*****************************************************************

AAM - AWA Family Picnic: Saturday, July 15 @ Elver Park

AFRICA FEST 2006: Saturday, August 26 @ Warner Park

Join African Association of Madison, Inc. for $25 per year

Mail check to; AAM, PO Box 1016, Madison, WI 53701,
608-258-0261,     [log in to unmask],
www.AfricanAssociation.org

*****************************************************************

Why Africa Is Under-developed, By Clinton
THISDAY online, By Constance Ikokwu and Funmi Peter-Omale in Abuja, 07.18.2006 
Former President of the United States of America, Mr. Bill Clinton, yesterday in Abuja, dispelled the common notion that lack of growth in developing nations was caused by corruption, saying “too little capacity” is responsible for problems in the third world.
Clinton, who spoke at the opening luncheon of the Leon H. Sullivan Summit VII at the Presidential Villa, Aso Rock Abuja, said developing nations were thus faced with the challenge of building a system that would give people the opportunity to excel and also reward hard work. 
He said inequality in the world only rests in the distribution of opportunities, the reason why African countries should strive to build a system that solves that problem.
“All this time, we say there is too much corruption in the developing world, what is there too little capacity. This creates a vacuum where all sorts of bad things happen. People need an organised way to pursue their objectives,” he said.
Clinton, who received a thunderous applause after making the statement, went further to point out that intelligence, ability and effort is evenly distributed in all parts of the world but that investments and an organised system is only achieved through a thoughtful planning by the government. 
He stated that the whole idea about the Sullivan principles is the maximisation of talents and to help people achieve their dreams.
“I am convinced that the number one challenge today in Africa is building the systematic capacity that would enable people who live here to make their own future. One thing I have learnt in all the places that I have been all over the world is that intelligence, ability and effort are evenly distributed. But investment, opportunity, effective system are not”, he said.
He said the “miracle economies of Asia” did not come about only as a result of intelligence and hard work but also because of a system that will reward people’s efforts and intelligence. 
The former US President who has been to Nigeria three times since leaving the White House praised President Olusegun Obasanjo and former Minister of Finance, now Foreign Affairs Minister, Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala  for the great work he says they have done for the country.
Meanwhile, Nigeria has signed a deal with the Clinton Foundation to facilitate the supply of affordable and high-quality drugs to fight the deadly HIV/AIDS epidemic in the country.
Though accurate health statistics are elusive, experts estimate that between 3.5 million and five million people here have contracted the HIV virus which leads to AIDS and that the number is increasing rapidly.
The signing of a memorandum of understanding in Abuja yesterday was witnessed by President Olusegun Obasanjo and Clinton and Minister of Health, Prof. Eyitayo Lambo signed for Nigeria, Ira Magaziner signed for the Foundation.
Under the deal, Nigeria will be included in the Foundation's procurement consortium and benefit from its negotiated supplier agreements to reduce the prices of HIV/AIDS drugs.
Under the deal, the Clinton Foundation will also assist Nigeria in expanding access to pediatric HIV/AIDS care and treatment by facilitating access to pediatric anti-retrovirial drugs and providing technical assistance.
The Foundation will help the country mobilise financial resources from donor governments, other foundations, multilateral organisations, private corporations and individuals and fund HIV/AIDS interventions.
Clinton at the event also called for concerted efforts to fight AIDS saying "We cannot stop the spread of AIDS without building the capacity of governments, without NGOs working with governments. My contribution is basically to give the least expensive high-quality AIDS medicine in the world to children and adults.”
But Nigeria and other African countries are most unlikely to meet the 2015 target for attaining the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs).
Minister of Foreign Affairs, Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala stated this yesterday in Abuja while presenting a paper on "Financing and Investing in Africa's Private Sector" at the on-going Sullivan Summit VII.
The Minister noted that over the years, there had been an improvement in the macroeconomic environment, business climate and good governance, but lamented that human development indicators in most African countries have shown little improvement.
She said, "Infact, with less than a decade to 2015, it appears most African countries are unlikely to meet any of their MDG targets. The missing link here is that we have not been able to translate our improved economic and political environment into measurable developments of the real sectors of our economies so that jobs can be created for our youths and poverty cut in half."
The Foreign Minister said compared with other regions, Africa's share of global FDI at about 6-7 percent is still very low. 
"In 2005, when sub-saharan Africa received $17.6 billion in FDI, other regions performed much better, with East Asia attracting about $65.3 billion, Latin America and the Caribbean receiving about $61.4 billion", she said.
Okonjo-Iweala stressed that "developing the real sectors of the economy is needed to create employment, and also to improve the incomes and livelihoods of our citizens. The lack of adequate investments in Africa, is also surprising given the high rates of return obtained by foreign investors. Research by UNCTAD examined foreign direct investments in the 1990s, and concluded that the African region provided some of the highest rates of return of about 29 percent. Infact for Nigeria, the average rate of return on private investment in the economy is 35 percent."

*** Send email to the list: [log in to unmask] ***
*** Access AAM list archives: http://listserv.icors.org/archives/AAM.html ***