Sir Nicholas Stern, second permanent secretary of the UK Treasury and director of policy and research for the Commission for Africa, and former member of the IFPRI Board of Trustees, speaks to IFPRI Forum about the Blair Commission’s work and the upcoming G8 summit in Scotland.

FORUM: What contribution has the Commission for Africa made to promote growth and development in that region? What sets that contribution apart from other efforts?

Stern: This is a momentous year for international decisions on support for development—particularly for Africa. With the UK in the chair of the G8 this calendar year and holding the presidency of the European Union for six months from July 2005, the Commission for Africa (CfA) was established by Prime Minister Tony Blair early last year with the purpose of making a clear set of proposals for how rich countries could support African initiatives on development. A majority of the 17 Commissioners are from Africa, including President Benjamin Mkapa of Tanzania, Prime Minister Meles Zenawi of Ethiopia, and Finance Minister Trevor Manuel of South Africa. The CfA reported in March 2005 (the report is available on the web at www.commissionforafrica.org). It consulted very widely in Africa and elsewhere both before and after publishing a consultation document in October last year. Further, in the spirit of support from Africa it worked very closely with the New Partnership for Africa’s Development (NEPAD) (many of its proposals are tied to those of NEPAD), the African Union, and the UN’s Economic Commission for Africa (ECA).

The CfA is already making a powerful contribution to the build-up of momentum for strong decisions for Africa at the G8 summit, where Prime Minister Blair has put Africa at the top of the G8 agenda. For example, its analysis is the foundation of the prime minister’s proposal for a doubling of aid to Africa (from $25 billion per year to $50 billion per year) between 2004 and 2010, and for a 100 percent debt cancellation. But it is not just about resources and debt. Indeed the CfA begins with an analysis of and recommendations for supporting the building of governance and peace and security, and its report lays strong emphasis on trade and the quality of aid. The CfA has moved the argument along in many important areas, for example investing in Africa’s universities, the importance of building health systems, the challenges of Africa’s infrastructure and the importance of public finance for infrastructure on a major scale (at least an extra $25 billion per year), a resurgence of Africa’s agriculture, and the capacity to trade.

But the CfA is not an implementation organization and it will wind up after the G8 summit in Gleneagles, Scotland. Thus its contribution is in terms of analysis, ideas, and the mobilization of political support and action. It does, however, have a number of proposals on how to implement, with a focus not on creating new institutions for development—indeed we have enough of those—but rather on making existing institutions work better and scaling up action and effectiveness.

The CfA is different from other efforts in several ways: (1) its timing (linked to the G8) and thus its focus on generating action at a key moment for decisionmaking, (2) the comprehensiveness of its analysis and approach, (3) its emphasis on growth and governance, (4) its close links with NEPAD and the ECA, (5) its majority of African members, and (6) its very broad consultation. But we recognize the importance of the other efforts for Africa, for example the Millennium Development Project of Jeffrey Sachs and his team for the UN and the G8 Africa Action Plan. It is strongly complementary to these other efforts and we have worked closely with them. Thus we would like to see the CfA as part of a joint effort to generate action in this crucial year, rather than insisting on its separateness.

FORUM: In your view, are the G8 countries now paying sufficient attention to Africa’s development needs?

Stern: The G8 countries have in the last four or five years increased their emphasis on Africa with aid to Africa roughly doubling in that time. There is a growing realization that Africa is very different from 15 years ago. Many countries are changing radically in terms of governance, policies, and institutions and are seeing the rewards in terms of growth and poverty reduction. But that advance is partial and, in parts, fragile. And with the reduction of the numbers in poverty in Asia and the rise in numbers in Africa, the crisis of world poverty is clearly in Africa. There are also severe costs to delay in terms of Africa’s further detachment from the world economy, the advance of HIV/AIDS, the deteriorating physical environment, and the costs of current desperate poverty, which fall on future generations. Thus, while G8 action and attention to Africa has been increasing, it is not yet sufficient, at least in terms of the scale and urgency of action that are necessary. The CfA is an attempt to increase that attention.

FORUM: In your opinion, what are the most important steps the G8 countries can take at their July meeting to help reduce hunger and poverty in Africa? What are the most important steps African countries can take?

Stern: The most importance steps for the G8 to take are (1) to decide to double aid between 2004 and 2010, (2) to radically improve its quality in terms of the burdens of reporting, re-emphasis on the accountability of Africa to their own people relative to aid givers, more grants and less tying, more predictability and harmonization, and so on, (3) to dismantle trade barriers beginning with the removal of all subsidies on cotton and sugar and other agricultural protectionist barriers, and (4) removing the burden of debt for all countries with credible commitment to fighting poverty. All this, and the point is absolutely crucial, should be in the context of working to promote good governance and peace and security and supporting NEPAD and the African Union. For the most part governance is made at home and Africa is shaping its own future. It is for Africa to decide its own actions. But outsiders can do much to support better governance and peace and security. And they can stop doing things like funding corrupt payments and fueling conflict associated with natural resources. Countries and regional and pan-African organizations should be encouraged to move strongly ahead with actions to promote better governance, institutions, and policies in Africa by helping to invest in capacity (including through higher education) and providing accountability to the people of Africa. Fighting corruption should be central to this story but better governance is, of course, much more than fighting corruption.

FORUM: What do you see as the main obstacles to the G8 and African countries taking those steps and how optimistic are you that they will succeed in overcoming the obstacles?

Stern: The main obstacle in G8 countries is political will. Rich countries have never been richer. Doubling aid to Africa represents 0.1 percent of rich countries’ GDP—a dime for every 100 dollars. And trade barriers inflict self-harm on rich countries. We all benefit from a stronger and more prosperous Africa. The creation of political will requires leadership and domestic political pressure. The CfA has played its part in this process. African development and development more generally must become a domestic political issue in rich countries. The current campaign to “Make Poverty History” is a key part in this process.

For Africa the challenge of building better governance, institutions, and policies and investing in the health and education of its people is a long haul. It is often difficult to take on the ever-present vested interests. But many people and leaders across Africa are taking on the hard choices.

In nearly four decades of working on development and Africa I have never seen a better chance of getting strong, coherent, and constructive action. That does not mean that the opportunity will be taken. Much depends on the next few months with the G8 summit in July, the Millennium Summit in September, and the Hong Kong World Trade Organization Ministerial meeting in December. It is a time for political decision.