Kofi Annan's Lecture @ Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy, 26 Feb 2010

Earlier in Feb, I had the opportunity to attend a talk by Prof Kofi Annan, the ex-Secretary General of the UN. His talk was largely on how the march towards modernity has spread from Europe to Asia, and how Asia can contribute it's spread to Africa, not for the sake of modernisation for modernisation's sake, but for the purpose of uplifting the lives  of the poor and destitute in the process of economic growth. I was just really excited by the vision he casted: that one day, Asia who was once helped by Europe, would now help Africa in her development; that Asia will look beyond her shores and own needs to help now another continent that is in greater need. Asia for Africa! :)

 

 

Short of the above, I really havent' had time to summarise and tidy my thoughts and notes, but i decided to just put down here what I heard directly for those who might be interested to know some of the things he shared.

 

Enjoy!

 

 

Funny Anecdotes

 

Blowing Cover

After Kofi Annan stepped down as Secretary-General of the UN, he decided to take a break with his wife in a small town place in Italy. During which, they had tried to keep as low a profile as possible. Finally, after six weeks of non-communication with the outside world .ie. no TV, radio communications etc, they decided to head down to a supermarket or family store in the town.

Immediately 1 person started rushing towards him and in his mind he thought ‘Oh no, there goes our peace and quiet, our cover has been blown”. The man stuck out his hand and said excitedly “Nice to meet you Mr Morgan Freeman, can I have your autograph please?”

Kofi Annan obliged and signed off as ‘K. Freeman.’ He was relieved his cover was not blown.

Efficiency

While serving as Sec-General, Kofi Annan had been criticised by reporters and other agencies has taking too long to reform the UN after 6 weeks of the start of the reform exercises (if you know anything about reform exercises, 6 weeks is nothing!!!!). Kofi Annan promptly apologized to the Assembly for the lack of speed and one person in the audience spoke in jest (I’m paraphrasing):

“ Kofi, you have no excuse. If God could create the world in 7 days, 6 weeks is plenty of time.”

“Ah, but you see, God had a unique advantage -  He got to work ALONE." (Kofi Annan has to work with the Security Council and General Assembly)

 

Lessons for Africa from the Success of Asia and Partnership with Each other

Before we continue with the discussion let’s highlight a few guiding principles as we make the comparisons:

Challenges in policy transfer from Asia to Africa

-          Be careful of unhelpful generalisations between the 2 regions

o   Africa and Asia differ according to history, political culture and geographical constraints

o   Not every country in Afirca has struggled. Likewise, not every country in Asia has succeeded like Singapore,S. Korea eg. Botswana vs Myanmar

-          We need to recognize that there is diversity, even amongst the region.

o   Hence economic growth strategies  that worked for Asia eg. Export orientation may not work for Africa. In fact, within Asia itself, there are many differet strategies applied.

 

Role of the State

-          In Africa, the rule of the state has become to some people, the state of the rulers – building an elite group of people who runs a nation to their benefit

-          The government around the world must not forget that the role of the state is to serve the people, not the rulers.

-          The purpose of economic development is to improve the lives of the masses and the lift the poor out of poverty – hence the state must look at how to create jobs, increase education, improve infrastructure and modernize agriculture

-          In recent years, (in reference to the financial crisis), there has never been a greater demonstration of a place for the role of the state vs free market forces. The state must come in to ensure that market forces to benefit society, the state must come in.

-          Don’t underestimate the importance of agricultural productivity in the growth of a nation. If the government wants to ensure economic growth and productivity, it has to ensure it’s people are fed. Only when governments address the needs and aspirations of people, can a country progress.

-          Governments need to make sure that they don’t spend the bulk of their 4 year term campaigning for their next term and only spend 18 months of their term in productive work for the nation.

 

 

Challenges Faced by Africa vs Asia

Africa policy makers now face challenges and barriers to growth that Asia policy makers did not have during their development

 

- There is now a limit to the export orientation growth strategy due to current WTO regulations that hinder them from adopting such a strategy

- the legacy of shadow markets undermines the rule of the law

- Infrastructural barriers and high transportation costs: this makes it cheaper for some African nations to transport their goods to Europe than to a neighbouring African city

- existing pervasive corruption: trust in ruling elite is weak and there are plenty of loopholes in systems of governance

 

 

Criteria for Successful National Growth

• Accountability mechanisms are essential
• Benefits to the economy must spread equitably – this is only possible where there’s free press and a strong civil socity
• Clear commitment to human rights and rule of law
• -          human rights is not a rich man’s luxury or an external imposition upon a trounty
• -          only when the rights of all are respected and protected , including the minorities can there be stability in a country
• -          democracy is meant to protect the rights of the minorities.
• What’s needed for Africa
• -          Regional integration: the nations in Africa need to work with each other to overcome diseconomies of scale. With the highly fragmented markets existing, increased political and economic cooperation will help in improving access to economies for the people
• -          How we can prosper together with our neighbours instead of trying to be on the defensive or offensive with our neighbours.
• -          Devise balanced economic policies that will tap and release the many creative energies that are already within the African population
• -          Investment in infrastructure and education for both genders
• -          Attract foreign direct investment

All the above could be expedited with support from Asia and other nations

 

Asia’s possible role in Africa’s growth

-          Political support to help them overcome trade constraints they face and speak up for Africa

-          Becoming an export market for Africa

-          Ensure that partnerships are mutually beneficial

-          Share experiences through capacity building, especially in the agricultural sector