Address by the President of the United Republic of Tanzania, His Excellency Benjamin William Mkapa, at the Fifth African-African American Summit, Accra, Ghana, 20th May, 1999

Your Excellency Jerry J. Rawlings,
President of the Republic of Ghana;
Your Excellencies,
Heads of State and Government;
Honourable Rev Dr. Leon H. Sullivan,
Summit Convenor and Chairman;
Honourable Ministers and Mayors;
Distinguished Participants and Guests;
Friends of Africa;
Ladies and Gentlemen.

It has been said:

"No great man lives in vain. The History of the world is but the Biography of great men".

I ask you, Ladies and Gentlemen, to look around you at all these brothers and sisters from the African Diaspora and beyond, and to think of all the organisation that went into bringing together this multitude united in a single goal, for a common purpose. Think of the organisational capacity behind it all. Think of the vision and strategy. Think of the wisdom and dedication. Think of Rev Dr Leon Sullivan!

You will then agree that when the history is written of how Africans and African Americans bonded together to pull Africa out of poverty and on to a path of sustainable prosperity, to give Africa back its dignity, the biography of Rev Dr. Leon Sullivan will be at the heart of that history.

From the First Summit in Abidjan eight years ago these summits have grown in attendance by Heads of State, corporate and political leaders and other participants. They have also grown in the scope and depth of issues addressed. I do not know how you do it, Rev. Sullivan, but I think the drive and energy in that imposing 6 ft. 5 in. frame of yours has something to do with it!

I am truly gratified to be here and be part of this historic and momentous process; and I thank our Chairman and Convenor Rev Sullivan, and our host, President Rawlings, for inviting me. I am sure all guests have enjoyed the traditional Ghanaian warmth and hospitality as my wife and I have; and I join those who spoke before me in thanking you my brother, President Rawlings, and all our Ghanaian brothers and sisters for their welcome, hospitality and the excellent facilities put at our disposal.

Why Are We Here?
Mr. Chairman,
What do we expect to achieve?
This is not the first African-African American Summit, and neither is this the first USA-Africa initiative for partnership. But no initiative has grown in importance, in relevance, and in participation over a short period of time as the one that has brought us to Accra.

We are here because we have, individually and collectively, learnt much from each of the previous four Summits, and as such we have much to build on in partnership.

We are here because we are encouraged by the new political will in the USA government to work with us for a better Africa. But even more importantly we are here because our African American brothers and sisters have shown the willingness to take the lead, championing USA-Africa relations in the coming century and millennium. We are here because we want to be part of the bridge envisioned by Rev Dr Leon Sullivan, a bridge "from America to Africa over which one day we will move from one side to the other and back again".

Africa has much to renounce and denounce in the present century and millennium. Africa has much to aspire and hope for in the new century and millennium. We are here to paraphrase Nelson Mandela and say: Never, never and never again shall this beautiful continent experience again the indignity and humiliation of slavery, of colonialism, of cultural, political and social subjugation and of deprivation.

The new century and millennium must be Africa's new dawn for peace, for freedom, for dignity, for unity in prosperity. This calls for co-operation and partnership between everyone with roots on this continent. The indignity of the poverty of someone in Africa should equally be the indignity of every human being, but more so of every black man and woman. An African proverb says when a naked person walks the streets, it is that person's kith and kin that must feel the shame.

Realities About the Africa of Today
To begin with I should like to deal with a few misconceptions about Africa that might, without reason, discourage those outside the continent who may wish to team up with us for the development of Africa. These misconceptions have their roots in an unfavourable extra-continental press, a press that thinks nothing good can come out of Africa, that Africa is all about civil wars, a continent of dictatorships and closed economies.

I ask you to help fight these generalisations about Africa, generalisations that turn Africa into a single country, ignoring the differences from country to country, region to region. Those who would like to be our partners can identify poles of stability, of new leadership, of new vision, and of investment friendly policies, and from there work towards influencing the rest of the continent in that direction. The solution is not shunning the whole of Africa, but working with those that already stand out as precursors of the Africa of the new century and millennium.

