The 6th Tokyo International Conference on Africa’s Development (TICAD VI) senior officials meeting got off on a tense note Wednesday morning in Banjul, The Gambia with African delegates heckling the Japanese facilitator.
The purpose of the meeting was specifically to prepare the draft Nairobi Declaration for today's (Friday) ministerial meeting ahead of the TICAD VI Summit slated for Nairobi, Kenya on August 27 – 28th. Botswana is being represented at these all-important preparatory meetings by Ambassador to Japan, Jacob Nkate and the Head of African Union (AU) Mission in Addis Ababa, Punkie Molefe as well as Deputy Chief of Japan Mission, Pule Mphothwe.
The morning session nearly degenerated into an argument as some of the African officials accused the Japanese facilitator, Ambassador Norio Maruyama who is Director General for the Africa Affairs Department in Japan of “imposing” pre-determined Japanese agenda on them. But the envoy denied this, insisting he was instead presiding over procedural issues. So intense were the debates that at one point the Zimbabwean Ambassador to Ethiopia wondered why the five co-organisers- Japan Government; African Union Commission; World Bank and United Nations Development Programme – were making decisions on behalf of African Governments if indeed the TICAD process was a partnership initiative.
But Ambassador Maruyama reiterated there was no intention on his part or the Japanese Government’s to impose any decisions on African Governments. He said he is willing to listen to all the comments from the African delegations to inform the Test that the Ministers are expected to produce on Thursday and Friday. Other African delegates especially from Uganda, Burkina Faso and Sierra Leone felt that the Draft Declaration produced by the Senior Officials Meeting held March this year in Djibouti had been “altered” and that they were seeing a completely new Draft dated 3rd June 2016 for the first time in Banjul.
The Japanese Envoy again explained procedure that Djibouti was basically to produce a “skeletal” draft, which would thereafter be improved. But in the afternoon session, tempers had calmed as the meeting discussed the Draft Nairobi Declaration chapter by chapter and making inputs, which the Secretariat was expected to capture and incorporate into the Text to produce a new Draft Declaration by Thursday morning.
In a separate interview, Mphothwe told Botswana Guardian that by reason of her Middle Income status, Botswana is not benefiting adequately as she would like from the TICAD process. This is because the country does not qualify for grants and loans from Japan. It only receives technical assistance in the form of skills transfer in science and technology related areas, he said.He said it was high time that Botswana developed a TICAD Strategy to derive maximum benefit from TICAD process.