Secretary-General's Report on the New Partnership for Africa's Development (NEPAD)
2024
Unpacking the debt of Africa: towards a lasting and durable solution
In the report, the Secretary-General provides an analysis of how the debt challenges facing Africa severely limit its ability to invest in the Sustainable Development Goals and Agenda 2063: The Africa We Want. He examines how the historically extractive nature of African economies has influenced the continent’s borrowing and how debt-driven investment has thus far failed to contribute meaningfully to its economic transformation. The Secretary-General also explores the evolving role of domestic debt in African economies, as well as the rapid rise of external debt, the high cost of capital and the associated economic vulnerability. Unlocking domestic resource mobilization and properly investing in the economic transformation of Africa are identified as strategic actions that can help de-risk African economies, build resilience and deliver sustainable development. Debt can be an important source of financing for investment in the Goals if channelled toward areas that foster growth and structural transformation. Investing in the Goals, climate resilience, disaster risk reduction and adaptation can also reduce long-term economic risk. Predictable access to affordable finance is critical to finding a lasting solution to current debt challenges. The current international financial architecture fails to adequately cater to the urgency of investing in the Goals and Agenda 2063, and the Secretary-General recommends needed reforms from an African perspective to deliver a lasting solution with regard to debt and towards predictable and affordable sources of finance.
Solving paradoxes of Africa's development: financing, energy and food systems
The report analyzes three paradoxes relating to financing, energy and food systems, that have hampered development in Africa and their impact as of 2022. African countries are rich in financial and natural resources, yet they suffer debt distress, lack energy access and face high levels of food insecurity. Based on this analysis, the present report provides an assessment of the role of domestic resource mobilization as a game changer, of energy and food systems as drivers and of country systems (under Sustainable Development Goal 16) as enablers of development. It also contains recommendations for undertaking the reforms needed to address the three paradoxes to unlock the continent’s potential to achieve sustainable development.
2022
New Partnership for Africa’s Development: nineteenth consolidated progress report on implementation and international support
Financing for Development in the Era of COVID-19: The Primacy of Domestic Resources Mobilization
While the pandemic has reshaped the financing for development landscape in Africa and exacerbated existing vulnerabilities, it also provides an opportunity for African countries to strengthen domestic resource mobilization to underpin sustainable development financing. Effective domestic resource mobilization is essential in order to obtain the financing required to effectively drive the continent’s economic growth and development in an inclusive and sustainable manner. Increased domestic resource mobilization would also be fundamental to Africa reclaiming its policy space over its development, channelling resources towards productive capacity development and structural transformation and industrialization. However, for domestic resource mobilization to play an effective role in the continent’s sustainable development agenda, fundamental changes in both policy and institutions will be required, including through improving efficiency in public expenditures, strengthening revenue collection, harnessing private savings and the private financial sector for development and stemming illicit financial flows.
2021
New Partnership for Africa’s Development: eighteenth consolidated progress report on implementation and international support
This report (A/75/918) is prepared in response to General Assembly resolution A/74/301 requesting the Secretary-General to submit on an annual basis a comprehensive and action-oriented report on the implementation of the resolution, based on the provision of inputs from Governments, organizations of the United Nations system and other stakeholders in the New Partnership for Africa’s Development (NEPAD). The present report, which was prepared by the Offce of the Special Adviser on Africa (OSAA), reviews progress in the implementation of four key NEPAD’s priorities that are fundamental to the realization of the 2030 Agenda for sustainable development and the Africa Union Agenda 2063. These are: regional integration; infrastructure development; industrialization; and health in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic.