 1993, at the beginning of my presidency,
to build new ties between the United States and Africa; why we had the
first White House conference, the ministerial and that wonderful trip in
the spring of 1998, that I will remember for the rest of my life.
(Applause.)
I went to Africa as a friend, to create a partnership. And we have
made significant progress. There are challenges that are profound, but
in the last two years we have seen thousands of triumphs large and
small. Often, they don't make the headlines because the slow, steady
progress of democracy and prosperity is not the stuff of headlines.
But, for example, I wish every American knew that last year the
world's fastest-growing economy was Mozambique. Botswana was second,
Angola fourth.
(Applause.)
I wish every American knew that and
understood that that potential is in every African nation.
It would
make a difference. We must know these things about one another.
People know all about Africa's conflicts, but how many know that
thousands of African soldiers are trying to end those conflicts as
peacekeepers -- and that Nigeria alone, amidst all its difficulties, has
spent $10 billion in these peacekeeping efforts?
(Applause.)
For years, Africa's wealthiest country, South Africa, and its most
populous, Nigeria, cast long, forbidding shadows across the continent.
Last year, South Africa's remarkable turnaround continued as its people
transferred power from one elected president to another. Nigeria
inaugurated a democratically elected president for the first time in
decades.
It is working to ensure that its wealth strengthens its
people, not their oppressors.
These are good news stories.
They may
not be in the headlines, but they should be in our hearts and our minds
as we think of the future.
(Applause.)
No one here, no one in our government, is under any illusions.
There is still a lot of work to be done.
Hardly anyone disagrees about
what is needed: genuine democracy, good government, open markets,
sustained investment in education and health and the environment -- and
more than anything, widespread peace. All depend, fundamentally and
first, on African leadership.
(Applause.)
These things cannot be
imported, and they. certainly cannot be imposed from outside.
But we must also face a clear reality: even countries making the
right policy choices still have to struggle to deliver for their people.
Each African government has to walk down its own road to reform and
renewal.
But it is a hard road. And those of us who are in a position
to do so must do our part to smooth that road, to remove some of the
larger barriers, so that Africa can fully share in the benefits and the
responsibilities of globalization.
I tell the American people all the time, and they're probably tired
of hearing it now, that I have a very simple political philosophy:
everybody counts, everybody has a role to play, everybody deserves a
chance. And we all do better when we help each other. That is a rule
we ought to follow with Africa.
(Applause.)
There are five steps in particular I believe we must take.
First,
we must build an open world trading system which will benefit Africa
alongside every other region in the world.
(Applause.)
Open markets
are indispensable to raising living standards.
From the 1970s to the
3 of8
9/6/2000 I0: 17 AM
�Peter Rundlet/WHO/EOP@EOP
Robert B. Johnson/WHO/EOP@EOP
G. Timothy Saunders/WHO/EOP@EOP
Jason H. Schechter/WHO/EOP@EOP
Steven J. Naplan/NSC/EOP@EOP
Brooks E. Scoville/WHO/EOP@EOP
Christopher K. Scully/WHO/EOP@EOP
Ruby Shamir/WHO/EOP@EOP
Laura D. Schwartz/WHO/EOP@EOP
Jeffrey A. Shesoi/WHO/EOP@EOP
Leanne A. Shimabukuro/OPD/EOP@EOP
Richard L. SiewertiWHO/EOP@EOP
Jennifer H. SmithiWHO/EOP@EOP
Dana C. Strand/WHO/EOP@EOP
Michael J. Sullivan/WHO/EOP@EOP
Sarah E. Gegenheimer/WHO/EOP@EOP
Sylvia M. Mathews/OMB/EOP@EOP
Serena C. Torrey/WHO/EOP@EOP
Karen Tramontano/WHO/EOP@EOP
June G. Tumer/WHO/EOP@EOP
Thurgood Marshall Jr/WHO/EOP@EOP
Loretta M. Ucelli/WHO/EOP@EOP
Victoria L. Valentine/WHO/EOP@EOP
Janice H. Vranich/WHO/EOP@EOP
Robert S. Weiner/ONDCP/EOP@EOP
Lowell A. Weiss/WHO/EOP@EOP
Debra S. Wood/WHO/EOP@EOP
Natalie S. Wozniak/NSC/EOP@EOP
Katherine A. Brown/NSC/EOP@EOP
Joseph B. Trahern/WHO/EOP@EOP
carolmast@aol.com
dmilbank@tnr.com
john_see@ed.gov
skgmd@umich.edu
tingen-terri@dol.gov
usia01 @access.digex.com
62955104@eln.attmail.com
newsdesk@usnewswire.com
Jason H. Schechter/WHO/EOP@EOP
Alberto 0. Feraren/OAIEOP@EOP
Hildy Kuryk/WHO/EOP@EOP
Pubs_Backup
Michael K. Gehrke/WHO/EOP@EOP
Sally Katzen/OMB/EOP@EOP
Carolyn T. Wu/WHO/EOP@EOP
John H. Corcoran 111/WHO/EOP@EOP
Patrick M. Dorton/OPD/EOP@EOP
MichaeiT@ag.state.ar.us
Anne W. Bovaird/WHO/EOP@EOP
Michele Ballantyne/WHO/EOP@EOP
Melissa G. Green/OPD/EOP@EOP
Stephanie A. Cutter/WHO/EOP@EOP
Fern MechlowitziWHO/EOP@EOP
Anne W. Bovaird/WHO/EOP@EOP
Anna Richter/OPD/EOP@EOP
Matthew T. Schneider/WHO/EOP@EOP
Beth Nolan/WHO/EOP@EOP
BridgetT. Leininger/WHO/EOP@EOP
Samir Afridi/WHO/EOP@EOP
Terry Edmonds/WHO/EOP@EOP
�1990s, developing countries that chose trade grew at least twice as fast
as those that chose not to open to the world.
Now, there are some who daub~ that the poorest countries will
benefit if we continue to open markets, but they should ask themselves:
what will happen to workers in South Africa and Kenya without the jobs
that come from selling the fruit of their labors abroad? What will
happen to farmers in Zimbabwe and Ghana if protectionist farm subsidies
make it impossible for them to sell beyond their borders?
Trade must not be a race to the bottom, whether we're talking about
child labor, harsh working conditions or environmental degradation. But
neither can we use fear to keep the poorest part of the global community
stuck at the bottom forever. Africa has already taken important steps,
forming regional trade blocks like ECOWAS, the East Africa Community,
and SADC.
But we can do more. That is why our Overseas Private
Investment Corporation in Africa is working to support three times as
many business projects in 1999 than it did in 1998, to create jobs for
Africans and, yes, for Americans as well. That is why we are working
with African nations to develop the institutions to sustain future
growth -- from efficient telecommunications to the financial sector.
And that is why, as soon as possible, we must enact in our Congress
the bipartisan Africa Growth and Opportunity Act.
(Applause.)
This
bill has passed in one version in our House and another version in our
Senate.
I urge the Congress to resolve the differences and send me a
bill for signature by next month.
(Applause.) And I ask every one of
you here who just clapped -- and those who didn't, but sympathize with
the clapped -- (laughter) -- to contact anyone you know in the United
States Congress and ask them to do this. This is a job that needs to be
done.
(Applause.)
We must also realize that trade alone cannot conquer poverty or
build a partnership we need.
For that reason, a second step we must
take is to continue the work now underway to provide debt relief to
African nations committed to sound policies.
(Applause.)
Struggling
democratic governments should not have to choose between feeding and
educating their children and paying interest on a debt.
(Applause.)
Last March, I suggested a way we could expand debt relief for the
world's poorest and most indebted countries, most of which are African,
and ensure the resources would be used to improve economic opportunity
for ordinary African citizens. Our G-7 partners embraced that plan.
Still, I felt we should do more.
So in September, I announced that
we would completely write off all the debts owed to us by the countries
that ~ualified for the G-7 program -- as many as 27 African nations in
all. The first countries, including Uganda and Mauritania, have begun
to receive the benefits. Mozambique, Benin, Senegal and Tanzania are
expected to receive benefits soon. Mozambique's debt i·s expected to go
down by more than $3 billion.
The money saved will be twice the health
budget -- twice the health budget
in a country where children are
more likely to die before the age of five than they are to go on to
secondary school.
Last year, I asked Congress for $970 million for debt relief. Many
of you helped to persuade our Congress to appropriate a big share of
that.
Keep in mind, this is a program religious leaders say is a moral
imperative, and leading economists say is a practical imperative.
It's
not so often that you get the religious leaders and the economists
telling us that good business is good morals.
(Applause.)
It's
probably always true, but they don't say it all that often.
(Laughter.)
We must finish the job this year; we must continue this work to provide
aggressive debt relief to the countries that are doing the right thing,
that will take the money and reinvest it in their people and their
future.
I ask you, especially the Americans in this audience, if you
4 of8
9/6/2000 10: 17 AM
�Brian S. Mason/WHO/EOP@EOP
Margaret M. Suntum/WHO/EOP@EOP
wh-outbox-distr@pub.pub.whitehouse.gov
Deborah Akei/WHO/EOP@EOP
Jeannetta P. Allen/OAIEOP@EOP
Ralph AlswangiWHO/EOP@EOP
Karen L. Barbuschak/OAIEOP@EOP
Natalie S. Wozniak/NSC/EOP@EOP
Katherine A. Brown/NSC/EOP@EOP
Antony J. Blinken/NSC/EOP@EOP
Patrick E. Briggs/WHO/EOP@EOP
Karen C. Burchard/WHO/EOP@EOP
Barbara D. Woolley/WHO/EOP@EOP
Mary E. Cahiii/WHO/EOP@EOP
pcaplan@fbr.com
George G. CaudiiiiWHO/EOP@EOP
Nanda ChitreiWHO/EOP@EOP
Delia A. CoheniWHO/EOP@EOP
Justin L. ColemaniWHO/EOP@EOP
Lynn G. CutleriWHO/EOP@EOP
Lana Dickey/WHO/EOP@EOP
Elliot J. Diringer/WHO/EOP@EOP
Jackson T. DunniWHO/EOP@EOP
Daniel W. BurkhardtiWHO/EOP@EOP
Dawn M. Chirwa/WHO/EOP@EOP
Debra D. Bird/WHO/EOP@EOP
Anne M. Edwards/WHO/EOP@EOP
Sharon Farmer/WHO/EOP@EOP
Jennifer Ferguson/OMB/EOP@EOP
Martha Foley/WHO/EOP@EOP
Rachel E. Forde/WHO/EOP@EOP
Paul D. GlastrisiWHO/EOP@EOP
Dario J. GomezJWHO/EOP@EOP
Joshua S. GottheimeriWHO/EOP@EOP
Wendy E. Gray/NSC/EOP@EOP
William Hadley/OAIEOP@EOP
Michael A. Hammer/NSC/EOP@EOP
William C. Haymes/OAIEOP@EOP
Marty J. Hoffmann/WHO/EOP@EOP
Maureen A. Hudson/WHO/EOP@EOP
Wayne C. Johnson/OAIEOP@EOP
Joel Johnson/WHOIEOP@EOP
John_See@ed.gov
David E. KalbaughiWHO/EOP@EOP
Mark A. KitchensiWHO/EOP@EOP
Sarah S. KnightiWHO/EOP@EOP
Kris M BalderstoniWHO/EOP@EOP
Joseph P. LockhartiWHO/EOP@EOP
Laura S. Marcus/WHO/EOP@EOP
Megan C. Moloney/WHO/EOP@EOP
Melissa M. Murray/WHO/EOP@EOP
Minyon Moore/WHO/EOP@EOP
Steven J. Naplan/NSC/EOP@EOP
Ellen E. OlcoHIWHO/EOP@EOP
Sean P. O'Shea/WHO/EOP@EOP
Denver R. Peacock/WHO/EOP@EOP
TDIXON@smtpgate.mac.whca.mil
Linda Ricci/OMB/EOP@EOP
Robin M. RolandiWHO/EOP@EOP
�•mp;,,www.puo.wnnenouse.gov/liri-.. ./oma.eop.gov.us/2000/2/l'7/9.text.l
believe in what brought you here, help us to continue this important
effort.
(Applause.)
A third step we must take i.s. to give better and deeper support to
African education. Literacy is crucial -- to economic growth, to
health, to democracy, to securing the benefits of globalization.
Sub-Saharan Africa has the developing world's lowest school enrollment
rate.
In Zambia, over half the schoolchildren lack a simple notebook.
In rural parts of Tanzania, there is one textbook for every 20 children.
That's why I proposed in our budget to increase by more than 50 percent.
the assistance we provide to developing countries to improve basic
education, targeting areas where child labor is prevalent.
I ask other
nations to join us in this.
(Applause.)
I'll never forget the schools I visited on my trip to Africa -- the
bright lights in the eyes of the children, how intelligent they were,
how eager they were.
It is wrong for them to have to look at maps of
nations that no longer exist, without maps of nations in their own
continent that do exist.
It is wrong for them to be deprived the same
opportunities to learn that our young people have here.
If intelligence
is equally distributed throughout the human race -- and I believe it is
-- then every child in the human race ought to have a chance to develop
his or her intelligence in every country in the world.
(Applause.)
A fourth step we must take is to fight the terrible diseases that
have afflicted so many millions of Africans, especially AIDS and also TB
and malaria.
Last year, ten times as many people died of AIDS in Africa
as were killed in all the continent's wars combined.
It will soon
double child mortality and reduce life expectancy by 20 years.
You all laughed when Andy Young said that I was going to get out of
the presidency as a young man.
Depending on the day, I sometimes feel
young or I feel that I'm the oldest man my age in America.
(Laughter.)
The life expectancy in this country has gone from 47 to 77 in the 20th
century. An American who lives to be 65 has a life expectancy in excess
of 82 years. AIDS is going to reduce the life expectancy in Africa by
20 years. And even that understates the problem, because the people
that escape it will live longer lives as African economies grow and
strengthen.
The worst burden in life ariy adult can bear is to see a child die
before you.
The worst problem in Africa now is that so many of these
children with AIDS have also already lost their parents. We must do
something about this.
