1st Joint Annual Meetings of Addis Ababa, Ethiopia Opening Statement by H.E. Patrick Mazimhaka
Deputy Chairperson of the African Union Commission His Excellency Mr. Jikaya Kikwete, President of the United Republic of Tanzania and Chairperson of the African Union Distinguished Ladies and Gentlemen It is a singular honour for me to deliver an opening statement, on behalf of the Chairperson of the African Union Commission, His Excellency Prof. Alpha Oumar Konare, at this historic First Joint Conference of the Conference of African Union Ministers of Economy and Finance and Economic Commission for Africa Conference of Ministers of Finance, Planning and Economic Development, jointly organized by the African Union Commission and the Economic Commission for Africa (ECA). The holding of this Conference gives concrete expression to the decisions solemnly taken by African Heads of State and Government to create a unique space for exchanges and decisions on our Continent’s economic and social development policies, and to help our countries to better manage their programmes in order to achieve the set objectives. It should be noted that the culmination of this will, reaffirmed many times by African leaders, to enlist the participation of all African continental institutions, particularly the African Development Bank (AfDB), the ECA and the African Union Commission, comes at the same time as the commemoration of the 50th Anniversary of the ECA. The long time that elapsed before such a decision could materialize is unfortunate, but now the challenge to us all is to assume our responsibility and respond to the urgent need to rapidly and resolutely enhance cooperation among all our institutions for the uplifting of the welfare of our populations. Excellencies Ladies and Gentlemen Almost forty-five years after the inception of the organization of African Unity (OAU), and fifty ears after the establishment of the ECA, we sadly realise that despite some progress made in terms of our Continent’s economic development and integration, we have to accept that collectively we lost a century. There is still a long way to go before we get a grip on how, together, we can assure improved well-being of the African people. Although eight (8) years ago we celebrated the dawn of the 21st Century, a large majority of men, women and youths in our respective countries are still far removed from the prosperity that other people of the world enjoy today. Millions of these women, men and youths are mired in poverty which deprives them of essential needs and an opportunity to live in dignity, at a time when other people, who were at the same level of underdevelopment as our selves can now through their daily efforts overcome poverty. In spite of the regular and relatively high economic growth announced in most African countries in recent years, many of our brothers, sisters and children are increasingly reduced to destitution and require foreign assistance in order to survive. The challenge to us is to figure out how to close this gap between perceived and real growth. Growth that does not result in improvement of daily lives and predictable steady improvement in the standards of living of our people will only result in destabilisation of the continent. It is our duty, to transform Africa’s image into that of a land of prosperity, peace and well-being, by, for a start, mobilizing all the Continent’s human energy and potential. It is by mobilizing all our forces, by harmonizing and coordinating all our actions that we will be able to put an end to the apparent suicidal attempts of our youth, who risk their lives, braving treacherous deserts and rough seas, in a futile attempt to reach industrialized countries in the hope of finding employment to improve their own living conditions and those of the families they leave behind. Please allow me to refer specifically to the central theme of this Conference, which is «Meeting Africa’s New Challenges in the 21st Century». One of the major challenges we face together is how to organize our economies so as to create a sufficient number of decent jobs in our continental economies. We should carry out in depth analysis of concrete measures to be adopted and implemented in each one of our countries in order to jointly create each year the 11 million jobs required, according to the International Labour Organization (ILO), to reduce the level of unemployment in Africa to the world average. In the Plan of Action adopted during the Extraordinary Assembly of the African Union on Employment and Poverty Reduction, organized in collaboration with the ILO, in Ouagadougou from 8 to 9 September 2004, Member States decided on priority areas, and among the 11 identified I would like to mention the political leadership and commitment to create an enabling environment of good governance for investment, development and poverty reduction within the NEPAD framework and the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). Intrinsically, this area embraces all the problems of economic development at the service of populations. Although it does not explicitly mention employment as a major objective, it however reflects the need to incorporate this fundamental aspect of man in his daily quest to improve his living conditions in economic development strategies, and no longer consider it as a by product of economic growth. Speaking of growth, the performance obtained in recent years indicates that, on the whole, we are on the right track. However, taking into account current population growth rates and the weight of the mining and hydrocarbon sectors in the structure of African economies, we observe that underemployment and poverty remain heavy burdens on the sustainable growth and political and social stability of our countries. In order to increase the employment content of economic growth in the coming years, the choices should be clear. The diversification of the productive mechanism becomes an economic and social exigency in order to overcome extreme specialization in the exploitation of natural resources. The trade economy, based on a so-called modern sector for the exploitation of natural resources, which has long been dominant in our countries, did not allow us to diversify, industrialize and create employment to underpin sustainable development in Africa. Yet, in order to make such a strategy operational, our countries should adopt a pragmatic and systematic approach, combining a national global development policy and enhanced regional cooperation in order to jointly make better use of our potentials, improve the competitiveness of our economies and foster the development of domestic markets. Excellencies Ladies and Gentlemen Before calling for international solidarity to help Africa to achieve its socio-economic development, African countries should mobilize their internal and external active forces and initiate actions of solidarity between countries and regions of the Continent in order to achieve common objectives of economic and social advancement. In each country, all the economic and social