Our hopes for a rapid pan-African political renaissance, for a new era of vibrant multi-party democracy and the resolution of our own conflicts, may not have been met to our full expectations. But the truth is that there is such a renaissance in a substantial number of African countries and regions, and it is sufficient to rekindle our hopes for a better Africa and encourage us in what we seek to do.

The majority of African countries are now democracies, and they continue to improve the institutional and procedural aspects of democracy. Increasingly, transitions from one government to another are occurring without recourse to military coups d'etat or civil strife. In Botswana, the founding President, Sir Seretse Khama was peacefully succeeded by Sir Ketumile Masire who in turn was peacefully succeeded by President Festus Mogae. In Senegal likewise.

In my own country, Tanzania, the founding President, Mwalimu Julius K. Nyerere, of his own free will, retired from the Presidency, paving the way for a smooth and peaceful change of Government to that of President Ali Hassan Mwinyi. I am the Third President of Tanzania having come to power through another smooth and peaceful transition. The three of us, and this is significant in Africa, still live in the same country, with great respect for each other. You should have seen me and my two predecessors in office on Mwalimu's 77th birthday earlier this year riding in the same car, inspecting Mwalimu Nyerere's farm in his home village.

That is the Africa we aspire for in the coming century and to which we must commit ourselves. A smooth transition took place in Djibouti recently and we are looking forward to a similar peaceful transition in Nigeria later this month, in South Africa next month, to mention only a few. Yes, Africa is not all about civil wars, upheavals and coups d'etat.

It is true there have been some unfortunate setbacks. The former President of Guinea-Bissau, Joao Bernardo Vieira, should have been with us here as Chairman of the Summit Presidential Executive Committee. But he was toppled in a military coup a few weeks ago. Recently, there has also been coups d'etat in The Comoros and in Niger. But these are aberrations. The general trend is in the opposite direction.

In all countries that are stabilising politically and elections are held regularly two related developments are emerging. The first is the war on corruption; which in my case was a central pillar of my electoral platform. The second is the improvement of governance and of public management with greater attention being paid to prudent economic, fiscal and monetary policies, as well as the social sector and the development of infrastructure.

Above all a new leadership is emerging on the African continent, bringing with it new vision, new energy, and new perspectives to the challenges of sustainable development, peace and stability, guided by the wisdom of the elder leaders in the true African tradition.

In terms of economic policy, Africa should also not be seen in stereotypical terms. The vast majority of African countries are at different stages of economic reform, the success of which has contributed in a significant way to positive growth rates in the 1990s after the 1980's which were termed a "lost decade" in Africa.

It has become evident that liberal economic policies are essential to sustained high growth rates. These include trade liberalisation; financial sector reform; public enterprise restructuring and privatisation; civil service reform and capacity building as well as regional integration. It is sometimes frustrating to see African governments taking painful and often unpopular measures in implementing these policies, while the outside world pays little attention, let alone coming in to support such measures and make them politically sustainable.

Economic growth in Sub-Saharan Africa reached 3.3% in 1995, 4.5% in 1996 and 4.6% in 1997. The 3.3% growth achieved last year was the highest rate among all regions of the world. About 65% of all countries in Sub-Saharan Africa attained positive growth rates in their economies. According to the forecasts of the Economist Intelligent Unit, only the OECD countries and Sub-Saharan Africa will grow at faster rates than the world average this year. Of the forecast 20 fastest growing countries, 9 are in Africa, 8 of which are in sub-Saharan Africa. These nine are Mauritius, Uganda, Senegal, Cameroon, Côte d'Ivoire, Malawi, Tanzania, Ghana and Egypt. All these will have growth rates in excess of 4.5%. I, therefore, ask you who I consider to be friends of Africa to carry this message with you that the last four years have shown clearly there is now well-founded new hopes for Africa.

