Johannesburg - “A billion here, a billion there. Pretty soon you’re talking real money.” Former US Senate minority leader Everett Dirksen is credited with saying this. He subsequently admitted to being misquoted, but never denied it because it sounded good.
Kuwait’s Emir Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah was quoted perfectly last Tuesday when he spoke about channelling a couple of billion dollars to Africa.
His opening gambit grabbed the headlines at the Afro-Arab summit he hosted and it never released its grip.
Half the money mentioned by the Emir comes in the shape of soft loans to Africa over the next five years. The remainder will comprise investment to be channelled through the World Bank.
The leaders representing 71 African and Arab countries and organisations – 34 of them at head of state level – wrapped up their Kuwait gathering by calling for the establishment of a mechanism for closer economic and security co-operation.
However, they stopped short of declaring their intention to form a common market for 1.2 billion people of the two overlapping regions. This had been on the cards for foreign ministers and senior officials preparing the summit agenda. Sources in this forum said the leaders decided to delay this until the next summit that would be held in Africa in three years time.
The venue has not been determined, but Uganda is believed to be making a strong play. The Kuwait Declaration is unequivocal about the need to fight terrorism that they regard as a common menace. Arab leaders are concerned about groups like Hezbollah finding shelter in some African countries.
There are also misgivings about the way hostage-takers – be they pirates off Somalia and Nigeria or al-Qaeda in Mali, Niger or Algeria – are paid to release their captives.
The declaration calls for the criminalisation of paying ransoms. South Africa’s delegation was led by Minister in the Presidency Colins Chabane who called the summit a significant step in the right direction.
“By their nature summits are places for stating goals and making general statements of intent. Getting down to the nuts and bolts of achieving these is where the challenge lies.”
As for the offer on the table, Chabane said: “South Africa will not hesitate to access the soft loan offered by the Emir if we identify projects that require financing.”
He is adamant that the summit was not a one-way street of Arab largesse being passed to Africa.
“Each and every region has got its own strengths and weaknesses. Africa is a very good area for agriculture.
“When we talk about food security, Africa is one of the best sources. There was a great deal of discussion in Kuwait about food security,” Chabane said.
Africa, with economies growing at around 5 percent a year, is also a potential investment destination for Arab countries that have lost billions depositing money in traditional Western banks during the global economic meltdown.
“African countries have shown increasing interest in doing business and investing in the Arab world,” Chabane said. “South Africa has Sasol, MTN and big construction companies here.
“A lot of reciprocal investment can take place provided conditions are right. We are hopeful that opportunities will open up for more and more African companies to access Arab markets.” – Independent Foreign Service