In Africa there are companies that are hiring two
employees for every job on the assumption that one of them will die.
This is a humanitarian issue, a political issue and an economic issue.
Last month, Vice President Gore opened the first-ever United
Nations Security Council session on health issues, on a health issue, by
addressing the AIDS crisis in Africa.
I've asked Congress for another
$100 million to fight the epidemic, bringing our total to $325 million.
I've asked my administration to develop a plan for new initiatives to
address prevention, the financial dimensions of fighting AIDS, the needs
of those affected, so that we can make it clear to our African partners
that we consider AIDS not just their burden but ours, as well.
But even that will not be enough.
Recently, Uganda's Health
Minister pointed out that to provide access to currently available
treatments to every Ugandan afflicted with AIDS would cost $24 billion.
The annual budget of Uganda is $2 billion.
The solution to this crisis, and to other killer diseases like
malaria and TB, has to include effective and expensive vaccines.
Now,
there are four major companies in the world that develop vaccines, two
in the United States and two in Europe.
They have little incentive to
5 of8
9/6/2000 10:17 AM
�END
Message Sent To:
6:20 P.M. (L)
�make costly investments in developing vaccines for people who cannot
afford to pay for them.
So in my State of the Union address, I proposed
a generous tax credit that would enable us to say to private industry,
if you develop vacc~nes for AIDS, malaria and TB, we will help to pay
for them.
So go on and develop them, and we'll save millions of lives.
(Applause. )
But I have to tell you, my speech -- and I don't want anybody else
but me to be responsible; my speechwriters were so sensitive, they
didn't put this in the speech.
But I want to say this: AIDS was a
bigger problem in the United States a few years ago than it is today.
AIDS rates are not going up in African countries, all African countries.
They're actually going down in a couple of African countries.
Now, I know that this is a difficult and sensitive issue.
I know
there are cultural and religious factors that make it very difficult to
tackle this issue from a preventive point of view. We don't have an
AIDS vaccine yet. We have drugs that will help to prevent the
transmission from pregnant mothers to their children, which I want to be·
able to give out. We have other drugs that have given people with AIDS
in our country normal lives, in terms of their health and the length of
their lives.
I want those to be available.
But the real answer is to stop people from getting the HIV virus in
the first place.
(Applause.)
I got to see firsthand some of the things that were being done in
Uganda.that were instrumental in driving down the AIDS rate.
Now, I
don't care how hard or delicate or difficult this is; this is your
children's lives we're ta.lking about.
(Applause. ) You know, we who are
adults, when our children's lives are at stake, have to get over
whatever our hang-ups or problems are and go out there and do what is
necessary to save the lives of our children.
(Applause.)
And I'll help you do that, too.
That's not free; that costs money.
Systems have to be set up.
But we shouldn't pretend that we can give
injections and work our way out of this. We have to change behavior,
attitudes. And it has to be done in an organized, disciplined,
systematic way. And you can do more in less time for less money in a
preventive way, to give the children of Africa their lives back, and the
nations of Africa their futures back, with an aggressive prevention
campaign than anything else. And there is no excuse for not doing it;
it has to be done.
(Applause.)
Finally, let me say there is one more huge obstacle to progress in
Africa, that we are committed to doing our part to overcome. We must
build on the leadership of Africans to end the bloody conflicts killing
people and killing progress.
(Applause.)
You know the toll:
tens of thousands'of young lives lost in the
war between Ethiopia and Eritrea; thousands killed and disfigured at
unbelievably young ages in the civil war that nearly destroyed Sierra
Leone; 2 million killed by famine and war in Sudan, where government
sees diversity as a threat rather than a strength, and denies basic
relief to citizens it claims to represent.
Most of the world's conflicts pale in complexity before the
situation in the Congo. At least seven nations and countless armed
groups are pitted there against each other in a desperate struggle that
seems to bring no one victory, and everyone misery -- especially the
innocent people of the Congo.
They deserve a better chance. Secretary
Albright has called the Congo struggle Africa's first world war. As we
search for an end to the conflict, let us remember the central lesson of
the First World War:
the need for a good peace.
If you mess up the
peace, you get another world war.
6 of8
9/6/2000 10: 17 AM
�A year ago, I said if the nations of the region reached an
agreement that the international community could support, I would
support a peacekeeping operation in the Congo. The region has now done
so.
The Lusaka cease-fire agreement takes into account the sovereignty
and territorial integrity of Congo; the withdrawal of foreign forces;
the security of Congo's neighbors; the need for dialogue within the
nation; and most important, the need for the countries within Central
Africa to cooperate in managing the region's security.
It is more than
a cease-fire; it is a blueprint for building peace.
Best of all, it is
a genuinely African solution to an African problem.
There is still fighting in Congo.
Peace will not happen overnight.
It will require steady commitment from the parties and the unwavering
support of_the international community.
I have told our Congress that
America intends to do its part by supporting the next phase of the
U.N.'s peacekeeping operation in the Congo, which will send observers to
oversee the implementation of the agreement.
We need to think hard about what is at stake here. .African
countries have taken the lead -- not just the countries directly
affected, either. They are not asking us to solve their problems or to
deploy our military. All they have asked is that we support their own
efforts to build peace, and to make it last. We in the United States
s~ould be willing to do this.
·It is principled and practical.
I know -- I see the members of Congress here.
I say again -- I see
Congressman Payne, Congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee, Congresswoman
Barbara Lee, Congressman Royce -- we need to stand by the people of
Africa who have decided how to solve this most complex and troubling
problem.
(Applause.) We have learned the hard way in the United
States, over decades and decades, that the costliest peace is far
cheaper than the cheapest war. And we need to remember that as we
approach our common responsibilities in central Africa.
Finally, let me say that I intend to continue to work hard on these
things for every day that I am President.
For me, the remarkable decade
of the 1990s began with the liberation symbolized by Nelson Mandela's
first steps from Robben Island.
(Applause.)
In a few days, I will have
the opportunity to join by satellite the conference in Tanzania that
President Mandela is organizing to build peace in Burundi.
A lot of people look at Africa and think, oh, these problems are
just too complicated.
I look at Africa and I see the promise of Africa,
and think, if the problems are complicated now, think how much worse
they'll be if we continue to ignore them.
(Applause.)
Other people grow frustrated by bad news, and wish only to hear
good news.
But empty optimism does Africa no more service than
groundless cynicism. What we need is not empty optimism or groundless
cynicism, but realistic hope. We need to see the promise, the beauty,
the dreams of Africa. We need to see the problems clear and plain, and
stop ignoring the evident responses. We in the United States need to
understand that our obligations to be good partners with Africa are not
because we are certain that everything will turn out all right, but
because it is important.
Because we're human beings, we can never
expect everything to turn out all right.
Africa is so incredibly diverse.
Its people speak nearly 3,000
languages.
It is not a single, monolithic place with single, monolithic
truths. A place of many places, each defined by its own history and
aspirations, its own successes and failures.
I was struck on my trip to
Africa by the differences between Ghana and Uganda, Botswana and Senegal
-- between Capetown and Soweto.
I was also struck by what bound people
together in these places.
7 of8
9/6/2000 10:17 AM
�----r··· ·· ·· ·· ·r--· ·· ........- ....... -u""'•O'"'"'' .,.~, ~.- ..
In George Washington's first draft of his Farewell Address, he
wrote, "we may all be considered as the children of one common country."
The more I think about globalization and the interdependence it promises
and demands, the more I share that sentiment. Now, we must think of
ourselves as children of one common world. If we wish to deepen peace
and prosperity and democracy for ourselves, we must wish it also for the
people of Africa. Africa is the cradle of humanity, but also a big part
of humanity's future.
I leave you with this thought: when I think of the troubles of
Africa, rooted in tribal differences; when I think of the continuing
troubles in America, across racial lines, rooted in the shameful way we
brought slaves here from West Africa so long ago, and our continuing
challenges as we integrate wave after wave after wave of new immigrants
from new places around the world; I am struck by the fact that life's
greatest joy is our common humanity, and life's greatest curse is our
inability to see our common humanity.
In Africa, life is full of joy and difficulty. But for too long,
the African people have lacked for friends and allies to help the joys
overcome the difficulties. The United States will be a friend for life.
Thank you.
(Applause. )
END
8 of8
11:28 A.M. EST
9/6/2000 10: 17 AM
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Although Africa is vastly behind most of the rest of the world in Internet tec~ology, ail but two of the
continent's countries are now wired. Internet connections, primarily email, a~ centered in capital cities,
where they are most heavily used by tourist industries. Traffic is largely int~ational; Africans
communicate little with th~ms~lves, eith~r within _their own countri~s or wif:ltothers on the continent.
The cost ofintemel usage IS h1gh for Afracans, and rural areas are stdl mostlf unconnected. Future
development will build on the Tnt(..'Tt1et's foothold in urban areas~ and access ~y African youth will be
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Wt)rld areas. Countries of the Sahel and Central Africa h~ve fewer than two tilephone lines for every
1,000 people, while in South Africa and the countries of North Africa the ratip approaches 35 per 1,000.
Radio continues to be the dominant communications medium in Africa and t~e only one that is
widespread in rural areas. A key characteristic of information media in Atiic~-whether telephone, radio,
television, newspapers, or the Internet-is shared use. One study found that··~ many as 10 people read
every copy of a newspaper and it is not uncommon to find most of a small vi~lage crowded around the
only TV set." Email connections are often shared among several people, acc~ing to au Economic
Commission for Africa (ECA) report. (U)
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Although Internet access is now available in all countries except Somalia an4, Liberia, the number of
African Internet users is only 1.2 million out of a continental population of 7~0 million. Most users are in
South Africa. Internet access is·concentrated in capital c:ities, where most us~ are employees of
nongovernmental organizations (NGOs), universities, or private companies. tntemet-Ieading sectors are
tourist industries and foreign investment Govenunent ministries currently a~ not making extensive use
of the Internet for administrative purposes, and students have limited or no a~cess. Penetration to rural
auas remains negligible. (U)
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Very little local or indigenous content is available on African websites, even
such Jntemet
development is key to competing in the world economy in the infonnation aaJ.e. Websites are uncommon
even among institutional users who have direct Internet access. Government P:linistries and research
centers in Africa may have access to email, but little els~. Inadequate bandw1#th and circuit capac;ity, as
well as troubled economies that impede employment for web designers, are qtwarting web development
in Africa. So, too, is cost; dial-up calls to access websites remain expensive. ~U)
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Oov~mcnt policies that constrain competition among information and ct~unications technology
providers also slow the spread of Internet access. The growth of ecommerce ij1 Africa, for example, is
hindered by the reluctance of banks to issue credit cards. Other critical obstaCles are a dearth of personnel
with computing skills and nelwork engineering expertise, and inadequate de~~lopment of Internet
exchange points, which facilitate local Internet traffic. (U)
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The fact that most African countries have established some connection to th~[ Net is a hopeful sign that
Africa will not be bypassed completely. The Jntt..'1'tlet is a "light technology" ~ot requiring a high level of
computing power or expensive software. Yet Africa's initial progress has dePended both on external
programs such as the Leland Initiative (a five-year, $15 milUon effort by US~ID to develop Internet
infrastructure in more than 20 African countries), and a liberali7.ing approac~ by a number of African
governments. Expansion oflntemet connectivity, especially into rural areas,:iwill depend on improved
attitudes on the part of Afiican governments and on continued ·external su~rt. A reversal of either
factor could easily put African countries further behind the rest of the world;:(U)
If Africans are able to build on current progress, future development would ~cur where the Internet is
already concentrated--in NGOs. businesses, and universities in major citi~s. With sustained commitment ·
not only from government and external donors but also from scientific and ijgher education
communities, Aftican countries might start to generate indigenous website cpntent. Government
ministries might begin to make use of the Internet in the practical adminis~tion of their departments.
The Internet could become an avenue for Africans to communicate with oneianother via both websites
and email. Small businesses with Internet connections might increase their ~arkets domestically as well
as with foreign consumers. (U)
~:
Wiring the countryside
nlc IIVl t. I C Dl.t
�sep-6-00 19:27; ·
,.jhe Internet in Africa (U), 05/15/2000
Page 7/7
hltp://www.state.ic.gov/IA/m000SI5b.hlm
Despite the prediction by Microsoft's Bill Oates that "ubiquitous wireless n~ high-bandwidth data
netWorks will ...deliver the power of the infonnalion age into the hands of ev~one, anytime, anywhere,"
Aftica•s rural areas wiJI still be underconnectcd by 2010. A vicious circle is work: The cost ofwireless
networks and higher bandwidth will remain high relative to African incomesl Low literacy rates will also
work against mrallnternet use. The failure ofthc Intc:mct to spread widely uj rural areas is also due to
low expected profits from rural connectivity in this low-income population. the privatization of
telecommunication businesses could thus retard the 11Wiring" of rural areas. Qonsequently, rural dwellers
will continue to have little timely information a~ut what is happening in th~lworld and in their own
capital cities. This, in tum, will retard economic progress and democrati7..atio.it. (U)
at
Youth are key
If development of Internet infrastructure in Africa continues steadily over th~ next decade, a convergence
of technology and the youth bulge in African populations may bring about s~ioeconomic and political
changes. Young people are most apt to understand and use Internet technolo~. Even among youth, the
Net is likely to have an urban, elite bias, continuing to develop in.nodcs rath~ than waves. Even so,
access to the Internet could provide these youth with a powerful tool to make) their presence felL
economically and politically. In particular. small businesses could ~xperiencd, an upsurge, while
governments would fmd themselves under closer scrutiny at home and abroa~. (U)
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�BUREAU OF AFRICAN AFFAIRS
UNITED St'ATES DEPARTMENT OF STATE
WASHINGTON, D.C•.
Fax Transmittal Form
Date:
Fax:
Phone:
Pu.: (201) 64'7-6301
Phoae:
Number of 'Pages: .
Subject:
......
:
�Talkinq Points
Internet
fo~
Eeonamic Development Initiative
•
The Internet for Economic Development iniciative seeks to
promote growth and use of the In~ernet and a-commerce in
developing countries.
