The Politics of the Millennium Development Goals in Africa: Is Global Partnership Really Working?

Sustainable Development Law & Policy Volume 6 Issue 1 Fall 2005: Development Goals & Indicators Article 9 The Politics of the Millennium Development Goals in Africa: Is Global Partnership Really Working? Charles Mutasa Follow this and additional works at: http://digitalcommons.wcl.american.edu/sdlp Part of the Banking and Finance Law Commons, and the International Law Commons Recommended Citation Mutasa, Charles. "The Politics of the Millennium Development Goals in Africa: Is Global Partnership Really Working?" Sustainable Development Law & Policy, Fall 2005, 21-25, 77. This Article is brought to you for free and open access by the Washington College of Law Journals & Law Reviews at Digital Commons @ American University Washington College of Law. It has been accepted for inclusion in Sustainable Development Law & Policy by an authorized administrator of Digital Commons @ American University Washington College of Law. For more information, please contact . THE POLITICS OF THE MILLENNIUM DEVELOPMENT GOALS IN AFRICA: IS GLOBAL PARTNERSHIP REALLY WORKING? S by Charles Mutasa* INTRODUCTION ome five years from the Millennium Declaration we are faced with the inevitable need to reassess the current levels of poverty, the instruments that are in place for tackling poverty, and indeed the constraints that must be resolved. The Millennium Development Goals (“MDGs”) represent an unprecedented commitment by all nations and institutions, including the International Monetary Fund (“IMF”) and the World Bank, to implement and realize the MDG targets that need to be emphasized at all stages. The global ability to realize the MDGs is partly dependent on the financing of such development. Aside from being affirmed as part of Goal Eight in the MDGs, such understanding has also been reaffirmed in the 2002 Monterrey Consensus on enhancing financing for development. MDGs are unique in that they represent the first global compact among the heads of state of developed and developing “Northern governments are guilty of offering empty promises to the poor when it comes to TRADE, AID, AND DEBT RELIEF. While Least Developed Countries face a complex of problems . . .efforts to combat poverty have been systematically undermined by Northern governments. On trade, the industrialized countries have operated a policy of highway robbery masquerading as market access preferences.” – Kelvin Watkins, Oxfam International (2002)1 countries, the United Nations system, the World Bank, and the IMF.2 The Goals have clear targets and achievable time-bound indicators of success, which can galvanize support among citizens and governments alike. Throughout 2005, with ten years remaining until the target year of 2015, civil society organizations, governments, and multilateral institutions will be focused on meeting the Millennium Development Goals. It is often said that global targets are easily set but seldom met, and that for each success story there have been some setbacks. To many, the recent, September 2005 UN MDG+5 review, a summit that evaluated the progress towards the UN Millennium Declaration, was much ado about nothing. Sadly, issues of UN reform, peace and collective security, and human 21 rights and the rule of law overshadowed the MDGs’ review. Deletions of key commitments to the MDGs, including a deletion of the timeframe of 2015, were the order of the day.4 On issues of Official Development Assistance (“ODA”), the developed countries agreed to increase aid by approximately $50 billion a year by 2010.5 This commitment serves to track whether the developed countries will live up to their initial aid commitment level of 0.7 percent of gross national product (“GNP”). No mention, however, was made of the need to replace the much abhorrent Highly Indebted Poor Countries (“HIPC”) debt sustainability framework. BACKGROUND Of particular importance to this article is Goal Eight, a late addition to the MDGs, which outlines Northern governments’ commitment to a global partnership for development. If Goal Eight is ignored, it is hard to imagine the poorest countries achieving any of the other seven Goals. Goal Eight addresses debt cancellation; trade justice; equitable governance in global institutions; and political, social, and economic rights for the “Will the legacy of our generation be more than a series of broken promises?” – Nelson Mandela, (2001)3 poor. These issues are an indispensable foundation for policies that will enable sustained progress to end poverty in the South. It is an important goal for holding developed countries accountable in advancing the MDGs.6 This goal is particularly significant, as it requires richer countries to reform their policies and actions to contribute to the fight against poverty. Developing countries, especially those in sub-Saharan Africa, will not be able to mobilize enough resources to attain the MDGs by 2015 unless there are radical changes in terms of aid administration, international trade, and the resolution of the burgeoning debt crisis.7 One big problem is the conditionality embedded in each country’s Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper (“PRSP”), the center and key to the much needed development aid.8 The poorest countries are required to prepare PRSPs, under the guidance of the World Bank and the IMF, in order to qualify for loans or debt relief. The PRSP itself is not an adequate funding criterion, nor is it an important tool in MDG attainment. The PRSP depends on a country having a Poverty Reduction * Charles Mutasa is Executive Director of the African Forum & Network on Debt & Development (“AFRODAD”). SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT LAW & POLICY and Growth Facility (“PRGF”) program and meeting all the conditions and benchmarks in the PRGF, which are not contained in the PRSP, but instead are hidden in the “Letter of Intent” (which lays out the IMF’s recovery plan) between the government and the IMF.9 Thus, the content of the Letter of Intent is crucial in attaining the MDGs. Unless the MDG targets are also included in the IMF and World Bank instruments, the attainment of MDGs will remain a dream. It is important to note that the global structures that maintain poverty and marginalize the rights of the poorest clearly need reform, but the Northern governments' approaches to the MDGs pay little attention to these major framework issues.The UN should play a strong role in regular monitoring of the donor countries’ progress on attaining Goal Eight. Additionally, the framework for Goal Eight reporting should be revised to include indicators on global governance and participation. While a more equitable trade system is vital, donor ODA, along with substantial debt cancellation, provides the essential, additional financing capacities. This is particularly true for the poorest countries’ progress in reducing and eliminating poverty. Now is the time for the North to honor mutual commitments and obligations in a spirit of genuine solidarity. Such commitments are (...truncated)