Africa is also creating more space for the private sector, making it the driving force behind economic growth and development. This is done not only through economic reform, but also in actively making African countries attractive to private investment. State owned enterprises are being privatised. At least 41 out of the 48 sub-Saharan African countries are involved to various degrees in privatisation programmes.

The total number of privatisation transactions has risen from a pre-1990 cumulative total of 362 transactions to 2718 in 1996, with a combined value of almost $2.8 bi. Over 200 transactions took place in Tanzania.

Having dealt with most of the small and medium sized state-owned enterprises, a few countries, including Tanzania, are now moving on to the privatisation of large utilities such as telecommunications, water, ports, railways, airlines, marine transport, and energy. We are also inviting private sector investment in infrastructure development in roads and bridges, as well as transport and development corridors. We now have more experience in privatisation, and we believe we are in a better position to be more attractive to foreign investors, with better legal and regulatory frameworks assuring fairer competition. Privatisation, without doubt, is widely accepted as a development strategy in Africa. Please carry this message with you.

There is also the misconception that African markets are too small, especially in view of low purchasing power. But as Africa keeps on developing regional economic groupings larger markets are created. A few of the successful examples of regional integration creating larger markets include SADC, COMESA, EAC, and ECOWAS.

It is also clear that Africa is beginning to interest foreign investors, and I believe our continent has all the qualities to become the new frontier for Foreign Direct Investment, a move spearheaded by the privatisation drive. It is true that when South Africa is excluded, FDI to sub-Saharan Africa is only about 1% of all private capital flows to developing countries, and only 3% of total FDI. But the trend may be more important than the current magnitude.

The economic reforms we have embarked upon, and the creation of a better climate for investment, has led to some positive trends. From a negative figure in 1993, net private flows have risen by 75% in 1995 and by 30% in 1996, amounting to $ 11.8 bn. In Tanzania FDI rose by 200% in 1995, and by an estimated 27% in 1996. With your support and advocacy, the trend will continue.

Ladies and Gentlemen,
The final misconception I should like to dispose of relates to return on investment. Contrary to what cynics may say, the return on investment in Africa is generally higher than in other regions, as I am sure major private international investors with a long track record in Africa know. I am glad quite a number of them are here with us today. On average such returns over the last few years were 5% higher than anywhere else. Between 1990 and 1994 rates of return on FDI in Africa averaged 24-31%, compared to 11-18% for all developing countries. African-Americans need, more than anyone else, to know these facts and inform others, and persuade them to invest in Africa.

What Are Our Goals
Ladies and Gentlemen,
Let me now be more specific about the goals we must work towards.

First, we must nurture and develop a strong USA-Africa partnership for sustainable development spearheaded by Africans and African-Americans.

Second, it must be a partnership that must, as soon as possible, pull Africa out of the morass of poverty and deprivation and on to sustainable development.

Third, it must be a partnership led by the private sector, that is both productive and for mutual benefit, and not a partnership borne of dependence or clientism. In other words it must be a partnership that will not make Africa an object of charity, but one that will make Africa a dignified and equal partner in the evolving world trade regime.

Fourth, it must be our goal to develop a partnership that will increase investment and trade, providing jobs and other opportunities for people on both sides of the Atlantic, using the vast natural resources on the African continent for mutual benefit.

Fifth, we must develop a partnership that will help Africa remain Africa, minus the poverty. Africa does not want to lose its rich cultural heritage, its unique history and identity at the alter of globalisation. And this is to our mutual interest and advantage. For, if Africa ceases to be Africa, what would befall African Americans? What will their identity and heritage thrive upon? In addition we call upon you to help us retain ownership and control of our resources, to the benefit of our people and the investors from outside. We want to invite partners, not looters.

Sixth, we must undertake the necessary political and public relations work that needs to be done in Africa as well as in America to bring this work we have set for ourselves to fruition.

