Connecting Africa through Political Leadership

Foreword by His Excellency, President Jacob Zuma, President of the Republic of South Africa and PICI Chairperson

Over the past few years it has become apparent that infrastructure is vital to the sustainable development of our continent. The time is now to ensure that we reach our goal of a 7% growth rate per annum through the development of sufficient, solid infrastructure which spans across borders, regions and our continent.

It was for this very reason that, during the 23rd HSGOC meeting in Kampala, Uganda, on 24 July 2010, I proposed that African leaders should identify infrastructure projects of high developmental impact, and champion them. This proposal has since transformed into the PICI, which was endorsed and adopted by the AU Assembly in January 2011 in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.

Africa is seeing a number of infrastructure-related trends emerging – infrastructure investment has quadrupled, exports have increased and its share in foreign direct investment continues to grow. However, we still face extreme economic inequality, compounded by factors such as climate change. For this reason, we need to build on the positive trends that are emerging. Key to this is regional integration and intra-Africa trade, which is facilitated through infrastructure development.

Through the PICI, regional and cross-border infrastructure will be developed to facilitate trade and investment. This initiative should ultimately unlock the economic potential of the continent and provide development opportunities for regions, countries and our people.

As the chairperson of this initiative, I have actively submitted regular progress reports on the PICI projects during the bi-annual HSGOC meetings at the AU Summits. I am delighted by the progress made by all the presidential champions on their respective projects. This certainly testifies to the firm commitment of Africa’s leadership to accelerating infrastructure development through political championing of specific high impact projects.

One of the PICI projects has been fully implemented, another is under construction and all the others are in different stages of implementation. We will continue to take these projects forward to full implementation. I believe that through the PICI, which could serve as the trailblazer for the broader PIDA and other regional and continental infrastructure projects, we are leading the charge in infrastructure development across the continent.

As endorsement of the success of the PICI, the Government of Kenya, under the leadership of His Excellency, President Uhuru Kenyatta, joined the PICI family earlier this year with its Lamu Port Southern Sudan-Ethiopia Transport (LAPSSET) Corridor Project. I welcome President Kenyatta on behalf of all my colleagues. The infrastructure gap in our continent remains large, but with the commitment of our presidential champions, the NEPAD Agency, AUC, RECs, member states, the AfDB, UNECA and the private sector, we will bridge this gap and unlock Africa’s potential.

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Foreword by the Chief Executive Officer, NEPAD Agency, Dr Ibrahim Mayaki

Africa is a continent of opportunity and destination of choice with an unmatched resilience. Despite global economic challenges, the continent has been able to maintain an average GDP of over 5%. Poverty levels are falling, incomes are rising and education and health outcomes are improving. In 2014 Official Development Assistance (ODA) was estimated at USD55.2 billion, which is less than the official remittances of USD67.1 billion. Africa’s political governance has improved since 2000. Elections are increasingly becoming peaceful, and participation of women in political life has increased.

However, Africa’s greatest asset is its people. It is a young continent of over 1 billion people, with more than half of the population under eighteen years of age. It is projected that in 2030 the population will increase to 1.6 billion with about 300 million people classified as middle income.

One of Africa’s greatest challenges is regional infrastructure, and intra-Africa trade. In response to this need for infrastructure development, His Excellency, President Jacob Zuma of the Republic of South Africa, during the 23rd New Partnership for Africa’s Development (NEPAD Agency) Heads of State and Government Orientation Committee (HSGOC) meeting in Kampala, Uganda, on 24 July 2010, proposed that the implementation of regional and continental infrastructure projects be accelerated through political championing. The African Union (AU) leaders agreed with this proposal, and re-emphasised the importance of accelerating regional infrastructure development through committed political leadership, sponsorship and the championing of specific regional infrastructure projects. At this same AU Summit, the study for the Programme for Infrastructure Development for Africa (PIDA) was launched.

The 15th AU Summit adopted the recommendation of the 23rd NEPAD HSGOC meeting to establish the NEPAD High-Level Ad Hoc Subcommittee on Infrastructure comprising eight Heads of State and Government, with South Africa as chair. Other countries include Algeria, Benin, Egypt, Nigeria, Republic of Congo, Rwanda and Senegal. The Subcommittee was tasked with prioritising and consolidating infrastructure projects for high impact and results under this proposal. Consequently, during the 16th AU Summit in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, on 30 January 2011, the Presidential Infrastructure Champion Initiative (PICI), together with its projects and champions, was endorsed and adopted by the AU Assembly.

At the AU Summit in January 2012, PIDA was endorsed by the AU Assembly as the continental framework for infrastructure development from 2012 to 2040. Although the PICI was adopted before PIDA, it is important to note that the PICI is not only a precursor to PIDA, but forms part of the overall PIDA. The success of the PICI will indeed give us assurance that PIDA will be successful and the PICI will also provide a template and learning experience for the implementation of the PIDA projects.

Tremendous progress has been achieved in implementing the PICI projects, and the initiative puts Africa on the right track towards unlocking its potential. The NEPAD Agency, acting as the secretariat and executing agency of the PICI and working closely with the country focal points of the respective states, the African Union Commission (AUC), the RECs, the African Development Bank (AfDB) and the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA), continues to monitor the progress on the implementation of the PICI projects. Regular Technical Task Team (TTT) workshops are being held to monitor the progress of the projects and to provide a platform to share experiences in project implementation.

Today I am proud to say that one of these projects has been fully implemented, another is currently under construction, and all the others have progressed very well. I have no doubt that the NEPAD Agency, together with our partners and political champions will meet the infrastructure challenges of the continent.