•
Thirteen developing countries are currently participating
in the initiative. Total expendi~ures on program
activities in FY-2000 will be abou~ $20 million.
•
Consistent wi~h the goals of the G-8 Summit, the
following seven additional countries were recently
inviced ~o participate: Guyana, Indonesia, Kenya, Mali,
Nigeria, Romania and Senegal. All but Indonesia have
already agreed to participate.
•
The focus of the initiative is on encouraging adoption of
pro-competitive telecommunications policies, spurring
infrastructure growth, providing training, and offering
suitable applica~ions.
•
Activities have included: bringing schools online in
Uganda; providing satellite connectivity to doctors in
northern Ghana; offering telecommunications regulatory
advice in Jamaica; sponsoring e-cornmerce seminars for
businessmen in Egypt; and supporting the development of
community comput·er learning centers in countries
including Guatemala, Haiti and Ghana.
G1oba1 Technology Corps
•
The Global Technology Corps ma~ches private sector
volunteers from the U.S. with hi-tech projects overseas.
GTC pays travel expenses and provides other supper~ to
-che volunteers.
•
GTC operations began in 1999 when the team linked
refugees from the Kosovo conflict with friends and
relatives back home by providing Internet connectivity
and access in Fort Dix, NJ and in Europe.
•
Since then, t:he ~earn has undertaken more than two dozen
projects tha-c have included providing digital video
journalism training to South African students; assisting
�ZDZ!i4Hi~Dl
T-220
P.D3716
F-587
emergency planning in Poland through the use of
satellite maps; and preparing a feasibility s~udy on
providing Internet connectivity to Nigerian universities.
wi~h
Leland
~n~tiative
•
The Leland Initiative is a five-year, $15 million effort
to bring Internet connectivity to 20 or more nations in
sub-Saharan Africa.
•
The Initiative is named after the
Leland.
la~e
Congressman Mickey
The focus of the initiative is on "policy, pipes, and
people" --the Leland team has "brought telecommunica~ions
policy reform, ~elecommunications infrastructure and
In~ernet access to the people of Africa.
•
The Leland Initiative has installed international
Internet connections in many African countries, has
encouraged policy reforms which have resulted in a
significant lowering of access rates, and has provided
Internet training for more than 1,500 civic and
governmental institu~ions ..
�2026476301
IED/GTC/Leland Talking' Points
July 17, 2000
Drafted:
EB/CIP/BA - JMoon
Cleared:
EB/CIP - MLee
EB/CIP/BA - Gchapman (ok)
E - OKittrie (ok)
T-Z2D
P.D4/1S
F-587
�Alan Larson, Under Secretary of State
for Eeono~c, Business and Aqricu1tural Affairs
. Title: Opportunities and Choices for a Networked World
Remarks to the APEC Conference on Electronic Commerce,
"Powering APEC Economies into the New Millenium"
Introduction
Ministers, distinguished guests, thank you for inviting me
1:oday to discuss "Opportunities and Choices for a Networked
World."
We stand at the beginning of a promising new era; one 1:hat
is starting to dramatically reshape socie1:y and in so doing
produce numerous economic, political and cultural benefits.
Global society is being transformed by new information
technologies and 1:he ease of connect:ivity which they provide.
The global information society will not by itself solve the
world's many problems.
Indeed, as we saw just last week with
the "Love Bug," the very interconnectedness which provides a
networked world wi1:h its power to transform for the good also
leaves it peculiarly vulnerable to new challenges which we
cannot ignore.
I believe, however, tha1: information technology
is best looked at as a powerful tool which on balance will
broadly advance prosperity, democracy, and the richness of our
socie~y's
fabric.
As I look ahead, I am reminded of the maxim that
informa1:ion and commerce, like water, will flow where they are
�ZDZ6476301
not obstructed.
An unusual aspect of
~he
challenge we face· in
helping our countries to fully participate in the global
information society is that while we may be.well served by
inserting government into a few new areas, in most cases the
most ·important contribution of policymakers will be to
judiciously remove barriers to private sector activity which
t
have been
by
erec~ed
governmen~s
and others.
Faced with this
new world of opportunities and challenges, our stake in making
the right choices, in striking the right balance between
government inserting
i~self
and government removing itself, is
particularly high.
I'd like to focus on
first is the
na~ure
of
~wo
~he
things in my remarks
opportuni~ies
which a
~oday.
The
ne~worked
world
presents to us, including opportunities in the economic,
political and cultural spheres.
some refer·to as the
My second topic will be what
interna~ional
digital divide and others
refer to as the challenge of helping to maximize the
availabili~y
of digital opportunities.
to ensure that the opportunities to
In discussing how best
benefi~
from the global
information economy are as broadly available as possible -available to the
rural
craf~srnen
poores~
coun~ries
as well as the
riches~,
and their children as well as urban
professionals and their children -- I hope, perhaps,
challenge conventional thinking.
~o
to
�T·ZZD
ZDZ6476:iDl
A World of Opportunities
Even
a~ ~his
very early stage of the new economy, we are
seeing strong evidence that countries which are relatively full
participants in the global information
socie~y
are deriving a
remarkable set of economic and social benefits.
The economic
impressive.
benefi~s
of such participation are clearly
There are other examples, but let me focus for a
moment on the economy of the country which I know best, that of
the United
S~ates.
The
u.s. has, in recent years, achieved high
growth in combination with a low inflation rate thanks in part
to the efficiencies achieved
~hrough ~he
use of information
technology.
Such observers as Alan Greenspan have pointed to the
revolu~ion
in information technology as a significant source of
the U.S. economy's recent
s~rong
performance.
Since 1995,
output per hour in the U.S. non-financial corporate sector has
increased at an average annual rate of 3-1/2 percent, nearly
double the average pace over the preceding
While information
~echnology
still
accoun~s
quar~er-century.
directly for only 8
percent of total jobs in the U.S., it appears to have generated
nearly one-third of recent U.S. real economic growth, according
to Department of Commerce studies.
Participants in the global information economy are
witnessing a sharp increase in business-to-business and
�business-~o-consumer
be~ter
applications that provide more choices and
information, keep prices down and
quali~y
put, doing business electronically lowers costs.
par~nerships
'
Simply
Digital
are forging new commerce communities in ways we
could not have imagined just a few years ago.
gaining from
high.
fas~er
Companies are
production design and network collaboration.
Efficiencies are being found through more effective ways of
ordering, billing, delivering and tracking products and
services.
Reducing the need
~o
lowering product cycle times is
effective customer service.
maintain costly inventories and
resul~ing
in more efficient and
There are clearly even greater
future economic benefits to be derived, both in the United
States and especially in other countries.
There are also numerous social benefits which can be
derived from adopting policies which foster participation in the
.new global
informa~ion
economy. The internet can help provide
people in poor and remote areas with access to the same vast
bodies of knowledge as people in the wealthiest places.
example, the
interne~
For
offers access to a vast range of health
information resources and facilitates the tracking of infectious
diseases, the exchange of medical images and consultation with
medical specialists remotely.
The internet allows students at every age and academic
level the opportunity to participate in distance learning and
�T-220
2026476301
gain new skills at a convenient time arid place.
P.09/16
F-587
At the same
time, the internet offers the means to increase global cultural
diversity and promote cultural
preserva~ion
through the
inexpensive worldwide dissemination of content that reflects a
range of linguistic and
cul~ural
affini~ies,
communities regardless of their size and
other.
including between
dis~ance
from each
A robust civil society, transparent governance, and the
universal values of human rights and democracy are also
facilitated by the internet.
The Asia-Pacific region is becoming an increasingly
significant
Grow~h
par~icipant
in
~he
global information society.
in internet use in many countries in
occurring at staggering rates.
~he
region is
One research firm recently
predicted that Asia will increase from its 40 million users now
to some 370 million by the end of 2005.
These Asia-Pacific internet users will benefit from the
internet's ability to link suppliers to consumers, connecting
people with common interests and helping many small
reach new markets with sLunning efficiency.
en~erprises
I read recenLly
about how the internet is already helping one Thai orchid grower
sell directly t? customers all over the world, expanding his
market and· reaping some of the profit LhaL might otherwise have
gone to a middleman.
�T-220
2028478301
P. 10/18
F-587
Digital Opportunities Can Be Maximized
Success stories already exist.
But there is tremendous
concern, and understandably so, that the gap between rich and
poor could be made wider by
~he developmen~
and that societies could get left behind.
our economies have the
landscape.
I believe
Working
~ogether,
po~en~ial ~o
~he
of a networked world
Some ask whether all
prosper in the new economic
answer is a resounding yes.
~ools
we can use the powerful
of the new
global information society to empower all our people to reach
~heir
full
poten~ial.
To do so, we must be prepared to help
every economy that wishes
~o
be a part of the New Economy to
develop strategies to help ensure
opportunities.
it maximizes its digital
The APEC readiness assessment is a very useful
tool in this regard.
to working with
tha~
i~s
The United States is certainly committed
partners here in APEC and elsewhere to
accomplish the goal of helping maximize
digi~al
opportunities.
In light of that commitment, I would like to challenge
conventional thinking and leave you with perhaps a different
perspec~ive
on the digital divide.
Of all the economic divides,
the digital divide may in at least some ways be the most
bridgeable for the developing world.
Since the
Indus~rial
Revolu~ion,
a~tempts
economic development have been limited by
in capital, human resources and
~he
organiza~ion
to
fos~er
large
investrnen~s
required by
�ZDZ64763Dl
industrialization.
For example, a modern, integrated steel mill
can cost $500 million.
It requires a small army of engineers, a
very large well-trained work force and the organization to
manage it.
This is the minimum.
You can't
manufac~ure
commercially viable automobile in your garage.
a
Even textiles,
once considered a low-tech industry, are now being woven by
million dollar computer-controlled looms.
An e-cornrnerce website with global reach can be started by
one person with a phone line or wireless access and a personal
computer costing under $1,000.
A software company can be
started with a handful of programmers and several personal
computers.
You can do this all over the world.
You can
assemble a commercially viable computer in your garage, and
indeed small computer assemblers still custom build PCs in
direct competition with the major computer manufacturers.
Even
a small company can make it in a digital world.
Pro-Competitive Policies and the Removal of Regulatory Barriers
So how do regions,
countri~s,
businesses or individuals
make sure Lhat they are not left on the wrong side of a digital
divide?
The answer rests, to a very considerable degree, in
the choices they themselves make.
proposition
tha~
The U.S. is committed to the
the benefits of the global information economy
should be available to all.
The reality is that these benefits
�2DZS47S3D1
will
~low
T-ZZD
P. 12/16
F-587
to those who welcome them. Those who choose to create
an environment where the new economy can flourish.
Telecommunications
Par~icipation
in the global information society first and
foremost requires widespread, reliable and affordable access to
the internet.
~ha~
The experience in Europe and the United States is
competition in the telecommunications market has resulted
in lower prices, greater
innova~ion
services for consumers.
Lower rates stimulate greater usage of
~he
network, including
~he
and improved quality of
in~ernet,
which enables carriers to
finance universal service obligations, spurs investment, and
enables previous monop6lies and near-monopolies to remain
financially healthy and even increase their revenues.
Pro-competitive frameworks in
~he
telecommunications market
have a direct impact on the development of internet services and
usage.
This is because local telephone charges can be a
significant part of the overall cost of
interne~
usage for
consumers, and affordable local service pricing is an
impor~ant
componenL of the cost structure for internet access necessary
for all internet
cus~omers.
The
introduc~ion
of greater
competition in local access networks through cost-based
interconnection and unbundling ·the local loop can bring about a
substantial reduction in the costs of using the internet.
�T-220
- 2026476301
One of the
bigges~
is to continue to build
challenges for
~he
na~ional
~he
and
~hus
interna~ional
compe~i~ion.
internet
The rapid
far in the growth and use of new
technologies would not have occurred
and
F-587
Asia-Pacific region
backbones that make low cost network access possible.
worldwide explosion
P. 13/16
wi~hout
private investment
Literally thousands of service providers
worldwide are investing tens of billions of dollars in new IT
infrastructure.
Governments alone could
neve~
afford the enormous
telecommunications infrastructure necessary to drive the
information economy.
But governments can create an environment
that spurs competition and private investment.
The need for
governments to choose to encourage competition is clear.
The
more difficult choice is for the telecom companies to embrace
competition as being ultimately in their own interest.
There are a host of new technologies
easier for new entrants.
tha~
may make the job
New technologies like wireless and
satellite can connect communities in remote or rural areas at a
fraction of the cost of hard wired systems.
is booming in Asia.
Wireless technology
Introduction of these new technologies can
be a major force to open the way for new innovation and wealth
creation.
China
1s
already becoming the world's second-largest
market for mobile phones with
subscribers by year's end.
expec~ations
to have 50 million
�2D2B47B3D1
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F-587
Some Other Key Sectors
Making it cheaper to get online and stay online is
fundamental to maximizing digital opportunities.
oft-discussed
appropria~e
So are the
policies regarding taxation, financial
markets, intellectual property, privacy and consumer protection,
among other issues.
Before concluding, however, I would like to focus on a
policy area which has thus far received
insufficien~
atcention.
As The Economist put it in its special recent "E-Commerce
Survey' issue, it is the
internet revolution . . .
~fulfilment
~hat
and distribucion end of the
has proved the most troublesome."
The enormous pocential of the global information economy
and electronic commerce will remain unfulfilled until
governments remove often-severe logistical barriers to efficient
and predictable international trade.
demands on economies.
Internet time poses new
Successful Internet-facilitated trade
starts with the first mouse clicks and carries through to
delivery to the consumer.
The aforementioned efficient telecommunications
are the fundamental starting point.
ne~works
But transportation, customs
and delivery service networks are the unheralded linchpins of
global e-business.
that are traded
They are critical to ensuring that goods
elec~ronically
can move fast physically.
This
�""~"'--
.... -....