Seventh, we have to work together to enhance Africa's capacity for self-development internally, and capacity to be an equal partner in global commerce. Let me now expound for a while on some of these goals.

Political Strategies
There is a lot of political work that we on the African continent have to undertake in order to make this partnership we seek to build succeed, and this is both at the national, regional and continental level.

Within each African country we need to improve our democratic institutions and processes. We must continue to open up politically, guaranteeing greater participation of the civil society and ordinary people not only in politics but also in the entire development process, bringing legitimacy and sustainability to tough economic decisions that need to be made. Our governments must be open and accountable to our people, and periodic free and fair elections are a necessary ingredient of that. Governments so elected must be respected.

Respect for basic human rights and the rule of law are other pre-conditions for peace and stability which in turn is conducive to development, investment and trade. We justified both the political and armed struggles for independence on these grounds. We cannot now, as independent nations, encourage or countenance new forms of discrimination on the basis of religion, tribe, ethnicity, race or gender. We cannot now, as independent nations, close our eyes to human rights abuses within the African continent.

But, having said that, we must distinguish between the fundamentals and the non-fundamentals in democracy. Agreeing to basic and universally accepted democratic principles is one thing, but imposing a value system from one society to another may not be the best thing to do. For, we are different as a result of our history and cultural diversity. To ask African nations to be identical with the nations of other continents is to ignore factors specific to Africa that determine the form and content of the non-fundamental aspects of democracy.

The former British Minister for Overseas Development, Baroness Lynda Chalker, understood this truism well when in 1991, in connection with her demand for democratic governments, she said:

"It is not an attempt to promote Westminster-style democracy. Systems of Government must be appropriate to the social and political structures in individual countries… (t)he democracy we are promoting with our policy is not defined narrowly. There are many forms of accountable, open government and we do not seek a rigid model."

In commending this view, I should like to emphasise that African governments must not feel constrained to fit a particular model of democracy. But they must at the same time recognise that there are certain universally accepted principles of democracy that cannot be compromised.

Africa also has to own its development philosophy, vision, and strategy - both at the political as well as the economic level. At the regional and continental level we also need to continue taking a leading role in conflict prevention, management and resolution. As I speak a lot is being done by African countries themselves to find peaceful solutions to the crises in the Democratic Republic of Congo, in Burundi, and in the war between Ethiopia and Eritrea. In Liberia and Sierra Leone Africans themselves played, and continue to play, a leading role in resolving conflicts and peace-keeping.

Mr. Chairman,
On the part of African Americans, a lot of political work also needs to be done. We now have an Administration that has developed an African policy that genuinely seeks to help Africa. The high point was President Clinton's visit to Africa last year, and the visit of First Lady Hillary Clinton to Africa during which she also came to Tanzania. The Vice-President and many ministers and other senior officials have likewise come to Africa.

But we all know that in the American political system the wishes of the President and his Administration can get stuck in Congress.

It is clear that helpful as they are, high profile visits to Africa and supportive speeches alone will not result in the true partnership we want to build between Africa and the USA. Political symbolism is a good beginning, but it has to be followed by substantive action on the ground. We welcome the visits, and the high-profile conferences on Africa - both in Africa and in the USA. But our people would now want to see action programmes.

President Clinton's six-nation visit to Africa gave the African people great hopes, and we all supported the priorities he outlined, namely:

• To support and nurture African democracy;

• To increase trade and investment with Africa;

• To help integrate Africa into the global economy;

• To assist African nations in preventing armed conflict; and

• To provide assistance to protect the African environment.

We hope for a concrete implementation framework for these goals. I began this speech by trying to remove some misconceptions about Africa. It would be good for the US Administration to remove some misconceptions about its relationship with Africa by producing concrete results in the implementation of these goals. Africans would like to be sure that these stated priorities are a firm basis for action, and not for the appeasement of domestic political actors with an interest in Africa.

This Summit has brought together many of that domestic political constituency with a genuine interest in Africa to Accra. I thank you for what you have done, and what you are continuing to do. But the political work that needs to be done is far from done, and I ask you to keep on at it.

We know that US policy towards Africa is an important concern for many African-American political leaders and individuals. Rev. Jesse Jackson, who I am glad is here with us today, and the Congressional Black Caucus, we thank you very much for what you are doing. The political interest in African policy should be nurtured back to at least the level attained during the anti-apartheid struggle in South Africa.

Investment
Africa, with about 10% of the world's population, produces only 1% of the world's Gross Domestic Product. This clearly calls for more investments in Africa for economic growth and development. Foreign Direct Investment, along with trade liberalisation, is critical to the well-being of the economies of Sub-Saharan Africa.

Given the high population growth in Africa, current growth rates of 5%, even if sustained, will not make a dent in poverty fast enough to see real improvement in our life-time, or to sustain domestic support for reforms. Reforms need to translate into a better life for everyone; and for that to occur we must strive for growth rates of 8-10% in the next few years.

As I pointed out earlier, there has been a new interest in Africa by foreign investors, but the levels of FDI are still far below our expectations and needs. Most African countries, and Tanzania is a typical example, still depend too much on development assistance as our primary source of foreign capital. Between 1990 and 1996 Sub-Saharan Africa received $ 16.3 billion in net private capital inflows, compared to over $ 150 billion that went to China over the same period. Only about 1% of US investments world-wide make their way to Africa, most of it to South Africa and Nigeria. Yet, according to USAID, the rate of return on US investments in Africa was twice that in pre-crisis Asia in 1996, and four times that in Europe.

Now, I know business people are rational people, and the only explanation I can find for this state of affairs is the continued perception of risk in investing in Africa, a perception that often is caused by the misconceptions I addressed earlier in my speech. I truly hope that the addresses my colleagues and I have made here, and the Summit Trade and Investment Exposition that is taking place here, will help to blow away the clouds of trepidation in many Board rooms for investment in Africa.

Let me, while I am on the subject, thank all private individuals, institutions and organisations in the USA that help to promote and assist American investments in Africa. One of these is the Overseas Private Investment Corporation, (OPIC), which I am told in 1996 financed $ 80 million and insured $ 171 million of US investments in Sub-Saharan Africa. The other is the Corporate Council on Africa. Yet another is the Export-Import Bank. To them and all others I say thank you and please keep up with the good work.

I should like in particular to encourage American companies to take part in the privatisation of state owned enterprises in Africa, and especially so in Tanzania. A lot of opportunities exist in agriculture, in ranching, in dairy farming, in paper and pulp, in textiles and manufacturing, in tourism and the hotel industry, as well as in banking and the utilities that are now being privatised including power, telecommunications, ports, airlines, marine transport and railways.

If I may speak specifically about Tanzania, we have certainly addressed all economic and fiscal policy fundamentals. Under a programme support by the IMF and the World Bank we have now a track record of macro-economic stability to the satisfaction of these international financial institutions and all our bilateral donors and creditors.

The legal framework to ensure transparency and a level-playing field is in place, and we are continually improving it in co-operation with the private sector. Investments in Tanzania are fully protected against arbitrary nationalisation and expropriation, and international financial transactions are fully liberalised. We are members of the International Centre for the Settlement of Investment Disputes, and the Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency, (MIGA). Internally, we have established a commercial court specifically to hasten the hearing and disposition of commercial disputes. Recent legislation has introduced protection for intellectual property.

We have some work still to do to improve the infrastructure. But this in itself poses a lot of opportunity for American investments in the privatisation and modernisation of our water, power, telecommunications, roads, bridges and so on. Tanzania being the entrepot for six landlocked countries of Uganda, Rwanda, Burundi, Zambia, Malawi and the Eastern part of the Democratic Republic of Congo provides tremendous opportunities for investment in infrastructure and transit trade.

