Good intentions are not enough for African development

This research paper evaluates the potential of the Africa Commission, established by UK Prime Minister Tony Blair, to influence African development. The author argues that while the commission is complementary to the New Partnership for Africa’s Development (Nepad), it must move beyond general economic liberalisation and 'enabling environments' to create specific, investor-driven strategies and tangible successes to attract the private investment necessary for growth.

• The Africa Commission was established by UK Prime Minister Tony Blair to use the UK's 2005 chairmanship of the G-8 and the European Union to make a difference for Africa, focusing on six thematic areas: the economy, natural resources, governance, peace and security, human development and culture, and participation.
• Economic liberalisation and deregulation in Africa have often yielded disappointing results, as liberalism alone has not generated the investment levels required for high growth rates, which would need to be more than double the current African savings to gross domestic product ratios.
• African regional bodies and development plans suffer from a lack of focus and an inability to prioritise. The Nepad short-term action plan contains 124 projects, while the SADC's streamlined regional integration project list still includes 250 projects, and Comesa's transport and communications portfolio contains 160 projects, many of which remain unfunded.
• There is a significant funding gap in the $8.1bn Nepad short-term action plan, with only $650m provided by the World Bank and African Development Bank. The remaining funds must come from the private sector, yet there is little evidence of the public-private partnerships required.
• To attract investment, African countries must move beyond general policy prescriptions of 'creating an enabling environment' and instead develop country-by-country strategies based on specific investor needs and comparative advantages.

APA

South African Institute of International Affairs (2004). Good intentions are not enough for African development. https://saiia.org.za/research/good-intentions-not-enough-african-development/

Chicago

South African Institute of International Affairs. Good intentions are not enough for African development. 2004. https://saiia.org.za/research/good-intentions-not-enough-african-development/.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=South African Institute of International Affairs |title=Good intentions are not enough for African development |date=27 September 2004 |url=https://saiia.org.za/research/good-intentions-not-enough-african-development/ |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{southafricaninstituteofinternationalaffairs2004good, author = {{South African Institute of International Affairs}}, title = {{Good intentions are not enough for African development}}, institution = {South African Institute of International Affairs}, year = {2004}, month = sep, url = {https://saiia.org.za/research/good-intentions-not-enough-african-development/}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }