The APP Bulletin

Roughly two decades after Francis Fukuyama declared 'the end of history', capitalism is under the spotlight again. This time, though, it is far less triumphalist.  Today, ‘capitalism in crisis’ is making headlines in newspapers such as the Financial Times and The Guardian, as well as at the World Economic Forum in Davos. Increasingly, people are calling into question the ability and sustainability of the wealth-making potential and fairness of this system.

The on-going popular uprising in North Africa during the past year, dubbed the “Arab Spring,” in which citizens raised their voice en masse to show their determination for freedom, justice and democracy, has introduced a new socio-political momentum to the African continent.

This past week’s United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) in Durban ended in a mix of relief, disappointment, and confusion. There was much excitement when, early on Sunday morning, negotiators finally reached a deal. “Listen up!” tweeted UNFCC chief, Christiana Figueres, “We have Kyoto CP2, path toward future with legal force for all, Green Climate Fund full implementation of Cancun package! #COP17” Similarly, the President of South Africa, Jacob Zuma, declared the deal a “coup for Africa”, while Chris Huhne, Energy and Climate Secretary for the United Kingdom, referred to it as “a significant step forward in curbing emissions to tackle global climate change”. Just a day before, it had seemed as though a deal would never be reached and that, like COP16 in Copenhagen, negotiators would leave with nothing to show for their efforts.

Next week, the leaders of the G20 will meet in Cannes to discuss financial markets and the world economy. The summit leaders are expected to tackle several mid- and long-term policy issues, many of which remained unresolved at the end of the previous summits in Toronto and Seoul.

Africa is being seen in a different light. The business community, governments, investors are starting to realize the vast potential of the continent, and equally as important, some African leaders are doing their bit to not only attract investment (for instance through improving regulation), but also to retain them. Mindsets are starting to shift.

Expectations around the MDG Summit were low, given global economic and financial woes. In terms of commitments announced, including to and by Africa, they were met. The question now is how ‘hard’ the commitments are, whether they are new or ‘recycled’, whether they will be implemented, and who will hold those making them to account.

The MDG Summit is finally upon us. Will it trigger accelerated progress towards the goals? Or, as some fear, will it consist of grand statements and repackaged financial commitments but little 'real' new investment?

This week in Kampala, the AU Summit’s main session on its central theme ‘Maternal, Child and Infant Health and Development in Africa’, was allotted a three hour slot but ended up lasting a day and a half. Over 35 African heads of state, international partners (including several heads of UN agencies), civil society and the media debated the many health challenges in Africa. The profile of MDGs 4 & 5 was raised to an unprecedented level.

To what degree are African priorities and concerns reflected in global agreements and policies? Not nearly enough, most would say, whether in trade, finance, food security, climate change, intellectual property, migration, security or other areas. Is Africa to blame for this deficit? No. The IFIs and various economic and financial global fora have been crafted by, and for, the powerful. The emergence of the G20 is not necessarily going to help LDCs; it might even do the opposite. Big emerging economies, including South Africa, have their own interests.

At a time when investment, remittances and aid levels from OECD countries are in doubt or declining, Chinese investment is good news for Africa. Investments in areas as diverse as infrastructure and agriculture are helping to create jobs, reducing the cost of basic goods, and softening the blow to African countries of the global economic downturn.

President Obama has made two major speeches on African soil recently, one in Cairo, one in Accra. Reactions to the latter have varied widely, from the ecstatic, particularly in Ghana itself, to the sceptical. Kenyans are of course piqued. Some on the continent even saw the choice of Ghana as based upon its recent oil discoveries, missing his intent.

There’s been a burst of political activity in the last couple of weeks. Morgan Tsvangirai agreed to join a government of national unity with Robert Mugabe, despite the MDC not getting the Home Affairs portfolio. Sheikh Sharif has been voted in as new President of Somalia. And a deal has been struck between DRC President Kabila and Rwanda’s President Kagame in the eastern Congo.

One clear message has emerged from recent high level meetings, including the Tunis meeting of African Ministers and Central Bank Governors and the G20 meeting in Washington. Honouring official aid commitments by rich countries is critical, and the global economic crisis is not the time to relax or scale them back. But sometimes, the logic behind this message gets lost.