We are blessed with unparalleled tourist attractions including Mt. Kilimanjaro, the Serengeti, Ngorongoro Crater, Zanzibar, an 880 km unspoilt coastline with pristine beaches, and enormous potential for water sports. Indeed, Tanzania's tourist attractions have been described as unique and unsurpassed in their product mix and content. I truly believe African Americans should take a keener interest in our tourism sector, both as investors as well as tourists. Tourism exchanges will bring us closer. Not many Africans can afford to come to America, but many African-Americans can afford to spend a holiday in Tanzania.

Tanzania is also richly endowed with a wide variety of commercially viable mineral resources, including gold, diamonds, gemstones, iron, coal, nickel, cobalt, uranium, industrial minerals, other base metals and many more. We have large proven reserves of natural gas, and possibly other fossil fuels. As an indication, we have 85 million metric tons of proven iron-ore reserves, and 324 million tons of proven coal reserves. In the Lake Victoria zone alone over 20 million ounces of gold have been ascertained so far and exploration is continuing.

Tanzania is largely an agricultural country. But this is a sector which needs larger investments to make it more productive and profitable. Of the 15.5 million hectares of arable land we are blessed with, only 6.3 million hectares, 40% of the total, is actually used, and not optimally at that.

Trade
The investments we call for will also help to increase trade between Africa and the USA which as of now remains very low. It is low regardless of the fact that over the past few years US exports to Africa have grown faster than those to other countries, twice the growth to other developing countries and four times the growth of exports to OECD countries. I hear that US exports to Africa already exceed by 20% those to all the former Soviet Union combined.

The US market share in Africa is approximately 7%, comparable to Japan's. The European Union, with historical ties with us enjoys a 30% market share. But these are colonial ties. With America, Africa has cultural ties which are stronger bonds that should provide the impetus for increased trade and investment. Africa should also be able to export more to the USA than oil, which as of now accounts for 70% of the trade, and minerals.

Africa needs a chance and help to break away from aid-dependency into growth determined by investment and trade. But that cannot happen if major markets such as the USA find it so difficult to give Africa a break, as you Americans would say. Opposition to Government efforts to increase African exports to the US are a case in point. I am told that one of the stumbling blocks to the African Growth and Opportunity Act in the Senate is the proposal to remove tariff and quota restrictions on African textiles, restrictions which in any case will have to be removed in 2005 under the Multi-Fibre Agreement.

But I am told the proposal that would have given Africa a head start has met strong opposition from the US textile lobby even though the provision would have only a minimal impact on US-African trade prospects. An independent analysis of the effect of textile liberalisation by the International Trade Commission suggests that fewer than 700 jobs would be put in jeopardy if the House of Representatives version of the Africa Trade Bill was to be implemented. Be that as it may, I ask all African-Americans to continue portraying a better image of Africa to encourage trade and investment. And in this respect I thank Rev Dr Leon Sullivan once more for his personal efforts.

The Role of Aid
As I pointed out, Africa does not want to enter the 21st century as an object of charity, but as an equal partner in the emerging new world investment and trade regime. But, in the short and medium term aid will be needed not as an end in itself, but as a catalyst and a necessary requirement in creating a conducive environment for private sector participation in investment and trade.

Foreign Direct Investment cannot, in the short and medium term, be a substitute for aid. Aid has to prepare the way for FDI. There are many problems that investors encounter that can only be removed through development and technical assistance. These include weak institutional capacity, weak or non-existent capital markets, competition policy, capacity building, corruption, judicial reform, governance, and the overarching need to invest in people through education, health, and the advancement of gender equality. Investment in human capital was crucial to Asia's success. Africa too must invest in human resource development, and this requires development assistance.

Good infrastructure is also needed for rapid growth. There is room for private sector participation in the development of infrastructure, but at our level of development there are only a few areas where it can be profitable for the private sector to invest. For the time being aid is required to put up the infrastructure needed to attract and facilitate investment and trade until the economy picks up to a level where private sector built infrastructure can be profitable. It has been estimated that in the next ten years some $ 17 billion will be needed for this.

