Experts’ recommendations can help jumpstart developmental states in Africa – Observers
ECA Press Release No. 30/2011
Addis Ababa, 27 March 2011 (ECA) - Experts from 47 African countries and regional economic institutions who have been meeting in Addis Ababa, since last Thursday have prepared a series of far reaching recommendations which, if implemented, could help jumpstart the institution of developmental States in Africa, according to the Information and Communication Service (ICS) of the Economic Commission for Africa.
The recommendations, to be tabled for adoption by the Fourth Joint Annual Ministerial Meetings of the African Union Conference of Ministers of Economy and Finance and the ECA Conference of African Ministers of Finance, Planning and Economic Development which opens here tomorrow, are far reaching enough to effect real change in Africa, if fully implemented, observers say.
On the principal theme of the Conference, “Governing Development in Africa: The Role of the State in Economic Transformation”, the experts urge African governments to promote developmental States that would “transform its political system from rent-seeking to a developmental one; restructure the economy to ensure sustained diversification of the production and export base; and restructure its bureaucratic incentives away from rent-seeking towards facilitative, pro-growth and pro-poor allocation of resources”.
On the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), the experts recommendation a strong call on African countries to mainstream the MDGs into their national development plans and strategies and to set up monitoring and evaluation mechanisms to ensure effective implementation.
Another recommendation that would be debated by the ministers deals with enhancing UN support towards accelerating the implementation of the 10-Year Capacity Building Programme for the African Union and the programme of the New Partnership for Africa’s Development (NEPAD).
In this regard, the experts call for the Economic Commission for Africa (ECA) and the African Union Commission (AUC) to ensure that for the 10-Year Capacity Building Programme remains within the framework of the Regional Coordination Mechanisms (RCM) and the subregional Coordination Mechanisms.
There are also recommendations on taxation systems, the harmonization of statistics in Africa, gender mainstreaming and the empowerment of women, climate change and development in Africa, health financing in Africa, enhancing science and technology, the illicit financial flows in Africa, as well as on the strengthening of the African Institute for Economic Planning and Development (IDEP).
Impressed of with the accomplishments of the three-day expert group meeting, the UN Under-Secretary General and Executive Secretary for the Economic Commission for Africa, Mr. Abdoulie Janneh, expressed optimism as to Africa’s willingness and ability to put the continent firmly on the global development train.
In a written statement delivered by Ms. Jennifer Kargbo, Deputy Executive Secretary of ECA, Mr. Janneh “…your constructive and uninhibited debates on the continent’s challenges have yielded potential ideas, which when combined with the best practices shared
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here can translate into the accelerated economic growth, diversification and transformation, job creation, poverty eradication, and sustainable development that we so eagerly yearn for.”
He praised the fact that experts had clearly established that the mission of economic development is all inclusive requiring the participation and inputs of every stakeholder in the economic realm of any country.
“There is, therefore, no argument whether government or the private sector or any other sector should lead the process. It is rather one of roles and the meeting deliberated at length on this issue”, he said.
Coming back on the theme of the Conference which opens tomorrow, he said that “the meaning and role of a developmental State can be better appreciated by again drawing lessons from the Asian countries which based their development strategies on infrastructural development, mobilising savings for investment in education, health, agricultural diversification, science, information technology and communication, research and development among others”.
Over 600 participants are expected to attend the Annual Joint Conference.
Issued by:
ECA Information and Communication Service P.O. Box 3001
Addis Ababa Ethiopia
Tel: 251 11 5445098 Fax: +251-11-551 03 65 E-mail: [email protected] Web: www.uneca.org