1''"11pm
ZDZ64T6301
rrom-AI"fi"U
is true whether
~he
T-ZZD
P. 15/16
F-SBT
goods are technical manuals being shipped
from a publisher in a developed country to a consumer in a
developing country or
par~s,
components or raw· materials being
shipped from a supplier in one country to a factory in another.
Just as
~he
establishment.of telephone lines and railroad
infrastructure revolutionized the economy in the last century,
the development and integration of telecommunications,
transportation, customs and delivery services in support of acommerce will revolutionize the way we do business in the
5
21 ~
century.
For a country to fully prepare
i~self
benefits of the global information economy,
to share in the
i~
must optimize its
"e-commerce networks" by taking steps to achieve the following:
1) We
mus~
make it cheaper to
ge~
online and stay online.
2) We must liberalize transportation regimes, through the
negotiation of pro-competit:ive "open skies" civil aviation
agreements and other reforms, to make it easier and cheaper to
ship goods ordered elect:ronically from one country to
3) We
mus~
enable goods
~o
ano~her.
move efficiently through customs,
predictable tariff schedules - such movement is crit:ical to
achieving cost-saving "just:-in-time deliveries," whether of
consumer goods or indust:rial parts and components.
4) Postal and delivery service regimes musL be opened to
competit:ion to permit: goods
LO
quickly and inexpensively
a~
�T-22D
2D264763D1
P.lS/16
F-587
traverse the "final mile" between the port of entry and the
customer's doorstep.
The benefits of progress in any one sector will be
multiplied if progress is made in the other three.
all four areas will help ensure
tha~
Advances in
a country has optimized its
"e-commerce networks" and is prepared to benefit fully from the
global information economy.
The new global information economy provides a great
opportunity for sustainable growth and social development in all
countries and economies, including developing countries and
economies in transition, based on free market and procompetitive policies.
The United States is commited to working
towards the goal of the full
participa~ion
in the global
information economy of all countries and economies willing to
make the right choices.
Working together, we can maximize
digital opportunities for all of our economies and all of our
people.
�Overview of the World Bank's Work in Sub-Saharan Africa
Page 1 of13
THE WORLD BANIC.UOUP
~8i!.~ns: Sub-Saharan Africa
The World Bank Group in Africa
An Overview
The 1998 version ofthis document is available in French
as a PDF: afr-overview98.pdf
Sub-Saharan Africa will be the most important development challenge of the 21st century. As
the millennium approaches, five years of steady growth in Africa have fostered economic
revival in several countries, after decades of stagnation. In 1998, economic growth was less
strong- at around 3.6%, compared to 4.6% in 1997 and 4.9% in 1996 -largely as a result of
the Asian crisis.
But 13 countries (out of a total of 48) had a GDP growth rate of 5% or more and at least 29
countries hlid positive GDP growth, i.e. national income grew faster than population.
These early footholds on a more general recovery are
being severely tested, because poverty is higher in most
6
African countries than elsewhere in the developing world.
6
Forty percent of the population of Sub-Saharan Africa
! 4
:: 3
lives on less than $1 a day. Research shows that those
t 2
most vulnerable to poverty live in rural areas, in large
~1
households which are often headed by women. Education
0
is low for these most vulnerable groups, and they are also
1988
1897
1895
1888
most likely to live in those countries with real growth
Year
rates of less than 5%. In aggregate, this combination of
low economic growth, the highest rate of population increase in the world (at 2.8%) and a
high burden of dependents to workers, puts Africa low on the rankings for those most critical
indicators of social progress: how long people live, how much knowledge they acquire, and
how much access they have to resources necessary for a better standard of living. The twin
challenge is to achieve sustainable growth of over 8% and to focus that growth aggressively
on the broad-based alleviation ofpoverty.
Economic Growth (GDPJ in
Sub-Saharan Africa
Stimulating Growth and Reducing Poverty in Africa
In recent years, consensus has emerged on the essential elements needed to both increase
growth and couple it with policies that specifically seek to alleviate poverty. In Africa today,
accelerated economic performance requires both the better use of existing resources and
increased investment. Specifically, macroeconomic reform must continue, particularly efforts
to restructure public finance and to open economies to trade and private investment. But
growth will not be sustained unless underpinned by investments in human and social
infrastructure, in particular in the rural areas and mindful ofthe needs of women in Africa.
The capacity of African governments to manage their economies effectively must also be
enhanced. The Bank and its donor partners in the World Bank-chaired Special Program of
Assistance for Africa (SPA) are committing substantial resources to support not only a
resurgence in African economic performance but also one which begins to lift the well~being
ofthe 240 million citizens who live on less than US$1 a day.
During 1999, there were encouraging political developments in Africa. Democratic elections
http://www.worldbank.org/afr/overview.htm
9/6/00
�Overview of the World Bank's Work in Sub~Saharan Africa
Page 2 of13
in two large countries, Nigeria and South Africa were conducted peacefully. Since the
election of President Olusegun Obasanjo, the Nigerian government has taken a tough stance
against corruption and set up an inquiry into human-rights abuses. South Africa's President,
Thabo Mbeki challenged Africans to take charge of their own agenda and leaders to empower
their people. These changes throughout the continent were further eograined at the 35th
summit of the Organization of African Unity (OAU) in Algeria, where African leaders
declared the year 2000 the Year ofPeace and Stability in Africa. But the inherent fragility of
Africa's resurgence was underscored by conflict in Angola, the Democratic Republic of
Congo and the Hom of Africa. Inequality in the distribution of Africa's wealth is
unacceptably high and remains a central factor in social and political instability.
Overall Policy and Selectivity
The Bank's portfolio in Africa represents total lending ofUS$17.0 billion. In fiscal year
1999, the focus remained on reinvigorating the quality and rate of implementation of existing
Bank financed operations. New commitments in FY99 by the International Development
Association (IDA), the soft-lending arm of the Bank, were US$2.2 billion. The Bank invested
over 75% ofthese resources in infrastructure, agriculture, human development and public
sector management.
Bank lending strategies have been thoroughly reviewed and the institution bas moved away
from flawed models to more flexible lending tools. Adjustment lending, which provides
quick-disbursing support for policy and institutional changes, has been modified to reflect
changing needs. The higher impact adjustment lending (HIAL) instrument has been used for
over three years, with good results, to provide quicker and more sustained results. New
instruments focus on issues such as post conflict resolution, cultural preservation, a renewed
emphasis on Africa's social needs and public-private partnerships. Accelerated growth has
increasingly become a strategic focus in the Bank's Country Assistance Strategies and the
continuity of successful projects has been ensured by extending their lifespan rather than
designing new projects.
Commitment to financing Africa's growth needs to be underpinned by selectivity. Recent
World Bank research findings show that the impact of aid is positive in countries pursuing
sound economic policies but negligible in countries that lack a supportive policy framework.
For example, in countries with good economic management, 1% of GOP in development
assistance translates into a decline in poverty of l% per annum and a similar decline in infant
mortality. To put it another way, each additional dollar in aid is five times more effective in
countries with good policies. The donor partners of the SPA have worked to strengthen links
between economic performance and the allocation of assistance to ensure that those countries
implementing sound economic policy refonns receive sufficient levels of financial support.
The economic policy framework is the first level at which the concept of selectivity applies.
The Africa Region of the World Bank distinguishes among countries on the basis of policy
performance and is beginning to increase lending to countries with policies that seek to
promote poverty reduction through growth, trade and investment. The Country Assistance
Strategies of these countries are then adjusted with a view to promoting higher growth rates.
where feasible. The Bank is also distinguishing carefully among the different instruments
available and raising the thresholds for access to new lending instruments. Selectivity does
not mean that the countries with the greatest needs are overlooked: some of the poorest
countries have good policies. IFC and MIGA are also playing stronger roles in the countries
identified for increased lending.
Heavily Indebted Poor Countries Initiative: The African Case
Easing the burden of unsustainable debt is an essential component of restoring
macroeconomic stability, social investment and investor confidence. The Heavily Indebted
Poor Countries (HIPC) debt initiative has made significant progress during the first three
years of implementation. Ten countries worldwide have been assessed under the agreed
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framework determining eligibility for· assi~ce. Of the seven found to face unsustainable
debt, five are in Africa: HIPC debt relief has been committed to Burkina Faso, COte d'lvoire,
Mozambique, Uganda and Mali. In two other African countries (Benin and Senegal}
traditional debt-relief mechanisms were found sufficient to enable them to manage their debt.
Mozambique, the second country in Africa to be
approved for HIPC debt relief, successfully
1 oor.;;;.;,.;~.....;...;;.,;..,..,~~;,....;;~.;.;:,...,., completed the qualification process in June 1999 and
received a total debt relief package worth US$3. 7
~ 80
billion.
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· This is the largest debt relief operation organized by
a~ 4o
the international community under the HIPC Initiative
::::t
so far, and raises the total relief granted under the
20
HIPC Initiative to US$5.5 billion (US$2.7 billion in
0
today's values}. Under this initiative, Mozambique's
1985 1990 19l;l3 1996 external public debt will be reduced by almost twothirds from about US$2.7 billion to US$1 billion in today's values, on top of debt relief
provided under traditional mechanisms. Mozambique's external debt-service obligations will
fall to an annual average ofUS$73 million in 1999-2005, compared with an average of
US$169 million that would have been due. By 2001 debt service due will fall to 8 percent of
exports and l 0 percent of government revenues, compared with 19 percent of exports and 23
percent of revenues actually paid in 1998.
=
Since the G8 summit in Cologne and the UN Economic Commission for Africa (ECA)
meeting, held in Addis Ababa in May, the Bank and the IMF have been designing new
methods for the delivery ofHIPC assistance. From these meetings it was suggested that the
HIPC Initiative be designed to provide deep, broad and fast debt relief; improve on the
poverty reduction framework which would include budgetary transparency and dialogue with
broader segments of society; and agreement by leading IMF and World Bank countries to
refinance HIPC through gold sales.
In line with the above principles, the Bank and IMF will strengthen the Initiative by ensuring
that debt relief will target the poorest member countries as excessive debt can be a
particularly severe obstacle to development. This will be done by reinforcing the methods and
practices of the international community to promote sustainable development; strengthen the
incentives for poor countries to adopt strong adjustment and reform programs; provide an
appropriate cushion against exogenous shocks; and design proposals for financing the cost to
multilateral institutions. The new framework will be discussed at the FY99 Annual Meetings.
Trade
Expanding Africa's trade is fundamental to accelerating growth in the continent. Bankfinanced economic adjustment programs support the lowering of trade barriers, as well as
tariff and tax reforms needed to create a more level playing field and reduce anti-export bias.
Intensive analytical work in a number of countries is focusing on trade expansion and the
competitiveness of African countries in the global economy. This includes successful regional
work like the Cross Border Initiative (CBI) and trade linkages in the Southern African
Development Community (SADC) and the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa
(COMESA).
Trade taxes still provide some 40% of fiscal revenue in a representative African country. It is
important, therefore, to support the fiscal reforms needed to make a country less dependent
on trade taxes through public sector reviews and adjustment operations.
Work to lower the trade barriers of the developed countries against Africa's exports
continues. A ·regional analysis on trade has been initiated with results expected in fiscal 2000.
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It includes an assessment of existing barriers to agricultural products from Africa. The Bank
is a partner in the Integrated Program for Least Developed Countries Trade Development,
initiated by the World Trade Organisation (WTO) and including United Nations Conference
on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), UNDP, the International Trade Center (ITC) and
IMF. The program coordinates trade-related technical projects and activities in 30 African
countries.
A number of African governments are working to assess the impact of the introduction of the
Euro, especially in West and Central Africa where fourteen countries are linked to the French
franc. In developing mechanisms to expand trade flows and improve the business
environment, the Bank is providing technical assistance to the Organization pour
!'Harmonisation en Afrique du Droit des Affaires (OHADA). This is an initiative to ·
harmonize business law within West and Central Africa through the adoption of common
rules ("actes uniformes"), the establishment of appropriate judicial procedures and the
promotion of arbitration.
Private Sector Development, Infrastructure and Finance
The World Bank Group is active in private sector development on a nwnber of fronts. Much
of its work is policy-oriented but the Bank is also an active player in the burgeoning number
of investment conferences examining opportunities in Africa. For example, the Bank·
participated in the 4th Euro-African Convention in France in May 1999, at which the focus
was on trade and invesbnent between Africa and the EU and also the 7th meeting of the
COMESA committee in Nairobi, at which the Bank provided support for the Regional Trade
Facilitation project. In the critical area of infrastructure, new public-private partnerships are
emerging and Africa is rethinking the role of government. The World Bank Group plays a
catalytic role in bringing together the appropriate mix of international advice and fmancial
resources to support these partnerships.
For example, the International Finance Corporation (IFC) has approved a US$36 million
financing package for a private power plant in Senegal, which is expected to become a model
for private power development in Africa. IDA, for the first time, provided a partial risk
guarantee ofUS$30 million in support of the US$233 million Cllte d'Ivoire Azito project.
The project will increase the supply of electricity to homes and businesses at a reasonable
cost and provide power for extending the supply to rural areas. It will use locally-produced
natural gas, and as a result, generate savings in foreign exchange by reducing the amount of
petroleum fuels imported for power generation. Under this lending instrument, IDA can
support private sector initiatives in new ways.
In transportation, a private company now operates the Abidjan-Ouagadougou rail line and in
Southern Africa, the second railway concession in sub-Saharan Africa could soon be a reality
as the Maputo Corridor takes shape. This transport passage between South Africa and
Mozambique includes prospective port and rail concessions on which the Bank has provided
technical assistance.
The new tools developed by the Bank such as the private sector guarantees for IDA countries,
the Fixed-Spread Loan for ffiRD countries and the Cross Border Initiative facilitating
investment across countries in Southern Africa, are encouraging private investment.
New infrastructure partnerships are often linked to regional integration. Most local markets
are not large enough to attract sufficient private investment. The SADC countries are working
together to create new growth poles for Southern Africa (roads, rails, ports), like the Maputo
·Corridor and the Beira Development Corridor. In West Africa, Mali, Mauritania, and Senegal
are working together on a Regional Hydropower Development Project.
