Press Releases
Press Release No. 10/1997
Eradicating Poverty Will Require An "Integrated Approach", Says UNECA Head
Addis Ababa, 29 April 1997 -- While the conducive policy environment created by ongoing economic reforms in African countries has helped significantly improve the continent's economic performance and brought about a new spirit of Afro-optimism, an integrated approach is necessary to reduce poverty, a senior United Nations official said here today.
K.Y. Amoako, United Nations Under-Secretary General and Executive Secretary of the Economic Commission for Africa (ECA) made this remark in an address at the beginning of a four-day technical meeting convened to prepare the ground for the 32nd session of the Commission and 23rd meeting of the ECA Conference of Ministers responsible for economic and social development and planning (5-8 May).
The theme of the upcoming conference is "Promoting trade and investment to
promote Africa's development." Key attention will also be given to the role information and communications techologies in promoting trade and investment. A major
symposium -- organised by ECA together with the Global Information Infrastructure Commission and scheduled to be broadcast live by satellite on Multichoice DSTV by MNET -- will take place on 7 May, involving senior industry chiefs. Speaking to technical experts from several African countries, Amoako pointed out that while 24 countries posted growth rates of more than 4% in 1996, 32 grew faster during 1995-1996 than during 1992-94. Fiscal and current deficits had been sharply reduced in many countries and inflation reduced to moderate levels in several countries, he reported.
Capital markets had sprung into renewed activity, with signs that the economic recovery underway since 1994 was being sustained, a phenomenom Amoako ascribed to a conducive policy environment created by the new economic reforms.
Nevertheless, stressed Amoako, "in spite of the recovery and the positive changes taking place in this continent, social indicators remain below those of other regions."
Poor income growth as well as environmental and population pressures kept half of Africa's 590 million people in poverty, he said, noting that absolute numbers living in abject poverty were increasing. Outlining a recipe for poverty reduction, the Executive Secretary pointed out that breaking the poverty cycle required an integrated
approach that included investments in education (particularly for women), health, family planning, and management of natural resources.
Other key factors that merited attention included:
better land distribution and security of tenure
access to micro-credit for small-scale producers to promote self-employment and eliminate poverty
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crop and livestock strains improvement and agricultural extension services investment in infrastructure specially in rural areas.
As repeatedly stressed during his 17-month tenure as head of the UN's regional arm in Africa, Amoako placed special emphasis on the critical role of women in African socio-economic development.
"They play a pivotal role in the African economy, yet many are entrenched in poverty and face immense obstacles to expanding and reaping the rewards of the their economic activities", he observed. "We must do more to promote the economic and social empowerment of women."
His remarks were particularly pertinent in light of a three-day consultation held last week by the African Centre for Women (ACW), the implementing arm of ECA's gender policy which has been upgraded to full division status. The gender consultation has prepared a series of recommendations for consideration by next week's
ministerial conference (see attachment).
Turning to the theme of the experts' meeting, Amoako highlighted the shrinking trend in external capital flows to Africa, noting that net ODA in the combined GNP of Development Assistance Committee (DAC) members had dropped from 0.33 per cent to 0.29 per cent, the lowest level since 1993.
While private capital flows were on the rise -- with overall private flows to the
developing world explodng from US$44 billion in 1986 to about US$244 billion in 1990 -- only 3 per cent came Africa's way. Seventy-three per cent of all flows went to 12 countries in Asia and Latin America.
"In view of the weakening of traditional sources of development support, financing additional investment to spur vigorous growth and to reduce poverty in Africa is likely to emerge as one conspicuous challenge facing our continent," Amoako said.
Africa's failure to attract foreign investment, he noted, was due to three factors: the perception that Africa was high-risk continent; the high cost of doing business; and the poor international competitiveness of African countries. Nor had Africa, he stressed, been able to capitalize on the rapid expansion of the world export market.
Dwelling on the potential of the Uruguay Round for posing challenges and presenting opportunities, the Executive Secretary warned: "Unless our countries gear up for the increased competition in the integrated global market, they will not share in the gains".
A priority issue for the Technical Committee of the Whole (TEPCOW) is information exchange and Africa's access to the global information highway. TEPCOW will consider an ECA report on the implementation of the African Information Society Initiative (AISI) -- a plan approved by the ECA Conference of Ministers in 1996.
AISI calls for the elaboration and implementation of national information and
communications infrastructure plans in all African countries. It complements the United
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Nations System-wide Special Initiative on Africa under Harnessing Information Technology Development, and calls for national information and communication networks in the interest of planning and decision-making.
In this connection, the ECA Executive Secretary concluded: "Quality information about economic opportunities in Africa can be broadcast to the world, while African
operators tap global information networks to find lucrative opportunities which they could exploit." (End)
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