africa: NEPAD: What is it? What is missing

The New Partnership for Africa's Development (NEPAD) has gone by many names. NEPAD is typically depicted by architects and foremost proponents as an attempt to address Africa's vast development challenges. Some have even called it Africa's 'Marshall Plan". More others see it as a development strategy and a programme of the African Union (AU). Critics on the other hand depict NEPAD as a 'neo-liberal' project, clearly contrary to the views of its supporters who see NEPAD as a revolutionary plan. Critics have even called NEPAD the 'Africanisation of GEAR'. Whatever name and epithet one chooses, NEPAD has clearly generated a great deal of debate, says this paper prepared for the labour research organisation Naledi.