ABSTRACT

The development challenges confronting the African continent and the search for solutions have received considerable attention in both academic and policy-making circles. Coming to terms with the nature of the African ‘crisis’ and the dynamics of the continent’s postcolonial development trajectory has drawn different analyses informed by ideological predispositions and paradigms. Given the failure of the austerity measures undertaken as part of the structural adjustment programs (SAPs) instituted by the Bretton Woods financial institutions, there have been efforts to construct a new socio-economic and political framework capable of delivering development to the people. The New Partnership for Africa’s development (NEPAD), a strategic framework for African development, was formally adopted by the Organization of African Unity (OAU) Summit in July 2001 and ratified later at the African Union (AU) Summit in July 2002. Dubbed Africa’s own ‘cry for help’ and a ‘home-grown’ program for strategic development, NEPAD has been presented as an important milestone on Africa’s development and an attempt to provide and

give space to African voices in terms of contemporary debates about the continent’s future development. NEPAD has been hailed by its endorsers as the means of ending poverty in Africa.