Priming Africa’s Political
&
Structural Transformation via South-South
Partnership
Public Lecture - RL Vol. XII No 297 MMXVIII
Costantinos Berhutesfa Costantinos, PhD
Professor
of Public Policy & Sustainable Institutional Reforms
Summary
The Forum on China-Africa Cooperation Summit ushers
in a new stage of the South-South cooperation. The friendship between China and
Africa has been persistently built on the shared destiny that can be traced to
the common past and mutual support during their struggle for political
independence. Such a South-South Cooperation between China and Africa is resolute
to move forward to an even stronger community in the 21st century. The
Belt and Road Initiative coming from the China, a developing nation in its own
right, and a great rising power, is a welcome opportunity for Africa to emulate
China’s development. China has lifted hundreds of millions out of poverty. The Chinese
leadership needs advance the cooperation with Africa within the coordinated and
transparent framework of, the UN 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, the
African Union's Agenda 2063 and individual countries' development plans.
True, the investment in African
infrastructure and services are creating new jobs, opportunities, and opening
up new trading routes to boost bilateral trade further, which has averaged
annual growth of around 30% since 2008. The solidarity aims at the
win-win cooperation and reciprocal benefits. Since the 2000 when the FOCAC was
first established, it has served as the key platform for the collective
dialogue and cooperation between the two sides. China's President Xi Jinping
delivered a keynote speech ‘Work Together for Common Development and a Shared
Future.’ Proposing that over the next three years and beyond, China will
implement eight major initiatives in fields such as industrial development,
infrastructure connectivity, trade facilitation, green development, capacity
building, health care, people-to-people exchanges, peace, and security in order
to bring the futures of China and Africa closer together.
China-Africa partnership in structural transformation is
an important input in production and there is a close link between
infrastructure, economic growth and consumption. Primarily the China-Africa
partnership can focus on building rules and institutions, leadership development, executive
(government) accountability and priming governing institutions, the administration and civil service.
Moreover, the partnership can focus on developing oversight and regulation of
state institutions, removal of obstacles for the development of a vibrant
private sector and progress against corruption and the upholding of the rule of
law and the spirit of tolerance. These will in turn support human security and
development that is visibly missing on the partnership.
Key
words: China-Africa partnership, human security & development, structural transformation
