Essay Example on Africans have continued to struggle and hope for a better life

It could be said that despite all the attempts to change the situation Africans have continued to struggle and hope for a better life even under the most difficult conditions Hence the need for NEPAD NEPAD formerly known as New Africa Initiative NAI was a merger of two processes which are the Millennium Africa Recovery Plan MAP and the Omega Plan The MAP originated from the attendance at the G8 meeting in Okinawa Japan in July 2000 of Presidents Mbeki South Africa Obasanjo Nigeria and Bouteflika Algeria Chairpersons at the time of the NAM the G77 and the OAU respectively Following the Okinawa meeting in Japan OAU requested the three leaders to draft a development plan for the continent At the World Economic Forum in Davos in January 2001 Presidents Mbeki and Obasanjo with other African presidents presented an outline during the session on Africa Background to the Study Over the years economic growth in Africa have scientifically lagged behind population growth The mortality rate among children under 5 years is 140 per 100 and life expectancy is only 54 years There is illiteracy rate of over 40 for people above 15 years in addition to widespread unemployment and under employment both in cities and rural areas 

The NEPAD conceptual framework for redevelopment and positing favorable economic growth rate in Africa is a merger of two separate and earlier initiatives by Thabo Mbeki South African president and Abdoulaiye Wade Senegalese president The millenuim and Omega plans The merger of the two plans gave birth to the NEPAD programmes of action and vision by African leaders to champion the course of Africa s economy recovery The synthesis of these precious plans gave birth to a blue print and policy actions to address the key social economic and political problems besieging Africa The NEPAD initiative has a policy focus that seeks to promote coherence and balance among African countries to ensure goal attainment on one hand and peer review mechanics on the other The action plan is also predicated on a strong commitment by African leaders to integrate African economics as well as fully integrate itself in the global economy as an important and strategic player NEPPAD is not by all measure wholesomely an African project It is to work in partnership with advanced economies of the West prompting the representation of every member of the group of eight industrialized nations of the world 98 in the steering committee of NEPAD headed by Olusegun Obansanjo of Nigeria The architects of NEPAD took time off the Euphoria of the expected success of the new initiative to reflect on the monumental failures of past initiatives to accelerate development in Africa due to a variety of reasons 

The reasons which ranged from persistent aimed conflicts political instability widespread corruption questionable management and poor leadership Meanwhile the skeptics have posed an argument that no matter how good NEPAD appear at least on the plane of analysis it was bound to have problems at the stage of implementations Other arising unresolved questions about NEPAD which this study will try to established is the ownership questions as well as the allegation from the gender sensitivity school against the action plan as lacking vital information against the action plan as lacking vital elements of gender sensitive in addition to the faulting of the initiative as just a doing of the failed initiative in the past and lacked any new ideas The optimists holds the potency of a new beginning for Africa at least it will provide a common platform to engage the rest of the world in dynamic partnership including that it holds the prospects of creating a better improved life for all Africans These contentious of investigations of this study Problem Statement African societies are indeed classified as marginally backward low level of development and underdevelopment 

The stark realities of underdevelopment in Africa was fully appreciated when it emerged from the iron clears of colonial rule Development conceptualization here as the improvement of the qualitative living standard of the people were lacking till date in all ramifications As a result issues of development has dominated contemporary discuss in politics and intellectual realm In the face of the growing concern for African problems the new crop of African leaders in the 21st century had to take African s destine in their hands this led to the NEPAD initiative Objective of Study This study shares in the most important objective of contributing to available knowledge on the NEPAD initiative But has a special interest in the following area which it intends to establish 1 Make a critical examination of the term NEPAD with a view to ascertaining its historical development and policy thrust 2 Analyze the problematic areas of NEPAD and challenges to the domestic initiative 3 And make a careful review of the prospects as well valuable recommendations on how to achieve hitch free implementation of the action plan Research Questions This study will seek to determine the answers to the following research questions 1 How can NEPAD initiative serve as a roadmap to the solution of African Underdevelopment crisis 2 How realistic is the objectives of the action plan 3 What are the challenges of NEPAD