To support this growing regional architecture, the Bank is developing new lending
instruments and has already modified the rules of the Institutional Development Fund to
allow grants to regional organizations.
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The effective and efficient provision of infrastructure is at the center of attempts to reduce
poverty. Beyond the more recent private sector involvement in this area, as discussed above,
there remains a significant responsibility for governments and their development partners.
Infrastructure is needed to provide both the rural and the urban poor with reliable and
affordable basic services in the areas of water and sanitation, energy, urban infrastructure and
transport. The provision of basic infrastructure als~ underpins the facilitation of production
and trade.
The Bank is involved in 26 projects worth $US2.8 billion for the provision of energy. In the
transport sector, there are l3 current projects in 10 countries with a Bank commitment of
US$1.0 billion. The biggest among these is a US$309 million roads project in Ethiopia,
Africa's second most populous nation with among the lowest road density on the continent.
Of course, the more recent involvement of the private sector in infrastructure in a number of
countries has blurred the line between what is a public good and what is not. Governments are
challenged to develop a more flexible culture in the provision of infrastructure and to redefine
the role they should play in its provision and in the new pub!icwprivate partnerships that are
emerging. Such partnerships could be built of multilevel ties consisting of entrepreneurs and
financial and public institutions.
Financial sector refonn is critical to Africa's development and its competitiveness and many
of the initiatives mentioned above could not be taking p~ace without changes at this
fundamental level. At a meeting ofthe Economic Committee oftbe Global Coalition for
Africa in Gaborone, there was a striking consensus among governments, donors and the
private sector on the need for a stable business and macroeconomic environment and a
performing financial sector. More than 30 financial sector initiatives are underway with more
than US$400 million in Bank support. Recognizing the pressing need for states to pursue
joint efforts in the face of a globalizing world, the Bank is also assisting at the regional level.
The West African and Central African economic and monetary unions are developing
common payments systems and improved bank supervision, while the Southern African
Development Community is receiving assistance with ongoing work to harmonize payments
systems.
The Bank also provides direct assistance to export and investment promotion. One example
of several export processing zones and gateway projects it supports is the US$50 million
Ghana Gateway Project. Developed and managed by the private sector, it aims to reduce the
cost of doing business and to provide internationally competitive infrastructure.
In the past four years, the International Finance Corporation (IFC) has increased its
investments in Africa to US$1.3 billion in FY99. A recent IFC project is the investment of
US$ 7.5 million in Ecobank Transnational Incorporated (ETI). This is an effort to boost the
domestic banking sector in West Africa and support regional financial integration. ETI is
West Africa's first African banking group with seven banks located in Benin, Burkina Faso,
C6te d'Ivoire, Ghana, Mali, Nigeria and Togo. ETI will implement important strategic
initiatives such as creating new banks, launching specialized regional financial service
companies and build its capacity to play a more effective role in supporting the economic
development needs of the region. In Mali, IFC provided a local currency guarantee equivalent
to US$290,000 to Kafo Jiginew. Kafo Jiginew is a fed~ration of 8llocal credit unions owned
by about 58,000 individual members. It operates in the cotton growing regions of Mali. The
guarantee will allow Kafo Jiginew to obtain medium-term local currency loans from a local
bank for about twice the guaranteed amount. This will provide them with the means to
mobilize funding to meet the growing credit demand from people who are the most
economically disadvantaged and have no access to the formal banking system. IFC has helped
set up stock exchanges, private merchant banks, venture capital companies, leasing
companies, insurance companies and investment funds in numerous countries. The
Corporation is also helping to address the needs of small business through a variety of
management and technical support programs which offer an integrated package of financial
and advisory services, and through the Africa Enterprise Fund.
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Organization (FAO). A program on water resource management in the Nile Basin is being
carried out and another in Senegal, Niger and Volta basins. A program with F AO and the
World Wildlife Fund (WWF) is designed to strengthen capacity for the sustainable
management of forests and biodiversity conservation in the Congo Basin.
African forests are believed to contain 45% of all global biodiversity and thus a very special
concern in Africa is the sustainable management of this rich resource. Forest-related activities
account for at least 10% of the GDP of 17 African nations. In Cameroon, Central African
Republic, Congo, Cate d'Ivoire, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon and Liberia, forest products
account for more than 10% of trade.
To protect this remarkable resource, the Bank has initiated a dialogue with its partner
governments in Africa, with private companies and with NGOs to see how all these parties
can work together in the interests of promoting biodiversity conservation and sustainable
forestry management.
The phenomenon of climate change is likely to hit hardest in Africa, even though the
continent produces only about 7% of the world's green house gases. Greater rainfall
variability will result in more floods and more drought, thus greater food insecurity and
problems with diseases like malaria. Africa's partners will need to help it adapt to climate
change by grasping opportunities offered by the Global Environmental Facility. New
instruments from the Kyoto Protocol should be tested to develop renewable energy, to protect
and expand forests, and to increase soil fertility.
Further, weather forecasting and international climate research must expand to this region:
meteorological agencies need capacity to speed up the dissemination of weather forecasting
results, and in enabling farmers in particular to cope with climate variability. Much of the
Bank's work, some in partnership with the GEF, is geared to helping countries not only build
defenses against extreme climate events like the droughts and flash-flooding of the Sahel but
also to finding innovative ways to harness renewable energy sources such as wind and solar
power. For example the Energy and Water Sector Reform and Development Project in Cape
Verde will increase efficiency by reducing barriers to the development of renewable energy
sources and by promoting sound management of water resources.
Human Development
In education, Africa faces an alarming problem: 16 countries (out of 48 in Sub-Saharan
Africa) still enroll less than half of their children in primary school and enrollment rates are
dropping. Literacy is also still low among adults especially among women, less than 50
percent of whom are literate in most countries and enrollment rates are dropping.
Illiteracy Rate In
Sub Saharan Africa
To achieve and sustain higher growth, education
needs to improve dramatically to provide the skills
demanded by market economies. The Bank is
working on several fronts to help African countries
tackle the educational challenge and has committed
more than US$4.0 billion over the last 35 years to
education investments.
Under the United Nations Special Initiative for
Africa, there is renewed focus on countries with
1g:o
1QB5
11Dl
1QQ5
low enrollments in an effort to help them achieve
universal primary education in the minimum
possible time. The Bank is also placing emphasis on areas where it has done relatively little
before- adult education, literacy (especially for women), and early childhood development.
It is stepping up support for higher education through programs like the African Capacity
Building Foundation, the Africa Virtual University, and WBI's World Links program.
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governments to make a new commitment to saving millions of people from the worst effects
ofHIVIAIDS. This commitment will need to be as broad as the epidemic itselfto have an
impact.
fiaiutt FJIImllidliF~Itllirtb: Stll!ltdAIIbnCilmllrll'li95S.Dl The Bank will continue to provide fmancial assistance
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but will also focus more on supporting African leaders,
civil society and the private sector to put the
HIVIAIDS crisis at the center of their national
agendas. The Bank will continue to raise the issue with
all development partners, conduct assessments on the
impact oflllV/AIDS on development, assist countries
to build capacity within national and local
governments, and communities to design and
implement effective programs.
The strategy calls for the Bank to strengthen it~ own capacity to respond to country requests
for support by making the fight against HIVI AIDS a priority development objective. Country
teams will address the subject in all their projects and activities and carry out AIDS impact
assessments for all projects.
The Bank's approach to preventing HIVIAIDS has evolved over time. Early Bank-funded
HIVI AIDS projects primarily focused on HIV prevention through health education, condom
promotion, and ensuring blood safety. Now, HIVIAIDS projects will address many ofthe
socioeconomic determinants of sustained behavior change, such as working with the most
vulnerable groups to the disease and, integrating information IITVIAIDS into existing school
and training curricula
An example of the way in which HIVIAIDS prevention is integrated into the broader
development objective is the proposed Chad-Cameroon Oil Pipeline project, the first largescale Bank infrastructure project in which STI and HIVIAIDS prevention efforts for truckers
a.nd construction workers will be incorporated. In Mozambique, a Bank-financed road
construction/rehabilitation project has proposed a component to provide HIVIAIDS
education to the workforce, including migrant men, as well as the people living along the road
networks; it will also distribute condoms. The Bank's Agricultural and Environmental
Management sector recently began a series of pilot projects using agricultural extension
workers to increase awareness of and efforts to prevent HIVIAIDS and other STis.
Social Development and Post Conflict Reconstruction
The Bank's work in Social Development puts people at the center of the deveiopment
process. Instead of using blueprints drawn up by external advisors, this approaph emphasizes
the need to engage clients at all levels of development, from the design of projects to the
formulation of policies. It is an approach which supports poverty reduction by striving to
ensure that the marginalized, the vulnerable, the victims of war and civil strife, and others on
the sidelines of national policy making, become mainstream participants in the decisions that
affect their lives.
Over time the Bank and its various government partners have sought to refme the ways in
which communities are engaged in these decisions so that the development results are both
sustainable and just. Social assessment studies are increasingly part of the project design
phase. In a recent primary education project in Nigeria, for example, communities were asked
to evaluate their schools, to cite their expectations of improved outcomes and to indicate how
they, as parents, teachers and education administrators could help make those improvements.
In a regional power project involving Mali, Mauritania and Senegal, it was crucial that the
people living downstream from a large new reservoir be involved in the management of the
water flows. A social assessment opened ways for these communities to ensure their needs
were fairly met.
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The involvement in Africa's development of civil society Ofganizations, especially national
and international NGOs, has increased dramatically over the past decade. Collaboration
between civil society and the Bank has intensified markedly both at the level of policy
dialogue and in operational collaboration. The Bank has earmarked resources specifically to
support the participation of civil society in the development ofstrategy formulations for
various countries. For example the Social Recovery Project in Zambia supports small, simple
and locally-generated community based projects. It operates on the premise that community
participation is the comer-stone for development. Communities themselves rank their needs,
identify solutions, organize themselves, contribute in cash and kind, and initiate activities that
provide solutions to their problems. The project has used various strategies to ensure that the
poor have access to the funds. First, only projects that meet the needs of the community are
eligible. Rigorous appraisal at district and cominunity level ensures that only poor
communities and beneficiaries are supported. Participatory assessments have been used to
assess whether the poor have benefited. The Gwebe district, the third poorest district in
Zambia has received US$17.80 per person compared to a national average ofUS3.34.
Drawing on the talent and energy of African society at large requires sustained efforts to
repair the effects ofnational conflicts. Realizing the limitations of its traditional lending in
such situations, the Bank has established a Post-Conflict Unit in its Social Development
Department, as well as a focal point for post-conflict transition issues within the Poverty
Reduction and Social Development Technical Group of the Africa Region of the Bank. In
close collaboration with other parts of the Bank and other institutions (e.g., the UN family
and NGOs), these groups are developing new approaches to post-conflict transition, to
address such needs as the social reintegration of the displaced and ex-combatants, community
reconciliation, reconstruction of social and physical infrastructure, and institutional
development at all levels of society. The Bank is also developing tools for fmancing such
endeavors in countries which are not eligible for standard IDA lending.
The Bank's recent post-conflict work in Africa bas included social assessments (Sierra Leone,
CAR), economic recovery operations (Liberia, Sierra Leone), community reintegration and
development programs (Angola, Eritrea, Rwanda, Sierra Leone), and demobilization and
reintegration of ex-combatants (Chad, Djibouti, Namibia, Rwanda, Uganda). New fi.riancing
tools to help assist countries include the Post-Conflict Program Grants, IBRD Grants, and
learning and innovation loans.
Knowledge
Knowledge is another important resource that the Bank is helping to mobilize in support of
accelerated poverty reduction in Africa. Ideas often matter as much as money, sometimes
more: information is one of the most important resources in today's global economy and the
World Bank is ready to play a role.
The Bank's knowledge-based activities in Africa are diverse. The Africa Live Data Base
makes available to Bank clients and partners its vast store of knowledge: 27 years' worth of
data (around 1,500 variables) for all countries in Africa. Similarly, the Bank shares
information and best practices from all over the world across 30 sectors and thematic areas
through the Sector Knowledge Base. Topics already covered are poverty, education, gender,
AIDS and the use of information (connectivity).
Connectivity for the Poor is a program which uses Bank projects and Resident Mission
communications facilities to help develop local networks with access to global knowledge
sources. In Mozambique, the Bank worked together with other partners in establishing a
satellite connection and extending the link to the Eduardo Mondlane University to expand
distance learning opportunities.
InfoDev is a public-private partnership that finances innovation in connectivity. AfricaDev,
which was piloted in 1998, connects development practitioners in Africa with the Bank's
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�Page 1 of7
S~THSON[ANSEN.IT.NARPROGRAM
TKE WOft~D BANK GROUP
Association for Promotion of Intematlonal Cooperation, Tokyo, AprillS, 1999, 2:00p.m.
"Africa at the Threshold of the 21 8 t Century"
Jean-Louis Sarbib
Vice President, Africa Regional Office
World Bank
Thank you all for coming. It is a pleasure for me to speak to you today, because you
are important to public opinion in Japan, and Japan is a cornerstone of the World
Bank-especially in Africa.
Let me say a few words about where Africa stands on the threshold of the next
century, how the Bank is supporting African countries, and the vital role of Japan.
Then I would very much like to listen to your questions and perspectives.
The Recent Good News
• .Africa is often discussed as if it were monolithic. The reality, of course, is more
complex than this. Africa is a continent nearly three times the size of the United
States-60 times the size of Japan-with more than 600 million people in 48
countries. The diversity is equally vast. Although we tend to hear only about the
miracles and the tragedies, there is a much quieter revolution underway that offers
grounds for optimism.
• The region is undergoing a major political transformation. In the past few years
more than 30 African countries have held elections, and citizen participation is on
the rise in many other ways. Nigeria is the latest example of this transition. Where
politics have opened up, a new class of leaders is emerging in business, academia,
non-governmental organizations, and the media:.
