Malawian President urges Finance and Development Ministers to Promote Sustainable Growth before Macro-economic stability

ECA-AU Joint Press Release No. 29/2010

Lilongwe, 30 March 2010 (ECA-AUC) - Africa’s Ministers of Finance, Planning and Economic Development have devoted the first session of their annual meeting which is taking place in Lilongwe, at the joint initiative of the African Union Commission and the Economic Commission for Africa, to a policy debate on how to strengthen the job creation component in growth policies.

The Commissioner for Economic Affairs at the African Union Commission, Dr. Maxwell Mkwezalamba, set the stage for discussions by expressing his concern regarding the high unemployment rates across the continent, ranging from 8 to 10% in average in 2008. He indicated that:” In many cases, high rates of growth have not translated into job creation”. Dr. Maxwell Mkwezalamba called policymakers to focus on dynamic engines of long-term growth and to increase investments in human capital and technology.

 Ministers took note of the fact that the growth-employment-poverty reduction nexus has been largely overlooked in policy formulation and implementation over the past three decades in most African countries. To bridge this gap, discussants explored a course of action which stresses the need for Africa to adopt inward policies promoting intra-African trade, implement industrialization policies and engage in domestic resources mobilization.

Growth strategies outlined by Ministers are also emphasizing a country-specific approach which can help mainstream climate change adaptation and mitigation measures into policies to achieve a green growth and clean development.

It was widely agreed that from now on, short-term and long-term development policies in Africa should be devised around employment creation and decent work.

While planning for the future, Ministers indicated that it is crucial to factor in, lessons learnt from the impact of the global and financial crisis on employment and poverty reduction in Africa.

According to Adv. Bience Gawanas, African Union Commissioner for Social Affairs, the crisis has disproportionally and negatively affected women, youth, disabled persons and migrant workers. Commissioner Gawanas underscored the need to target the most vulnerable when devising policies. “When we are talking about unemployment, we are talking about the standard of living of our people. We cannot talk about in terms of figures and numbers” she insisted.

In addition to addressing challenges posed by nutrition and education among others, Commissioner Gawanas called on Africa’s Finance and Development Ministers to “at least recognize the centrality of informal economy in addressing the issue of unemployment in Africa”. “We ignore the informal economy at our own peril” the Commissioner warned.

Discussions underlined the fact that providing a decent job to the poorest is a key step towards attaining the MDGs on target. This goal will remain out of reach unless right policies are put in place and adequate resources made available.

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