It is also politically difficult to pursue macro-economic stability against a background of competing social demands, or when poverty is rife. And these areas will continue to need aid.

Unfortunately the development assistance budget allocation is falling in most countries, and the US is no exception. It is said that in real terms, the Administration's request for bilateral aid to Africa for 1999 is almost 50% below the 1994 appropriation. Overall, development assistance has fallen steadily to an unprecedented low of about 0.22% of GNP, far below the UN target of 0.7%.

It is also important that more aid goes to de-bottlenecking those problems that prevent African growth and development, as well as promoting investment and trade. Disaster relief is very important, yes, but we need aid on a long-term basis, the kind of aid that can help us solve structural problems, problems of human resources development, and problems related to infrastructure. It is also important that foreign aid is not used as a foreign policy tool, but as a tool for socio-economic development, and for developing a sustainable internal capacity to fight poverty and promote growth in dignity.

The Role of Debt Relief
Let me at this point thank Rev. Jesse Jackson for the initiative he took in January to introduce the African Human Rights, Opportunity, Partnership and Empowerment (HOPE) Act aimed at among other things reducing Africa's debt burden, increasing foreign development assistance to the region, and providing duty-free access to the US market in respect of African products.

I am also glad that President Clinton is likewise well-disposed to new measures for debt relief for poor countries. The debt burden is a veritable obstacle to the development of Africa. Without debt relief all we are producing will end up servicing our debt rather than building the capacity to fight poverty. For the first time ever there is building up a wide consensus on the need to do something about this debt and we look forward to the deliberations and conclusion of the G8 Summit in Cologne, Germany, next month.

The proposals to enable highly indebted poor countries to obtain debt relief within a shorter time frame than currently provided for - in three years rather than six - and also to benefit from cancellations of debt in extenuating circumstances under the auspices of the Paris Club are encouraging and call for vigorous, concerted support. The thresholds for debt sustainability also need to be reviewed following the experiences of Uganda and Mozambique which have already attained debt relief under the HIPC initiative but whose debt burdens remain high. It is distressing to hear that proposals for debt relief by President Clinton have met with some resistance in the US Congress.

I am not sure if people who object really appreciate the gravity of the situation. I will give an example. In Tanzania we have a per capita debt of almost $ 270, against a per capita income of only $ 220. Can you imagine a situation where the national external debt exceeds GDP by a ratio of 8 to 7? Not even the entire national income in one year is sufficient to clear our debt! Almost a third of our domestic revenues goes to service only a part of our debt. As a result we spend more on debt service than on health, education, water and sanitation combined. In Tanzania we are now looking for financial support for a 5 year Education Sector Reform and Development programme which costs $ 640 million, an amount that is only 8% of our total foreign debt, but which we are unable to raise on our own partly because of the debt burden.

Let us remind ourselves that Africa's debt burden is not totally of Africa's own making. No creditor would give a loan without a feasibility study attesting to the profitability of the project, for which a loan is sought. If the lender is satisfied with the profitability of a project why should the blame for failure be borne by the borrower alone. If the loan is given on the assumption that conditions will allow a rate of growth required to make debt service payable, we should not be held solely responsible for failure. Debt relief is both a humanitarian consideration, and a shared responsibility for bad debts. If business people can write off bad debts, why not when the borrower is a government?

Mr. Chairman,
This meeting should come out with a resounding call to the G8 countries when they meet in Cologne next month to cancel the debts of all Highly Indebted Poor Countries. There is a time for everything and the time to deal with the problem of debt for the world's poorest countries is now. There could not be a better time to give these countries a clean slate with which to begin the new century and millennium.

The international mood is generally supportive. Encouraging proposals have come from the British, American French, German and Canadian Governments. The World Bank and the IMF likewise have agreed that something needs to be done. Previous piece meal solutions and initiatives for debt relief have not solved the problem as shown by the World Bank's own report, Global Development Finance 1999, released last month.