• An important economic transition also gained momentum during much of the
1990s. Overall, annual growth in a typical African country was 4.5% from 1995-97,
the best performance in nearly 20 years. Exports grew at nearly double those rates.
The growth was also widespread; more than 30 countries registered positive per
capita growth. The private sector is more active, and policy changes are resulting in
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�SN.UTHSO~SEN.ITNARPROG~
Page 2 of7
increased access to telephones, satellite communications and online services .
• Much of this success results from the policy reforms that African countries
undertook in the 1980s and early 1990s, including structural adjustment. Indeed, the
countries that have done the most in the way of reform-including in politics and
governance-are those with the highest growth.
• This has fueled a new optimism both in Africa and among those who support
Africa. Africa is proving that it can take charge of its own development and tackle
the challenges confronting it.
Africa's Development Challenges
• Those challenges remain daunting. They range from the natural obstacles of
geography to man-made situations of conflict. Poverty is still a fact of life for
hundreds of millions.
• Let me highlight what we see as the four most difficult challenges confronting
Africa: namely, the need to accelerate economic growth, the need to secure political
peace and social stability, the need to promote social development, and the need to
strengthen capacity and leadership.
Promoting faster economic growth
• Economic growth in Africa remains too low. Despite the impressive recent gains,
growth in output still barely exceeds growth in population. While most of Africa did
not suffer directly from the East Asian crisis, growth did slow appreciably last year.
In many African countries, income per head is no higher now than it was at
independence 20 or 30 years ago. This means that the overall number of poor
people is growing every year. The lack of fast per capita growth makes it impossible
to solve almost any development problems.
• To accelerate growth, the lessons of the past few years are clear: good policies and
expanding trade are vital. This is even more important now that the crisis has
slowed world trade and heightened export competition. In policy, many African
countries need to push ahead into a "second generation" of reforms-in institutions,
in governance, in privatizations, and in attracting more investment.
• Trade is crucial because Africa still plays only a marginal role .in the world
economy. Despite having 10% ofthe world's population, Africa's total output is
only 1% of global GDP. Less than one-twentieth of the $210 billion in capital that
flowed to developing countries in 1997 went to Africa. And less than I 0% of
merchandise exported from developing countries came from Africa.
• The global economy is increasingly integrating, with regional trading blocs
emerging. Almost two dozen [22] countries in Africa have populations of fewer
than 5 million people--too small to support much growth alone. But progress in
integrating African economies into trading arrangements remains slow. This points
to the importance of promoting regional cooperation and integration, of creating
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�SMITHSONIAN SEMINAR PROGRAM
Page 3 of7
larger economic spaces which can serve as a launch pad for Africa to join the global
economy.
• Finaliy, too few. Africans are benefiting from their economies. Some 260 million
Africans-about 40% of the population-live below the poverty line. So we need to
accelerate growth of the type that will reduce poverty by creating jobs and
spreading its benefits widely.
The challenge ofpeace, social and political stability
• After years of growing security, there is now open conflict in at least five African
countries, and for the first time since independence, countries in the region are
openly engaged in cross-border warfare. In all, about 20% of the population of
Africa now lives in countries that are at war or affected by civil strife. Twenty
million Africans are refugees or displaced.
• Nothing is more destructive of development than war. Without peace, there can be
no lasting improvement in the living standards of the people. And conflict itself is
often the result of social tensions arising from low development, poor governance,
injustice, corruption, and economic stagnation. So war and underdevelopment fuel a
vicious circle.
• Violence also fuels Africa's "image" problem. Africa's many successes continue to
be hidden behind a collage of pictures of war, deprivation, and disease. This image
has consequen~es for economic growth. It fuels "Afro-pessimism" and deters
potential investors from seeking investment opportunities in the region. In fact,
investment in Africa is far lower than it would otherwise. be, because of this "bad
neighborhood" effect.
• On the other hand, stability and good economic outcomes also go together, fueling a
"virtuous circle." Those countries that have enjoyed peace, social stability and good
governance have posted the highest growth.
• African countries need to establish a healthy civil peace. That is, a peace that is
secure, but that is vibrant with public participation and good governance, including
an effective public sector and respect for the rule of law. We as Africa's partners
need to respond flexibly to each country's circumstance. For those countries just
emerging from conflict, we need to be ready to work quickly to support
reconstruction. For how a country emerges from conflict often determines whether
the peace can hold.
The social development challenge
• Social development in Africa still trails badly. Birth rates, childhood and maternal
deaths are the highest in the world, and more than a quarter of African children are
malnourished. Two hundred million Africans still have no access to proper health
services.
• Diseases both old and new are undoing many of the gains made si.Iice independence.
More than nine out of ten Africans is still at risk of contracting malaria, an ancient
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�SNUTHSON~SEN.ITNARPROGRAM
Page 4 of7
killer. And nearly 23 million Africans are now living with IDV/AIDS-more than
two-thirds of all cases on earth. In some countries, one in four adults is infected with
lllVIAIDS, and the epidemics may reduce life expectancy by more than 15 years.
• In education, despite good efforts at increasing ei:rrollments, there are more primary
school-aged children out of school today than there were in 1990. In 14 African
countries, less than 60% of children are in school. Among adults, literacy is below
40o/o in 25 countries.
'
• To improve social development, reforms are needed in the areas that most affect the
poor. Rural infrastructure is urgently needed-especially roads ..In health, education
and nutrition, both the quantity and the quality of investments must increase. And it .
cannot be said too often: a full-fledged, government-led assault on HWIAIDS is
long overdue.
The need to strengthen capacity and leadership
• Low capacity is one of the biggest weaknesses of African governments. Talent
which was attracted to the public service in the 1960s and 1970s has been dispersed,
and that generation's children have preferred to go into the private sector or move
abroad. This has made governments increasingly dependent on outsiders and
foreigners for advice. That,.in turn, has undermined local commitment to the
resulting policies.
• At the same time, many outside agencies-including the World Bank-have not
always respected African leadership of its own agenda. In the 1980s in particular,
many African policies were, in effect, dictated by outsiders. This weakened African
leadership and discouraged involvement by the African people. The resulting lack
of public support or understanding for public policies made even good ideas
difficult to act on.
• Africa's future has to· be in the hands of Africans. Africa's partners need to learn
this lesson, to let Africans lead, and to help them attract and retain the talent they
need to convert good ideas into a better life for the people.
• Prior efforts to build capacity failed because most were usually designed and driven
by outsiders. What is needed is for Africans to take charge of this issue and
establish a process to support home-grown initiatives. That is the nature of a major
proposal which the African Governors of the· World Bank have drawn up. This
Partnership for African Capacity Building will help coordinate external support to
prevent ad hoc initiatives, and will focus on locally-generated ideas with a real
constituency. The Bank is also supporting public sector management, governance
and civil service reforms in many countries.
Meeting the Challenges: HOW We Need to Work
• ·But just as important as what needs to be done is how we should work with
Mrica. Lessons of the past have led the Bank to adopt a new approach in
supporting our Mrican clients. We have introduced many changes over the
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�SMITHSONIAN SEMINAR PROGRAM
•
•
•
•
.•
Page 5 of7
past three years, built around three common objectives: listening, partnership,
and reducing aid dependency.
In listening, the Bank is now respecting Africa's lead of its own development
policies. Last year the President of the Bank attended two landmark meetings in
Africa with some 27 African heads of state, setting a new tone in our relations with
the region. Mr. Wolfensohn committed the Bank to support the priorities set by the
leadership of the continent.
The Bank is also listening to a much larger circle of Africans. A more vocal civil
society in the majority of African countries has enriched the development dialogue
and we have been building on that. We now develop our support strategies in a
participatory way, with input both from government and from those outside of
government.
We have also, in some cases, moved the leadership of our programs to Africa to
improve the quality of the dialogue with those countries.
In partnerships, we are working with an unprecedented array of other agencies and
friends of Africa, such as the African Development Bank, the Organization of
African Unity, the various parts of the United Nations, bilateral donors, and nongovernmental organizations. This ensures that Africa can get the greatest impact
from declining aid dollars. It also helps each agency focus on what it does best
without duplicating the work of others or leaving_ serious gaps. ·
Reducing aid dependency is a long-term, not a short-run, proposition. Many
countries will need aid for the foreseeable future. But much of Africa suffers from
unhealthy dependency~ which undermines local responsibility and the sustainability
of programs. Building local resource mobilization is obviously one way of
addressing this. Another is debt relief, which we, the IMF and the rest of the donor
community have done under the Heavily Indebted Poor Countries (HIPC) initiative
to African countries with a track record of reforms. A third way is sustaining IDA,
the soft-loan window of the World Bank. Overall foreign aid to Africa has fallen
25% in the past four years and private flows are nowhere near the level of need.
IDA is therefore a lifeline, accounting for 10 to 20% of official flows to many
African countries. It is even more vi~al in the fight on poverty, since 54% of IDA
credits are directly targeted to the poor.
The Role of Japan
• Japan plays a major role in the World Bank, in IDA, and in Africa. It is the second
largest shareholder in the Bank, with more than 8% of our shareholdings-roughly
$15 billion. In IDA, the source of funds for the poorest countries, Japan's role is
even greater. During the last two IDA cycles, roughly 20% of all IDA resources
have been Japanese contributions. Since half of the current IDA resources have
been pledged to Africa, Japan's generosity has helped keep this lifeline to Africa
strong.
• Japan also provides vital additional resources. It is the largest provider of trust funds
and the largest cofinancer of Bank-supported projects. Trust funds make global
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�SMITHSONIAN SEMINAR PROGRAM
Page 6 of7
expertise available to countries that could not otherwise afford it. Co:financing helps
expand the. reach of projects to far more people. Until the crisis, Japanese
cofmancing to Africa averaged $200 million a year. In this time of tight aid
resources, this· supplementary support has been essential to Africa. llCA and OECF
are also key partners, both for their resources and their expertise. Japan has been a
core member of the Special Program for Assistance to Africa (SPA), pledging $386
million to SPA-4. And bilateral aid from Japan to Africa adds another substantial
amount: ¥97 billion in 1997 ($800 million).
• Beyond fmance, Japan is an intellectual leader in development. Both in its own
development and in its aid policies, Japan has taken a long-term and holistic view.
This approach is the root of the "comprehensive development framework" to which
Mr. Wolfensohn has recently committed the World Bank. Last year Japan hosted
the second Tokyo International Conference on African Development (TICAD II),
which established poverty reduction and global integration of Africa as priority
goals. Japan has also made numerous intellectual contributions to SPA. And the
lessons of Japan's own development have informed many of the best policies
elsewhere-especially the importance of a sound macroeconomy, investment in
human development and infrastructure, and equity. Japanese know-how has helped
increase African productivity in a number of ways. Japan/Bank collaborations
include:
o The Burkina Faso Quali1y Control Circles-an institutional capacity
development tool to improve management of any type of institution, typically
public and private enterprises. Substantial input from Japanese QCC
consultants. This project is becoming a subregional center, from which Niger,
Guinea, Mali and Cote d'lvoire have already learned.
o The Madagascar Private Sector Development and Capaci1y Building Project
was a pilot to promote small and medium-scale enterprise matching between
the private sectors in Asia and Madagascar. Dozens of Japanese entrepreneurs
were brought to Madagascar for advice and consultations.
o An Industrial and Financial Strategy Seminar was jointly organized by the
World Bank and the Japan Development Bank in Nairobi in 1997, and funded
by a PHRD grant. It focused on East Asian experience with industrial and
fmancial strategies and the role of government and brought together high-level
policy makers and bankers from more than a dozen countries.
Conclusion
In conclusion, let me say that I know these are trying times in Japan, and that
Africa seems a remote place when there are so many challenges right here at home.
But as I hope I've made clear, Japan is a pillar of the international deveiopment
community on which we all depend. Japan is already making a vast financi~l and
intellectual difference in Africa-one that will become all the more important now
that more and more African countries are on the path of reform. The task ahead is
great, but with Japan's help and a new spirit of partnership, our collective capacity
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�SMITHSONIAN SEMINAR PROGRAM
Page 7 of7
is greater still. We look forward to working with you to help make the next century
Africa's century. Thank you.
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�Page 1 ofl
The World Bank Annual Report 1999
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REPORT
1999
AGURE l·l ACCOUNTING FOR GROWTH IN SUB-SAHARANA'Ft\lCA,l995-97
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T~E INORt.O 8jAiiNiiKIG'i'RiOiUiiP•····················A·W·~~r~ld~Fira1 1.:1o1f 1P'1.,1e~tliYIDttl)~~1
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THE
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1999
Africa
Regional context
Countries Eligible for
World Bank Borrowing:
Angola
Benin
Botswana
Burkina Faso
Burundi
Cameroon
Cape Verde
Central African Republic
Chad
Comoros
Congo, Democratic Republic of
Congo, Republic of
C6te d'lvoire
DjlbouU
Equatorial Guinea
Eritrea
Ethiopia
Gabon
Gambia, The
Ghana
Guinea
Guinea~Bissau
Kenya
Lesotho
Uberla
Madagascar
Malawi
Mall
Mauritania
Mauritius
Mozambique
Namibia
Niger
Nigeria
Rwanda
Sio Tome and Principe
Senegal
Seychelles
Sierra Leone
Somalia
South Africa
Sudan
Swaziland
Tanzania
Togo
Uganda
Zambia
Zimbabwe
\.H,...//n,. .....,
For the fourth year in a row, most African economies
continued to grow, despite the slowdown in world trade and
reemergence of civil conflict in several countries. First~round
effects of the Asian crisis were more muted on the continent
than elsewhere, except for South Africa. Domestic economic
activity is also growing, in food production, small-scale
enterprises, and intra-African trade. These beginnings of
economic diversification show an Africa changing not only at
the top but also at ground level--in local communities, among
farmers and entrepreneurs. Most important, growth reflects
sustained government efforts to improve the climate for
investors, better manage public resources, and promote
private sector provision of key services.
