EDITORIAL COMMENT: Time for Africa to wean self from donor syndrome

The issue of The African Union providing the bulk of the funding for its programmes as opposed to depending on Western donors once again came to the fore this week at the 25th Session of the union’s assembly which ended yesterday at Sandton International Convention Centre in South Africa.

Speaking at a fundraising dinner for the African Union Foundation on Saturday, President Robert Mugabe who is also the union chairman, once again warned Africa against over-reliance on external partners whose donations come with strings attached. President Mugabe, who pledged 300 head of cattle towards the foundation, said it was about time African depended on itself.

“There is need for Africa to spearhead the process of mobilising domestic resources so as to finance its programmes and institutions as part of the continental self-reliance.”

He said the continent should desist from relying on partners in funding its flagship projects and could not continue to give birth to projects for others to finance. Cde Mugabe, who is also the Sadc chairman, said he acknowledged the need to cooperate with partners as the continent implemented Agenda 2063 but said the continent could not beg for every project. “If we beg for every project, the partners will remind us of the painful truth that who ‘pays the piper calls the tune’,” he said.

Cde Mugabe said the fund was deliberately created for the purposes of collaborating with the private sector, philanthropists, individuals and the Dispora to solicit donations and seek voluntary contributions towards financing of Africa’s development priorities in pursuit of Agenda 2063.

The foundation seeks among others, development of skills and human resources on the continent, women empowerment, gender equality and to promote integration and management diversity, youth development and entrepreneurship, advocacy and support of the African Union. Several African leaders who attended the dinner collectively pledged millions of dollars for the foundation. This is as it should be.

We want to commend African Union Commission chairperson Dr Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma and her team for organising the fund-raising dinner but we need to quickly point out that this is an ad hoc arrangement which is therefore not sustainable. The Fund should have permanent and reliable sources of income if Africa is to fund its flagship projects. It should start with member states meeting their obligations to pay contributions.

A number of countries are said to be in arrears and it is time member states prioritise contributions to the union. Each and every African government should be committed to ensuring contributions are paid on time to the union to enable it to meet its financial obligations as opposed to depending on the donors as is the case now.

Cde Mugabe should not be a lone voice in the wilderness calling on Africa to be weaned from this donor dependency syndrome. It is a fact that Africa is endowed with rich natural resources but as long as donors call the shots, the exploitation of these resources will continue to benefit the donor countries.

It is important for African leaders to start working on the programme to wean the continent from donor dependency dependency before it is too late.