The report, as analysed by Jubilee 2000 Coalition, shows five key new developments that make debt cancellation for the poorest countries more urgent than ever.

• First, repayments to the IMF resulted in a net outflow of $1 billion from Africa in 1997 and 1998, reversing the trend of the last five years.
  

• Second, developing countries paid back $13 for every $1 they received in grants in 1998, up from $9 in 1996. In 1998, sub-Saharan Africa paid $1.41 to creditors for every $1 received in grants, up from $1.36 in 1997 and $1.38 in 1996.

• Third, commodity prices have plunged, crippling the poorest countries' ability to repay foreign debts.

• Fourth, grants to developing countries went down from $35 billion in 1991 to $ 23 billion in 1998 - including a $ 2.8 billion (11 per cent) fall in the last year.

• Fifth, despite borrowing less than they paid back in 1998, total debt in developing countries rose again - by $ 150 billion to a new total of almost $ 2.5 trillion. This is the debt trap in which we find ourselves.

As the Jubilee 2000 Coalition correctly pointed out, the G8, the IMF and the World Bank need to accept that what is needed now is not just more rescheduling, or a little more debt cancelled, or a few more countries included, or a slightly faster timetable adopted. There is a veritable need for a major step, to set behind us once and for all the burden of unpayable debt as we enter the new millennium.

Capacity Building
Another important area where African-Americans can help Africa is in capacity building, especially in terms of human resources, skills, and science and technology. The Summit brochure carries Rev Leon Sullivan's quotation that, "The time is not far off when black technicians, artisans and craftsmen will help to mould a flourishing Africa into a new greatness". I am sure they can, not only by moulding Africa but also by training African technicians, artisans and craftsmen, passing on their knowledge and skills to them, to mould a new Africa for a new millennium.

Apart from the increasing wealth gap between the continent and the developed industrialised countries, the greatest threat is the increasing knowledge gap. But with the support from rich countries, and in this case from African-Americans, it is a gap that can be much more easily filled than the wealth gap. The new developments in science and technology can enable Africa jump several generations of knowledge, skills and technology to be equal partners with rich countries. Given the opportunity, an African child stands the chance to do as well as an American child. Help us to give as many African children as possible, young men and women, the chance to do as well as their peers elsewhere.

I am glad Education is one of the themes of this Summit. I hope the workshop participants on Education will build on earlier initiatives taken such as the Teacher for Africa Programme, The Educators for Africa Programme, and the SOS (Supporters of Sub-Saharan Africa) Campaign to Help the Children of Africa. All the issues that will be discussed under this theme are relevant and pressing, and I wish those that will discuss them great success.

Conclusion
Ladies and Gentlemen,
In conclusion let me recap what I have said here today:

• I hail the initiative of Rev Dr Leon Sullivan and express our full support for it;

• I consider the objectives of this Summit to include development of a new partnership for development between the African Diaspora, and between Africa and the USA;

• I stress the need for African-Americans to take the lead in these efforts;

• I call for debt relief, including debt cancellation for the poorest countries, and for continued aid - not simply as charity but as a long-term investment in creating a conducive climate for private-sector led growth in Africa;

• I ask that more attention be given to capacity building in terms of human resources development through education, training and technical assistance; and,

• I exhort both African governments and African Americans to do the necessary political work on each side of the Atlantic so that the bridge envisaged by Rev Dr. Sullivan may become a reality in our time.

The time to do these things is now; let us work together to realise these aspirations. For, if we all agree that Africa is a continent of enormous potential; and if we agree that Africa is indeed the last investment frontier, somebody must work to make Africa realise its potential. That somebody is Africa itself, and Africa's principal partner must be African-Americans and all those whose heritage has roots in this giant that is awakening. Africa must be helped to stand up tall and dignified as we enter the 21st century and the third millennium. The chance of our lifetime is upon us; the time is right to do what is right!

Thank you for your attention.