Although growth in Africa in 1998 was significant (over 5
percent growth in 13 countries), and stronger than in many
other parts of the developing world, it was lower than in 1997
due to weaker international commodity prices, and barely
enough to keep up with population growth. The typical
African economy grew by 4 percent, compared with 4.4
percent in 1997. Africa's overall GOP growth was only 2
percent, however, reflecting slow progress-or none at all-in
large countries like South Africa, Nigeria, and the Democratic
Republic of Congo. In Nigeria, home to one fifth of all
Africans, a political turnaround marked perhaps the most
important event of the year as well as a possible turning point
for Western Africa as a whole.
Slower global growth, weaker commodity prices, and greater
competition in some export markets-all rooted in the Asia
crisis--may affect Africa more in 1999. Effects will vary by
country. South Africa, which is more integrated into world
capital and trading systems, will continue to face a particular
challenge. Oil exporters (Nigeria, Angola, Gabon) faced
major income losses during FY99. Conversely, lower fuel
prices cushioned oil"importing countries from losses on their
own export income. Countries more vulnerable to the global
slowdown-for example, producers of copper,
tobacco, timber, and perhaps cotton--wilt need special
attention, particularly to maintain basic spending for health
and education.
In the longer term, Africa will nevertheless benefit from the
strong reforms that have spurred growth {E!gur~ 2-1} and
created the foundations for sustained future growth in most
countries. All African governments are less interventionist in
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�Page 2 of2
The World Bank Annual Report 1999
productive activities than two decades ago. Inefficient public
sector marketing boards have been largely abolished or
commercialized and, where still present, made more flexible.
All economies are Jess protectionist, with fewer price
distortions. Most interest rates are market-driven, though
high due to excessive government borrowing. Most foreign
exchange regimes are market-based, with nearly universal
access to. foreign exchange with the result that the typical
private market premium on foreign currency was below 5
percent in 1997, compared to 45 percent as recently as
1991.
Despite this progress, huge challenges remain, ranging from
the natural obstacles of geography to human-made situations
of conflict. People in Sub-Saharan Africa are among the
poorest in the world. While some social indicators have
improved, others such as primary school enrollment have
not. AIDS is seriously threatening past gains, reversing life
expectancy trends in some countries. Effective poverty
reduction will require sustained and higher per capita GOP
growth, with strong commitment from the region's leaders to
expand opportunities and services for the poor. Even among
reformers, an unfinished agenda of institutional and
governance reform remains, to attract private investmentfundamental to growth. African countries are still not as open
as the most open of the developing countries. Studies such
as the Africa Competitiveness Report suggest that small
countries face particular problems.
IAA
Regional Perspectives
GQ.ni!!JJli
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�Key Indicators: regional data from the WDI database
There are more people living In urban areas in East Asia than in any other developing country region--about 634 million people. Since
1990, the population of urban areas has increased by about 16 million people a year. East Asia has sean a seven-fold Increase in lha
usa of personal computers (PCs), from about 2 per thousand people in 1990 to more than 14 per thousand people In 1998. This
compares with about300 PCs per thousand in high-Income economies. About 20 percent of all developing economy patent applications
filed are from East Asian countries.
The developing and transiUon economies of Europe and Central Asia have achieved the lowest Infant mortality rates of developing
country regions. The Infant mortality rate at 22 per 1,000 live births, Is about one third as high as South Asia's Infant mortality rate and
about half as low as the average for developing economies. But on a per capita basis, the developing and transition countries of Europe
and Central Asia have the highest C02 emlssions-almosllhrea times as much as the average for the Latin American and the Caribbean
countries.
The Latin America and the Caribbean region has the highest average per capita income of all developing country regions. Argentina,
with $7,600 per capita In 1999, is dose to the income levels of some high-income economies. But at the poor end of the spectrum Is Haiti,
with an average per capita Income of only $460. This Is the only developing region v.tlere the youth female illiteracy rate does not exceed
that of males.
Middle East and North Africa, with population growth at 2. 7 percent, ranks the second highest developing country region in 1980·99.
But with only 1,045 cubic meters of freshwater resources available per capita, ranks well below the per capita average of any other
region. The per capite freshwater available In South Asia is over 4,000 cubic meters; Sub-Saharan Africa Is about 8,441 cubic meters;
and Latin America Is over 27,000 cubic meters per capita.
South Asia has the highest levels of child malnutrition of developing country regions, with around 50% of children who are below the
standards for weight and height for age. Wllh the lowest GNP per caplta-$440-of the developing country regions, South Asia also has
the highest youth illiteracy rates: 23 percent of mala youth are Illiterate; 41 percent of female youth.
Sub-Saharan Africa's progress In life expectancy has not kept pace with most other regions in the 1990s. Since 1990, life expectancy
In Sub-Saharan Africa has not Increased, with many countries on the continent remaining In the 40-year range. One of the reasons for
the relatively low life expectancy Is the high infant mortality rate; It's about 92 per 1,000 live births. Infrastructure In Sub-Saharan Africa
is not waU developed; only about 15 percent of roads are paved, and !hare are only about14 telephone malnOnes per 1,000 people.
People
Po~lallon
Ufa
expectancy
alblrth
years
Infant
moriAJII(y rate
millions
average
annual
growth%
1999
1,837
475
509
291
1,329
642
1980-99
1.4
0.6
1.8
2.7
2.0
2.8
1998
69
69
70
68
62
50
1998
35
22
31
45
75
92
1999
2
1
6
13
23
19
1999
4
2
6
24
41
27
1992-98°
22
8
8
15
51
33
1992-98"
33
18
16
24
50
40
Surface
area
thousand
sq.km
Freshwater
rasourc:as
cubic meters
per capita
Forest
area
%of total
land area
Average
annual deforestation
%change
Energy usa
per c:aplta
kg of oil
equlvalenl
COa
Rural
populaUan
%of total
emissions
per capita
melric Ions
Motor
vahlc:las
per 1,000
people
1999
18,385
24,209
20,461
11,024
5,140
24,267
1999
66
33
25
42
72
66
1990-95
t 997
..(),1
0.8
0.9
2,690
1,181
1,354
443
695
East ASia & Pacific
Europe & Central Asia
LaUn Amlll'lca & Caribbean
Middle Easl & North Africa
South Asia
Sub-Saharan Africa
Environment
'EiiStAsiii&Pilciiiii_________
Europe & Central Asia
Latin America & Caribbean
Middle East & North Africa
South Asia
Sub-Sahamn Africa
per 1,000
live births
1998
1995
---------24.0
14,341
27,393
1,045
4,088
8,441
36.1
45.2
0.8
15.6
16.8
Youth lllltaracy rate
Male
Female
%aged 15·24 %aged 16·24
Prevalence of
child malnutrltl!.!L..,_
Weight far age Haight for age
%undar5
% undarS
1998
----
o:a·---~-----2.7
0.2
0.7
7.3
2.6
1998
21
157
3.9
89
65
0.9
0.8
21
6
�Key indicators: regional data from the WDI database
Economy
EestAsla& Paclflo
Europe & Central Asia
LaUn America & Caribbean
Middla East & North Africa
South Asia
GNP.2!' capita
GNP
~as
method"
$ billions
1999
1,833
1,022
1,955
599
581
Av11111ge
annual real
growth %
Alias"
$
1998-99
7.2
0.0
-0.9
3.7
6.2
1999
1,000
2,150
3,840
2,060
440
-
-~~~.~~~'!l!!.~~·-····-·-··--·-·-·-·--·--;!~1. ____,_,_2:_g__.._._!C!I......_
States end Markets
Private
Investment
%ofGDFI~
-East Asia & Pacific
Europe & Cenlral Asia
LaUn America & Caribbean
Middle Easl & North Africa
Soulh Asia
Sub-Saharan Africa
1997
56.9
79.8
68.9
Global Links
Trade
In goods
% of
PPP GOP
Stock
market
.capitalization
$millions
1999
955,379
265,207
584,985
151,895
194,475
275,723
ppp•
$
1999
3,500
5,580
8,280
4,600
2,030
Agriculture
% of GOP
Investment
% of GOP
Ellports of
gaods and
services
$ mQIIons
1998-99
1999
-0.1
-2.4
1.6
4.2
10
8
14
28
1999
33
20
21
22
22
1998
614,457
340,843
335,772
131,866
70,684
----s:o-----13"
.....- ....1·450-·----·--·-:!'~_._____._.j_~--·-----.1!._-·--·-~~~.!~--
Military
Expenditures
expenditures
for R&D
%of GNP
%of GNP
1997
Average
annual real
growth %
___ _Jelepho~~.!.-per 1,000
WailingUma
people
years
1987-97"
1998
1998
_ _ _' 1 i l___:;::;
--~-----1-.32
Hightechnology
exports
% at manufaclured elq)Orts
4.0
1.8
6.9
3.1
2.3
Net
priVate
capital
flows
$ millions
0.77
0.58
0.66
Total
external
debt
$ millions
200
123
82
19
14
Foreign
direct
Investment
%of GOP
2.8
1.1
2.0
4.8
4.2
Personal
computers
Paved
roads
% afiOial
per 1,000
people
1998
14.1
34.6
33.9
9.9
2.9
1998
17.4
86.5
26.0
50.2
57.0
15.0
7.5
International
Net aid flaws
%of GNP
1998
taurlsm
per capita
$
1998
arrivals
thousands
14
9
18
4
21
97,308
50,930
22,267
4,182
1998
1998
1998
1998
1998
eaStAsia-& Pa;mc--------....--.,s.5 ---·--Zi-----61,249___ ss7,s2r-..---·J:g------o-.5_____4____
Europe & Central Asia
LaUn America & Caribbean
MlddleEast&NorthAfrlca
Soulh Asia
Sub-SahlllllnAfrica
21.1
19.1
17.4
4.8
16.8
8
12
1
4
53,342
128,854
9,223
7,580
3,452
480,539
2.5
0.8
786,019
3.5
0.2
208,059
0.7
1.0
163,775
0.7
o.9
230,132 ____.....2:!__,
___.__....1:.1
Note: Figures In italics are tor years or periods other then those spacltiad.
a. MDBtRICIIIltyear svaUable. b. Atlas method; see WDI stalisUr;al mfllhads. c. Purchasing J>Ci-r parity; see About lhe dale In WDilables 1.1, 4.11Bnd 4.12.
d. Gross domesUc ftxad Investment
Sowce: World Developmenllndicalom dalabase, Wortd Bank, 8/2/2000.
1998
s2,9~
___ 15,~-
�Page
GEP2000
1 of3
THE WDR'LD BAN-K GftOUP
,
.
.:
••
,
Prospects for Development Home
P.L'IME.
Global Economic Prospects and the Developing Countries
2000
G.l!!b@l§!<.!!!l9J!ll!;. P~Q.!IP.t!<.tf_m!.Q
B'P.'!~:
Appendix 1
Press release:
Regional Economic Prospects
~(MSWord)
~(MSWord)
~
~
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Japanese (MS Word) (690k POE)
Portugues
BYM!M (MSWord)
Sub-Saharan Africa
Recent developments
Ordering Information
lib!! of Contents
Foreword by Joseph Stlglllz
~
~
~
Summary
~jj~.!J
Francais
~
~~Q.!lll.c...f'ro~li
Slide show
Related sites:
rn!Mm...~
Development Prospects
World Bank Chief Economist
~olicy
and GovemanC§
Sub-Saharan Africa's economic growth slowed
progressively from 4. 7 percent in 1996 to tess than
2.5 percent in 1998-99. Several factors were
responsible. A steep fall in oil prices in 1997-98 hurt countries that export
significant amounts of oil and other hydrocarbons.3 Numerous conflicts-many
of which had appeared to be moving toward resolution-flared up, including in·
Angola, Democratic Republic of Congo, Ethiopia and Eritrea, Guinea-Bissau,
Lesotho, and Sierra Leone. Poor weather disrupted agriculture and tourism
throughout eastern and southern Africa and heavy rains damaged infrastructure.
Finally, South Africa, the region's largest and most open economy, was caught
in the turbulence of the East Asian crisis as a reversal of capital inflows in mid'1998 sent interest rates sharply higher and dampened interest-sensitive sectors
through the first half of 1999.
Despite these adverse developments, pro-market reforms, trade liberalization,
and better governance sustained growth elsewhere in the region-in
Mozambique, Uganda, and generally throughout the CFA zone, where the
devaluation of the CFA franc in 1994 triggered a sustained boom in investment
and exports. Moreover, developments in 1999 augur well for near-term
prospects. Especially encouraging have been the smooth political transition in
Nigeria; renewed prospects for peace in Sierra Leone, Liberia, and the
Democratic Republic of Congo, and a swift return of international investors to
South Africa.
Near-term outlook·
PovertY Resources
Growth in 1999 will be near the pace achieved in 1998-around 2.3 percent, or
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GEP 2000
WB East Asja Crisis Lentljng
The World Bank: For Journalist&
3.2 percent excluding South Africa and Nigeria. This falls short of what is
needed to recover the ground lost in recent years, and per capita incomes will
decline modestly for a second successive year. Nevertheless, a gradual
recovery from the slowdown appears to be underway. Growth is anticipated to
rise to 3.3 percent over 200Q-01. Underpinning the stronger performance will be
a pick-up in exports over the next 12-24 months, based on sharp gains in oil
prices, the unexpected strength of the recovery in East Asia, and the euro's
weakness against the U.S. dollar, which will further boost the competitiveness of
CFA zone countries. Following a decline of 0.3 percent in 1998, merchandise
exports are expected to grow by 3.8 percent in 1999, 6.3 percent in 2000, and
4. 7 percent in 2001. On top of the broader recovery, export performance in 2000
will reflect the revival of Nigeria's hydrocarbon sector, and especially the
commencement of liquid natural gas shipments from the new Bonny Island
facility. Excluding South Africa and Nigeria, Sub-Saharan export growth is
predicted to reach 4.3 percent in 1999 and 4.6 percent in 2000-01.
