ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL COUNCIL HOLDS ROUND TABLE ON INFRASTRUCTURE NEEDS IN AFRICAN COUNTRIES

ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL COUNCIL HOLDS ROUND TABLE

ON INFRASTRUCTURE NEEDS IN AFRICAN COUNTRIES

GENEVA, 16 July (UN Information Service) -- The Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) this afternoon continued its high-level segment on the role of the United Nations system in supporting the efforts of African countries to achieve sustainable development and held a round table on infrastructure needs in African countries.

The panellists were Pekka Tarjanne, former Secretary-General of the International Telecommunications Union (ITU); Landing Savane, Ministre d'Artisanat et Industrie of Senegal; François de Laage de Meux, Président du Conseil, Société du Louvre and Chairman of the International Chamber of Commerce of France; and Dominique Dupont, Vice-President, Regional Manager (West and Central Africa, Maghreb, Middle East and Central Asia), Nestlé.

Mr. Tarjanne said that it was important for the African renaissance that the technological infrastructure be developed, starting with communications; it was impossible to have access to health, education, water or food without the proper development of communications.

Mr. Savane was of the opinion that a progressive liberalization of the economy in African countries had allowed the financing of infrastructures by the private sector; however, there was no consensus on a situation where 100 per cent of the public sector was in the hands of the private sector.

Mr. Dupont wondered why companies in Europe were afraid to invest in Africa; he said there should be trust in African countries; he underlined that more work should be done instead of talking; and European business circles should put more trust in African countries as they did in other continents, such as Latin America or Asia.

And Mr. de Laage de Meux said that globalization should not scare people, but rather humanized; the spirit of cooperation should be developed and people should invest in infrastructure in order to create the necessary conditions for development.

During the discussion, the need for education and good governance was underlined by several speakers.  The need to get rid of corruption was also

emphasized, and it was said that the developing countries should strengthen legislation designed to combat corruption.

Statements by Panellists

PEKKA TARJANNE, former Secretary-General of the International Telecommunications Union (ITU), said that without infrastructure, it was impossible to develop a sound development plan.  The attraction of investment depended on the extent of the infrastructure.  It was important for the African renaissance that the technological infrastructure be developed, starting with communications.  It was impossible to have access to health, education, water or food without the proper development of communications.  The world was living in a situation different than before; there was an atmosphere, as demonstrated in the recent African Summit held in Lusaka, Zambia, that without the information and communications technology, there would be no real development.

LANDING SAVANE, Ministre d'Artisanat et Industrie of Senegal, said that in the past, the financing of infrastructure had been a public sector and areas of the construction of highways, bridges and airports were government monopolies.  Although they were "a must" to the development of any country, with the passage of time, the financial partners had been asking African countries to rethink the financing of such projects, particularly in conjunction with the growing burden of external debt.  A progressive liberalization of the economy had allowed the financing of infrastructures by the private sector.  The building of airports and highways had now been undertaken by the private sector.  The private sector had also intervened in communications, as well as in the building of schools.  The initial set-up of the public transportation system, including air and land, had been overtaken by the private sector.  There was also a need to mobilize the society in financing infrastructures which would attract investment.  However, there was no consensus on a situation where 100 per cent of the public sector was in the hands of the private sector. 

DOMINIQUE DUPONT, Vice-President, Regional Manager (West and Central Africa, Maghreb, Middle East and Central Asia) of Nestlé, wondered why companies in Europe were afraid to invest in Africa.  There should be trust in African countries.  He underlined that more work should be done instead of talking.  European business circles should put more trust in African countries, as they did in other continents, such as Latin America or Asia.

FRANÇOIS DE LAAGE DE MEUX, Président du Conseil, Société du Louvre and Chairman of the Chambers of Commerce of France, said that globalization should not scare people and it should be humanized.  The spirit of cooperation should be developed and people should invest in infrastructure in order to create the necessary conditions for development.  Infrastructure was essential for development.  The services for e-commerce, to which the developing countries had no access, should be expanded.  In addition, essential services such as port services should be improved, including rail services which were vital as infrastructure.  Further, technological imagination should be developed in order to reduce costs, such as the use of other means instead of satellite communications.

Discussion

A representative of South Africa said that the experiences of transportation should be exchanged between countries.  The skills should be in place to be able to develop infrastructure, whether it was in the hands of the public or private.  Among other things, investment should also be directed to maintenance work on the existing infrastructure.

A representative of the “Group of 77” developing countries said that international development companies should work in a concerted manner to avoid duplications.  The use of distance learning should also be developed to train people.  In matters of small-scale businesses, Asian countries were doing tremendous work to develop small-scale industries, and they were making efforts to bring information and communications technologies to the people. 

The representative of Nigeria expressed the view that a regional approach was essential in development, including integrated transportation systems, for example.  In Western Africa, there was a gas pipeline which ran through several countries and which involved the private sector for its construction.  In addition, the issue of privatization should not be a measure of selling one government enterprise to another government.  The private sector should play an important role in many other developments of a nation and region.

A representative of the African Bank for Development said that the question of infrastructure should be focused more on practice and less on talk.   Some African countries had been beneficiaries of telecommunication improvements, but it took more than eight years to get them realized.  The African countries should realize that they could not concretize their desired developments in infrastructure by themselves without outside assistance, both financially and technologically.  Investment in the social sectors, such as in education and health, was also necessary.  The poorest segments of the population in South Africa, for example, had been assisted by the Bank and a lot of improvements had been made in the development area.

The delegate of Japan said that there was a relationship between investment and infrastructural development.  It was also necessary to improve financial investment in order that the infrastructure of the developing countries could be enhanced.  Much emphasis should be placed on the development of other sectors which were vital to the improvement of the peoples' lives, including the educational and health sectors, which should be considered as part of the infrastructure.

The representative of Benin said that the African countries were not receiving direct investment funds without capital return of investment.  International cooperation should play a role in assisting the African countries to get more investment and to stabilize their currency, which was devalued from time to time.

An African non-governmental organization (NGO) expressed views on the worsening situation of poverty in Africa.  The standards of schools had been going

down, with fewer students leaving the institutions with adequate knowledge.  With the rampant spread of AIDS, access to cheaper medicines was becoming more and more difficult.  In addition, 25 per cent of the African national budget went to financing debt services.  Another NGO said that the developing countries should make practical demonstrations that corruption had been eradicated and that good governance was the order of the day.

The representative of the United States said sound infrastructure was one of the cornerstones of an economy's long-term viability.  Governments needed to consult carefully with the private sector, as well as stakeholders, to ensure that infrastructure development was demand-driven, economically viable and sustainable.  It also involved creating an appropriate legal and administrative framework.  Regional cooperation was important in major infrastructure planning.  Developed countries needed to provide appropriate assistance to African countries undertaking infrastructure projects.  The United States had taken concrete steps to that end.

In response to some of the questions, Mr. TARJANNE said that leap-frogging was possible and that every country did not need up-to-date technology, but it could use its own local know-how to generate its own development.  With regard to corruption, it was a topic which was a problem to telecommunications in the global economy.  It was a positive measure to get rid of corruption through the modernization of legislation and by taking measures to fight acts of corruption.  The relationship between transportation and telecommunications was linked, and most of the logistical costs of transportation of African countries could have been divided by two had telecommunications been developed. 

Mr. SAVANE said the challenge African countries faced could only be tackled in a concerted manner, not in isolation. 

Mr. DUPONT said that no one could dream that everything could be done at the same time; however, there should be human capacity and good governance in the countries demanding investment for their infrastructure.

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