MINEPAT boss, Emmanuel Nganou Djoumessi, represented President Paul Biya at the Fifth Tokyo International Conference on Africa which began on June 1.
Curtains of the fifth edition of the International Conference on African Development (TICAD V) opened at the historic and port city of Yokohama, Japan with the announcement of a multibillion package of Japan’s assistance to Africa within the next five years. Shinzo Abe, Japan’s Prime Minister, in his key note address of conference delegates, stated inter alia that his country will be disbursing 32 billion US dollars (about FCFA 16,000 billion) for the development of Africa. This amount which indicates a significant increase of 28 billion US dollars (FCFA 14,000 billion) from the four billion dollars offered during TICAD IV includes 14 billion dollars (FCFA 7,000 billion) of Official Development Assistance (ODA).
The five-year assistance; execution of which runs from 2013 through 2017, is expected to hinge on development areas such as boosting economic growth, accelerating infrastructure and capacity development, empowering farmers as mainstream economic actors, promoting sustainable and resilient growth and creating an inclusive society for growth. The choice of these areas of interest was driven by the responses Japan obtained from most of the African nations ahead of the conference. In concrete terms, the package will be directed to activities in trade and investment including capacity building of 300 people in 20 countries on One Stop Border Post and regional trade. About 6.2 billion US dollars will be dished out for infrastructure where ten strategic master plans for urban transportation and planning will be developed. The World’s third economic power will equally be training 30,000 people on business and industry and launching the “African Business Education Initiative for Youths, code name Abe Initiative” with the aim of inviting 1,000 youths to Japan, providing opportunities for competent African youths to study in Japan and in Japanese firms through the public-private partnership and building networks among the alumni to foster future leaders for business between Japan and Africa.
Continent’s New Challenges
Speaker upon speaker at the Pacifico Hall where deliberations are taking place hammered on what appears to be new challenges for Africa’s development even though some of these challenges may have existed and even been long overdue. Agriculture, food security, climate change and disasters, education, health, water supply and urban management were some of the issues that threaded through presentations. While the Japanese Premier underscored the importance of empowering women to take up agriculture and the need to provide them with the necessary tools and techniques, Nkosazana Dlamini Zuma, Chairperson of the African Union Commission hinted that there are already 52 cities in Africa with more than one million inhabitants. “By 2030, 50 per cent of Africans will be living in cities and the working age population will reach 1.1 billion by 2040”, she said , stating that the continent’s population will hit two billion by 2050. The AU official told participants that Africa’s greatest potential is much more of its population and advised that the greatest investment should rather concentrate on it. “Our top priority is to invest in people through education and skills as well as ensure health care and food security to them”, she said.
The Yokohamma confab is witnessing the participation of 39 Heads of States and governments including Ban Ki Moon, Un Secretary General, Jim Yong Kim, World Bank Group President, and Helen Clark UNDP Administrator and Chair of the UN Development Group. Cameroon’s Head of State, Paul Biya was represented by the Minister of the Economy, Planning and Regional Development (MINEPAT), Emmanuel Nganou Djoumessi. It is taking place under the double significance of 20 years of the TICAD process and 50 years of OAU/AU.