Import growth will not keep pace with exports, allowing the current account
deficit to shrink from an unsustainable $14.2 billion (4.6 percent of GOP} in
1998. For the region as a whole, the current account deficit is projected to
narrow to 2.8 percent of GOP in 1999 and 2.6 percent in 2000. While falling
short of the level of performance in 1997-98, import growth will remain
adequate to support purchases of capital and intermediate goods for production
and investment needs. Meanwhile, the forecast anticipates a continuation of
policy reforms and a move away from the inward-looking trade regimes that
contributed to Sub-Saharan Africa's relative isolation over the past 25 years.
Overall, trade will continue to outpace GOP growth, resulting in higher trade
shares and increasing openness (figure A1.5).
Long-term prospects
Output for the region is expected to achieve growth of 3.6 percent from 2002-08
(figure AS). That represents a 0.5 percentage point downward revision from last
year's Global Economic Prospects and reflects greater pessimism about
prospects in commodity and financial markets, as well as an assessment that
South Africa will require a more extended period to reach its long-run potential
output growth. A sustained 3.6 percent expansion of GOP, together with a
gradual slowing of the region's population growth (from current rates of 2.6
toward 2.4 percent), will permit a moderate rise in per capita Incomes of 1.3
percent per year over the long-term forecast period. The ability to encourage
private investment will be the key to stronger performance, and those countries
with better policy environments, effective export strategies, and more diversified
economies will tend to do better (table A 1.6).
Despite the downward revision, the outlook remains for a substantial
improvement over the 2 percent average growth achieved during the past two
decades. Many of the region's intractable conflicts are likely to be resolved, and
there has been a broad-based transition to democratic rule and more
responsible governance. An accumulation of evidence indicates that these
developments are producing results-for instance, they have contributed to the
rise in investment and exports during the 1994-97 growth cycle (see chapter 4}.
However, these factors will be offset by other less favorable trends: commodity
prices of critical importance to the region are expected to show only weak
advances, putting a damper on investment and exports; a poor outlook for
foreign aid and negative foreign investor sentiment will squeeze current account
balances and compress imports; falling budget support is likely to cut into social
spending, reducing the growth rate of human capital. Finally, the extent of the
AIDS epidemic is becoming clearer, and with it the inevitability of a sustained,
negative impact on economic performance. Medium term projected population
growth in the worst affected countries has been lowered by as much as 1-2
percent annually compared to what would have been expected without AIDS.
,_....._ • If.. " ' " " urMl r1"hQn'k-
nra/nrosnects/fi!e1)2000/appX 1/safrica.htm
9/6/00
�Page 3 of3
GEP 2000
Moreover, since the disease preponderantly affects better educated and more
productive urban workers, output- growth in these countries will slow by a
substantially higher amount. For the region as a whole, a reduction in per capita
growth of 0.3 percent tied to this development seems likely.
Especially given the lackluster expectations for commodity prices and the poor
climate for foreign aid, countries will need to continue diversifying and opening
their economies to sustain adequate growth. Ongoing structural adjustment over
the forecast period should raise domestic savings and investment, as well as
make Sub-Saharan Africa more attractive to potential foreign investors. FDI is
increasingly being attracted not only to extractive and resource-based sectors,
but also to telecommunications, transportation, and utilities sectors as they are
privatized and deregulated. Meanwhile, though prospects for foreign aid are not
promising, many Sub- Saharan countries stand to benefit from debt relief under
enhanced terms of the Heavily Indebted Poor Countries Initiative (HIPC),
improving the sustainability of current account positions. Of the 36 countries
eligible unde~ the enhanced framework, 30 are in Sub- Saharan Africa, and the
region stands to receive over 80% of the relief worth $27 billion in net present
value terms. Not only will there be a transfer of real resources for poverty
reduction and other purposes, but stronger balance sheets and improved
creditworthiness will facilitate the integration of recipient countries into the world
economy.
Please contact Nlewin@wor[dbank.org with problems or questions.
11
t
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-----~ '""'·--1A\·u~n1r nrn/nrn~nP.ctq/Q:eD2000/appxl/safrica.htm.
9/6/00
�Figure 1: Growth and the Poor
Levels
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41
�an Janua~ 31, 2000 technica~ e~erts fram the Le~and Initi~tive insta22ed the
Eritrea .Nationa2 Internet Gateway, bringing t.he on2y remai.n1ng ccnmtzy on the
African continent without Internet into the info.z:mation age. !Z'oday they are
extending the Internet to six secondazy cities - thus - in just f~ur ca~endar
months 1 Eritrea wi22 have ~eapt £rom the least connected count.ry .l.n A£r.1.ca to
one o£ the most connected countries.
Whi2e the Eritrea installation is highly
satis~ng to al~ concerned - coming after three years ~~ patient awareness
building and negotiation - the African continent £aces .1.nn~rable ~h~~~enges,
such as extending the Internet to the under-served, narrow.I.ng the dig.I.ta2
divide, adopting a regu.lato.z:y environmeDt t~ take advan~age of g2ob~2.
.
te2ecommunications ~ortunities, and ensur.I.ng that A£r.I.ca canpart.I.c.l.pate .l.n
the e-commerce revo~ution.
!l'he Le2and Initiative is the USAID entity charged
with he2ping.Africa and USAID successful2y re~ond to these cha22enges.
Leland Initiative
USAID Bureau for Africa
Purpose: To ensure that Africa shares in the benefits of, and plays a key role in, the global
information revolution, through connection to the Internet and other Global Information
Infrastructure (Gil) technologies.
Rationale: African countries are moving towards more open economies and societies. Even so,
there remain formidable constraints on sustainable development in such areas as the environment,
disease prevention, literacy and private sector development. New technologies make information
more accessible, transferable and manageable. High-speed telecommunication and access to the
latest information are the catalysts transforming economic and social structures around the world
and supporting fast-paced sustainable development. Africa needs access to such information and
techniques to strengthen its development programs.
Program Description: The five year, $15 million Initiative uses a US and international
public/private partnership approach to bring full Internet connectivity to and throughout twenty or
more USAID countries in sub-Saharan Africa. Public/private partnerships are important for
bridging the "Last Mile" (e.g., distance learning, market information for subsistence farmers,
telemedicine, etc.) to ensure that the benefits of the information revolution are available to all
sectors in African societies. The Leland Initiative has three strategic objectives:
•
"Policy"- Supporting an Internet "friendly" policy environment, including affordable (yet
profitable) cost-based tariffs, the promotion of a level playing field for multiple private
Internet service providers, and the free flow of information consistent with the laws of that
country;
•
·"Pipes"- Applying emerging new technologies to create national Internet gateways, extend
the Internet to underserved areas and empower the private sector Internet Service Providers
("ISPs") to offer a range of services to clients; and
•
"People" - Using the communication and information tools of the Gil to implement new
approaches to sustainable social and economic development and improve the lives of
citizens everywhere.
Project Countries to Date: Benin, Botswana, Cote d'lvoire, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Ghana, Guinea,
Guinea-Bissau, Kenya, Lesotho, Madagascal\, Malawi, Mali, Mozambique, Namibia, Rwanda,
�Senegal, South Africa, Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia, and Zimbabwe.
Implementation: The project is flexible, addressing the obstacles and opportunities within any
given country, through support for policy reform, equipment and training for Internet gateway
operators and the introduction of proven mechanisms to build groups of active users. The USAID
Africa Bureau has overall management responsibility for this initiative and coordinates the activities
of the other project partners, which include collaborating donors, other US Government agencies,
USAID Field Missions, host country telecommunication companies. and Ministries, and the African
and American private sectors. Leland is on target to achieve significant policy reforms,
infrastructure buildout, and widespread application of the Internet for development across twentyone countries by the year 2001. Illustrative results in our three activity areas are as follows:
�"Policy" Results: Leland has promoted substantial policy reform in nineteen countries, negotiated
into bilateral Memoranda of Understanding with each host government. The Leland cost-based
tariffing policy bas led to wholesale Internet access rates that are one-sixth the prevailing rates in
non-Leland countries ($1 ,500 vs. $12,000 per month), while fifteen countries have set aside longstanding telephone monopolies to permit competitive Internet services. More than sixty indigenous
firms have set up business as Internet Service Providers (each investing, on average, $40,000)
where almost none existed before Leland.
"Pipes" Results: Leland bas installed national Internet gateways in Mali, Madagascar,
Mozambique, Rwanda, Guinea, Cote d'lvoire, Benin, Ghana (through the University of Legan),
Malawi, Eritrea and others are nearing fruition. Numerous national Internet Gateway operators
have been trained and dozens of ISPs have started operations because of the Leland enabling
environment. Internet access fees for consumers have dropped significantly; unlimited Internet
runs twenty to forty dollars per month in countries where an international telephone call costs
up to ten dollars per minute. Country-wide diffusion of the Internet is growing in most Leland
countries; for example Guinea has three secondary cities now on-line and people can now "dial in"
to an ISP from fourteen secondary cities in Mali and two in Madagascar. Private sector ISPs will
establish high-speed gateways this year in Mozambique and Rwanda.
''People" Results: Internet subscriber roles are growing about 10% per month in each Leland
country (e.g., Mali: 3,500, Mozambique: 6,000, Madagascar, 8,000). The Leland Initiative is
increasing the ability of African societies to use the communication and information tools of the
.Internet through Internet training for key USAID partners (more than 1500 institutions have been
trained and scores of indigenous trainers have been developed on the methodology). Leland is also
implementing numerous Internet-based pilot and demonstration activities, including:
School-to-School Partnerships: (a) Strengthens in-country capacity to use the Internet in the
educational process, including training and the development of associations to promote educational
use and (b) fosters links with specific U.S. schools and institutional partners, such as Sister Cities,
•
GLOBE, and National Geographic "K.idsNetwork."
• National EducaQ.on Networks: Leland is helping disparate universities in selected countries to
unite into national networks, the fundamental building block of the rapidly globalizing educational
world. Leland helps them to develop joint technology plans, prepare financial sustainability
strategies, train the human resources necessary to run the networks and- most important- develop
transparent governance mechanisms for managing this network and the resources it represents.
With this in place, these networks become very attractive teaching, research and service partners
with networks of U.S. universities.
• Private Sector Trade and Investment: (a)· Strengthens the ability of business associations to
use the Internet to promote the interests of their members. Some one hundred national & regional
business associations (with more than ten thousand members) have been taught to use the Internet
and (b) establishes mechanisms for developing trade leads (www.usgtn..org) between several
African countries and the United States private sector via the Internet.
• Promoting Democracy: The West Africa Decentralization Network links key democracy
stakeholders (www.rti.org/lelandlapplications/ardnet_intro.cfm) in four Francophone countries,
Guinea, Benin, Cote d'Ivoire, and Mali, via the Internet. Experts in democratic decentralization,
representing the government, local elected officials, NGOs, and academia have formed the network
to communicate new program ideas, share lessons learned, and conduct on-line technical seminars.
This approach will soon be expanded to demonstrate the use of the Internet to deliver technical
�municipal management courses directly to local government officials.
• Community Access Approaches: Community Learning Centers ("CLCs") bring~ benefits
of the Internet and other Gll technologies to low-income neighborhoods, secondary cities, and rural
areas. The CLCs (www.rti.org/leland/applications/clcs_intro.cfm) serve as communication access
points often supporting a telephone, photocopier, computer with Internet connection, and other
information-related equipment.
For more information, please visit: www.info.usaid.gov/leland
�•.
United States D_QPartment of State
OFFICE OF THE
Under Secretary of State
for Economic,
Dusincss, and Agricultural Affairs
Washington, D.C. 20520-7512
FAX COVER SHEET
Date:
Pages to follow:
,t\ J2. 41.~c..r
TO:
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Telephone
""LL'L ~ ~v- ~~ o ~
Fax:
FROM:
Orde F. Ki ttrie
Special .Assistant to the Under Secretary
~'J(, -IL.~}
Telephone: (202) 647-7573-Fax:
(202} 647-9763
SUBJECT:
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�
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Heather Hurlburt
Creator
An entity primarily responsible for making the resource
Office of Speechwriting
Heather Hurlburt
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
1999-2001
Is Part Of
A related resource in which the described resource is physically or logically included.
<a href="http://clinton.presidentiallibraries.us/items/show/36161" target="_blank">Collection Finding Aid</a>
<a href="https://catalog.archives.gov/id/7431953" target="_blank">National Archives Catalog Description</a>
Identifier
An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context
2008-0700-F
Description
An account of the resource
Heather Hurlburt's speechwriting collection consists of speeches, drafts, correspondence, and background research. Hurlburt worked as Special Assistant and Speechwriter to President Clinton. Her speechwriting files date from 1999-2001. As a speechwriter, Hurlburt prepared remarks on primarily domestic issues ranging from health care to the Special Olympics to the Mississippi Delta Region to the Kennedy Center Awards. She wrote remarks for policy speeches, radio addresses, commencements, taped video remarks, and award ceremonies or tributes. She also prepared a few speeches for the First Lady, and one undelivered speech for Sandy Berger on the topic of military reform.
Provenance
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Clinton Presidential Records: White House Staff and Office Files
Publisher
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William J. Clinton Presidential Library & Museum
Extent
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128 files in 11 boxes
Text
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Original Format
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Paper
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
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9/7/00 CBC Africa Event [Congressional Black Caucus/UN Africa Event - Remarks]
Creator
An entity primarily responsible for making the resource
Office of Speechwriting
Heather Hurlburt
Identifier
An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context
2008-0700-F
Is Part Of
A related resource in which the described resource is physically or logically included.
Box 10
<a href="http://www.clintonlibrary.gov/assets/Documents/Finding-Aids/2008/2008-0700-F.pdf" target="_blank">Collection Finding Aid</a>
<a href="https://catalog.archives.gov/id/7431953" target="_blank">National Archives Catalog Description</a>
Provenance
A statement of any changes in ownership and custody of the resource since its creation that are significant for its authenticity, integrity, and interpretation. The statement may include a description of any changes successive custodians made to the resource.
Clinton Presidential Records: White House Staff and Office Files
Publisher
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William J. Clinton Presidential Library & Museum
Format
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Adobe Acrobat Document
Medium
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Reproduction-Reference
Date Created
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12/15/2014
Source
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42-t-7431953-20080700F-010-001-2014
7431953