LDCs call for economic speed up for Africa

By Cristina Müller, 27 February 2006

Addis, 24 February - Economic growth needs to speed up in Africa, with attention to poverty reduction, concluded finance and planning ministry officials from 34 Least Developed Countries on the continent, at the close of a three-day intergovernmental meeting held at the Economic Commission for Africa headquarters, in the Ethiopian capital.

Sponsored by the ECA, the Office of the High Representative for the Least Developed Countries, Landlocked Developing Countries and Small Island Developing States (UN-OHRLLS), and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), the regional meeting was held in preparation for a global review of the 2001 Brussels Programme of Action (BpoA), a commitment undertaken by heads of state worldwide to promote development in the LDCs.

“ECA is pleased to have organized this meeting, and to witness and assist you in accepting the challenge to evaluate progress made in the implementation of the Brussels Programme since 2001, to generate ideas and concretize actions to move the Programme forward,” said Augustin Fosu, the director of the ECA’s Economic and Social Policy Division (ESPD), at the closing ceremony.

He addressed the closing ceremony on behalf of Mr Abdoulie Janneh, Executive Secretary of the ECA. Besides the representatives from Member States, present at the meeting were Undersecretary and Special Representative for OHRLLS, Mr Anwarul Chowdhury, and the Executive Secretary of the sister Economic Commission for Asia and Pacific, ESCAP, Mr Kim Hak-Su.

Mr Fosu highlighted some of the conclusions taken by participants of the meeting: He said there is an increased recognition that to further development in Africa’s LDCs, it is imperative to improve Governance at national levels.

Another major challenge addressed by Member States in the meeting''s closing report was that of barriers in the form of unnecessary bureaucracy, which keep businesses in many countries from expanding.

“These must be reduced in order to enhance a conducive environment for the local private sector, as well as to attract Foreign Direct Investment to Africa’s LDCs, ” said Mr Fosu. “On this note, better mobilization of domestic resources is required,” he said.

In addition, statistical development on all fronts is critical for monitoring targets of development programmes like the BpoA. But no less important to the development of this comprehensive action programme is the need for a full national, regional and international commitment to its implementation, said Fosu.

“In this respect the ECA has an important role to play in bringing forth the agenda of the BPoA for African LDCs.on the continent. We are committed to working with all stakeholders in this context,” said Mr Fosu.

The issue of partnerships was of particular note. Member States discussed the role of the United Nations and of the ECA in furthering the Brussels Programme, and in particular the mechanisms with which to imbed its seven commitments into Poverty Reduction Strategies (PRSs), cross-cutting its targets with the Millennium Development Goals.

It was considered that the ECA''s mandate to further socio-economic development on the continent is largely complementary to the Programme. But the Commission needs to have a more targeted approach to Africa’s LDCs, said Member States.

Albeit in general terms, already the ECA team assists the BpoA through areas such as the African Peer Review Mechanism (APRM), the mutual review on development effectiveness, trade and environment workshops, seminars on debt relief, trade negotiations, and capital market development, and activities to reach gender parity.

Addressing the meeting, USG Mr Chowdhury highlighted that incrementing Africa''s trade potential is particularly relevant for achieving the targets set by the BPoA. He said dependency on primary commodities remains a challenge to be overcome by most LDCs.

In this regard, inter-regional and international cooperation is ever more pressing, he said, as well as making connections between different development programmes.

To Kim Hak-Su, the Executive Secretary of ESCAP, which hosts a hub for 14 of the world''s 50 LDCs, the Asia-Pacific region has much to teach and to learn from Africa.

"Our Asia-Pacific region countries find themselves at a crossroads," he said. "Although their performance in the external sector is improving, there is still a long way to go."

Mr Kim said diversification is key to boosting the economies of LDCs worldwide. "The overdependence of LDCs on selected developed country markets could be reduced through increased participation in intra-regional trade and South-south cooperation."