Scholars and analysts will soon find it difficult if not impossible to track, record and examine the New Partnership for Africa’s Development (NEPAD) continental projects.

Already, the Secretariat is overwhelmed by the challenge of keeping track of the first US$5bn worth of projects that have resulted from international and intercontinental investors who have responded with enthusiasm to the African Union’s NEPAD programme initiatives.

According to Professor Wiseman Nkuhlu, the NEPAD Secretariat chairperson, the secretariat has produced a short-term project list, but is yet to come up with a more comprehensive one giving details of the projects already underway while others are in the planning stage.

The Secretariat openly admits that some of the work linked to the NEPAD framework is being done independently by the private sector that is moving around the continent establishing new joint business ventures that are not yet recorded.

Nkuhlu outlined a range of energy, telecommunications, pharmaceutical and regional development projects, which are an indication of emerging priorities. Among the priority projects that Nkuhlu mentioned was the Western Power Corridor that will carry power from a hydroelectric scheme at the Inga falls in the Democratic Republic of Congo to Angola, Botswana, Namibia and South Africa.

The proposals for a generation project at the Inga falls have been around for 20 years, but NEPAD has provided a framework for collaboration among African states. The plans are now progressing and the project is expected to be strengthening the flow of electricity in the region before supply becomes critical in 2007.

Another project is the Mepanda Uncua Power Project for the downstream development of Cahora Bassa dam in Mozambique.

This means that by 2010, SADC will be at least chasing one of the objectives of the Johannesburg Plan of Action which emerged from the World Summit on Sustainable Development.

The region will be using cleaner and environmentally friendly ways of generating electricity as well as reducing poverty through increased access to energy for millions of poor households.

While there is a possibility of World Bank funding for these projects, a proposed African Energy Fund could also make a contribution to the financing. The primary aim of the energy fund would be to develop connections between the electricity grids of African countries.

There is also a marine fibre-optic cable project to strengthen telecommunications links and a coast-to-coast project built around core transfrontier parks. Many countries are following the example of Mozambique, South Africa and Zimbabwe in developing transfrontier national parks. A similar project is underway by Angola, Botswana, Namibia and Zambia along their common border.

Nkuhlu said there is also a proposal that the expanded Okavango/Upper Zambezi International Tourism Spatial Development Initiative will deliver 15 resorts at US$100m each by 2010.

However, the flow of tourism in Africa has been thwarted by the fact that for more than 70 years European, Asian and western airlines have been allowed to dominate the African skies.

South Africa’s Transport Minister Jeff Radebe said the continent has started working at changing and cutting red tape in a bid to ease bureaucracy to allow business among neighbours.

"They (European airlines) have been making a killing and recently we have seen an increased number of privately owned airlines entering the industry and taking advantage of the vacuum that exists by covering certain routes that have not been well serviced," he said.

The AU has set up an aviation commission to assist collaboration between governments to open the skies and to promote their airlines.

"There is no doubt that there is huge African capital to render these airlines economically viable," said Radebe, "especially now that the continent subscribes to NEPAD goals and objectives of intercontinental trade."

An initiative to develop and produce pharmaceuticals is also underway as part of the initiative on pharmaceutical and technology transfer to improve the continent’s access to essential drugs at affordable prices for HIV, tuberculosis and malaria.

According to the Minerals and Technology Council of South Africa (Mintek), Africa’s rich and diverse mineral resource base could provide the platform for industrial development.

Africa holds the largest world reserves of platinum (70 percent), diamonds (52 percent), chromite (52 percent), cobalt (43 percent) as well as manganese (38 percent). He said as a continent, we still lead others in holding reserves of phosphate (29 percent), gold (24 percent) and uranium (17 percent), as well as 10 percent of petroleum.

What is left for the continent to realise its dreams of eradicating poverty, is to seek foreign investment that will be tied to indigenous participation in mining ventures. There will have to be significant changes in ownership of natural resources and a genuine injection of indigenous capital to improve capacity for management of mines.

However, an assessment of some South African ventures on the continent has shown that they either collapsed or were failing to attain anticipated targets. This was due to the fact that some NEPAD objectives of closing gaps and harmonizing business legislation, taxation and customs regulations in the continent still have a long way to go.

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