actors in the urban and rural areas should be systematically involved in the formulation and implementation of national development programmes. To explore every potential for creating wealth and employment, public-private partnership cannot remain in a merely rhetorical mode. While acknowledging the role of States as driving forces and regulators of economic and social life, private initiative should be supported through appropriate mechanisms designed and deployed with the actual participation of economic operators. To make States effective institutions to support the development of African economies, our public administrations should be radically reformed to transform them into efficient public service structures. Our States should work towards partnership with the private sector of each country, to define a detailed programme for the improvement of the business climate. To stop the de-industrialization of Africa and the current trend that transforms its populations exclusively into consumers of finished products from the rest of the world, we should become imaginative and venture off the beaten track to liberalize initiatives and encourage the development of the private sector in a society of justice and progress. Excellencies Ladies and Gentlemen It is well known that considering the exiguity of most of our domestic markets and the burden of constraints which frequently undermine the rapid and sustainable development of African economies, particularly in the areas of transport and energy, it would appear to be impossible for a country taken individually to ensure its own development without the support of others. We note that commendable efforts have been made in the Regional Economic Communities (RECs) and at continental level towards integration, although at different paces. It should, however, be observed that the overall slowness of the process does not promote the emergence of an Africa that is more present in the world, when globalization is rapidly gaining ground. The fact that NEPAD, an initiative which raised our hopes for Africa, is not making much progress, and the low level of intra-African trade, which is below 10% of the Continent’s overall trade, are situations which show just how much, today more than ever before, we should be resolute in actions to jointly overcome, through consultation, dialogue and coordination of our activities, the challenges we are facing. Although we feel an increasing willingness on the part of the economic operators of our different countries to cross national borders, to trade and invest in the Continent, the States are slow to accompany this wind of progress which is blowing over our economies and make the necessary investments for the development of infrastructure, facilitate or even eliminate all procedures, thus promoting free movement of persons, goods and capital. Seventeen years after the adoption of the Abuja Treaty, on the formulation of which the ECA and the OAU worked in close collaboration, it is high time to do away with the barriers between African countries and embark resolutely on the implementation of common industrial projects, capable of processing our products and generating added value to increase wealth and support investment. The diversification of our economies that has been much sought after for decades, will remain a mere pie in the sky if right here and now, and in all Member States, we do not decide once and for all to integrate in national economic development strategies, programmes and projects, the regional and continental dimension, and if we do not agree to transcend the parochialism and rigid framework of borders imposed on us by history, in order to combine our efforts and pool our resources, and strengthen our mutual confidence in order to immediately embark on a common programme, the pace of the economic, social and political integration process. Africa can benefit from, but cannot tie its future to international aide. The many conferences organized to promote Africa’s development, in spite of the hopes raised, have neither facilitated the mobilization of the necessary resources, nor attracted private capital to Africa, notwithstanding the macro-economic reforms initiated and their extremely high social costs. Faced with this situation, African countries should rely first on the mobilization of their own resources in order not to depend on frequently hypothetical foreign aide to ensure their development. Novel initiatives are needed to enable economic actors and the African Diaspora to mobilize the human and financial resources required to win this noble struggle for development, by building the necessary infrastructure, diversifying and intensifying production, strengthening the educational, training and health system, as well as creating employment in order to reduce poverty. At a time when inflation is once more becoming a source of concern in many Africa countries, following the rapid and continued increase in the prices of oil and food products, and considering the fact that the competition developing in the production of bio fuels is creating new social tensions which destabilize countries, at a time when many phenomena of climate degradation are observed which endanger the Continent’s sustainable growth, it is increasingly obvious that Africa’s economic problems should be resolved within the united framework of our countries. Excellencies Ladies and Gentlemen Faced with the problem of inadequate resources experienced by many countries, I am pleased to inform you today of the progress made towards the establishment of the African Investment Bank (AIB). The preparatory work for the establishment of this financial institutions provided for by the Constitutive Act of the African Union will begin in April in Tripoli, the city chosen to host its headquarters. With regard to the African Central Bank and the African Monetary Fund, we hope that the host countries, Nigeria and Cameroon, respectively, will shortly honour their commitments to enable Africa to be rapidly endowed with instruments to promote the Continent’s economic integration. In respect of the need to ensure free flow of capital in our Continent and productively maintain the significant volume of liquidity generated by the recent growth of economies, I wish to inform you of the study currently being conducted by the African Union Commission on the feasibility of a Pan-African Stock Exchange. The willingness to establish regional capital markets, provided for in the Abuja Treaty, should be given concrete expression in order to facilitate the economic diversification we are seeking and reduce financial dependency on other continents. Excellencies Ladies and Gentlemen May I finally congratulate the ECA Executive Secretary, Mr. Abdoulie Janneh and the entire ECA staff, with whom we continue to enjoy excellent working relationship, for the achievements of the ECA realised in the last 50 years and wish them a happy commemoration of the ECA’s golden jubilee. I thank you for your kind attention.
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