Between poverty and prosperity: the new development: agenda for Africa

Abstract

It is argued in this paper that one of the important foundations on which NEPAD will have to be developed is the establishing of comprehensive information for all countries on the continent. Furthermore, the information as far as possible will have to be collected at a sub-national or localized level and not at a national or sub-regional level as is suggested in the NEPAD document, to ensure that there is enough detail on the major disparities that occur within countries (e.g. income inequality, access to primary education) and which needs to be addressed if there is to be any hope of achieving NEPAD's goals and objectives. This information will be needed to implement strategies to accomplish NEPAD's goals and objectives as well as allowing progress to be monitored as part of the African Peer Review Mechanism (APRM). The importance of geoinformation as part of such an information system is emphasized because it is one of the few means by which the diversity of information (e.g. population censuses and school locations) needed to address the priority programmes of NEPAD can be integrated and presented at various spatial levels for more effective decision-making.