African Leaders State of Africa Rerport 2008!!

Ambassador Charles R. Stith

(Dar es salaam) – His Excellency Jakaya Kikwete is one of 15 African leaders to be featured in the African Presidential Archives and Research Center’s (APARC) African Leaders State of African Report 2008. The report, in its seventh years, is one of APARC’s core projects and represents a unique perspective on Africa, one that reflects positive development toward democratic and free market reform on the continent by featuring the visions and strategies of democratically elected African heads of state.

Ambassador Charles R. Stith, APARC Director and former U.S Ambassador to Tanzania, will travel to seven African nations in conjunction with the official release of the State of Africa Report 2008. Ambassador Stith will release the State of African Report in Tanzania on February 27. with stops in Berlin, London, Botswana, Cape Verde, Mauritius, Mozambique, South Africa, Tanzania and Zambia, Ambassador stith hopes to increase awareness of successful democratic and economic growth initiatives on the continent.

Since its inception in 2002, every element of the Report, from its purpose to its design, has received accolades in the West and on the continent. In a continued effort to ensure that the African point of view is widely disseminated to investors, those who influence U.S. policy towards the African continent, and future generations of African leadership, APARC has to date distributed over 14,000 copies of the first six editions of the Report to international politicians and policy makers, major media outlets, NGO’s and foundations concerned with Africa, African Embassies, major universities, and African heads of state.

This year, the participating African countries include: Benin, Botswana, Cape Verde, Ghana, Kenya, Liberia, Malawi, Mali, Mauritius, Mozambique, Namibia, South Africa, Tanzania, and Zambia. The leaders of these countries were invited to this Report because of their marked commitment to democracy and free-market reform.

The African Leaders state of Africa Report is an initiative of the African Presidential Archives and Research Center (APARC) at Boston University and is funded by the United states Agency for International Development (USAID). APARC has taken an unprecedented approach to studying democratization and free-market reform in Africa. Through a residency program for former democratically elected African leaders. APARC provides a forum for sharing the insights and expertise of past and present leaders. APARC is also intended to serve as a setting for policy debates and deliberations on democratization and free market reform in Africa.

AFRICAN PRESIDENTIAL ARCHIVES AND RESEARCH CENTER

African Leaders’ State of Africa Report 2008 Highlights

Governance

In a context of global crisis two words define the political situation of the countries feature in this year’s report – change and resilience.
The unity government in Kenya has proven to be the solution to last year’s selection crisis, which encapsulates change. That Kenya remains on the list of Africa’s viable democracies is reflection of resilience.
In his contribution to this year’s State of Africa Report, Ghanaian President John Kufour wrote confidentially of country about to enter its fifth cycle of Presidential elections. That confidence has been borne out in another peaceful transition of power in Ghana.
Tanzanian President Jakaya Kikwete reflects on the challenges of managing the union of Zanzibar and the Republic, while equally confident that the spirit of umoja (unity) that has characterized this union from the beginning will define that relationship into the future.

In his letter to the nation, South African President Kgalema Motlanthe assures the nation that despite the unanticipated change in leadership, south Africa’s democracy is alive and well, in both in spirit and constitutionally.
In his last contribution to the African Leaders’ State of Africa Report, the late Levi Mwanawasa, President of Zambia, offered a fitting summary to where the continent is politically and economically. His insight proves to be a fitting epitaph for one of Africa’s most capable leaders. He wrote, “even where progress is modest, we must still recognize it because it signals that, at least for now, the worst may be over if we continue to make the progress that we have been making.”
Investment and Development
Botswana
The Citizen Entrepreneurial Development Agency has so far approved 177 projects valued at P124 million ($16,020,807) in the current financial year; bringing the total number of projects financed through the programme to 2,229 at a total value P 1.27 billion ($164,084,074). These have already crated 12,567 new jobs.
Ghana
The successful and spectacular issuance of a Eurobond on the London Stock Exchange to raise $ 750 million for infrastructure development was over subscribed by over $ 3 billion, and this was Ghana’s first attempt ever on the market.
Liberia
This year witnessed a significant increase in the number of investors seeking investment initiatives through the National Investment Commission (among which) included $ 30 million from noted African American Robert Johnson.
Mozambique
The arrival of nearly 771,000 tourists and an increase in lodging capacity by 17,000 beds (translated into) the collection of receipts on the order of $163 million, which corresponds to a growth rate of seventeen percent. (This has meant) the creation of more than 37,000 new jobs fifty percent of which are occupied by women.
Namibia
The National Housing Enterprise (NHE) in 2006 – 2007, more than N$30 million was invested in the construction of new homes. For 2007 – 2008 period, an amount of about $N76.2 million wa budgeted to build 700 new homes.
South Africa
In the programme to provide sustainable human settlements (South Africa) is now able to provide 260,000 housing units per annum, and an agreement has been reached with the South African Local Government Association to place a moratorium on the sale of land that can be availed for the housing programme.