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Launch of the African Economic Outlook 2009 Closing Remarks
Guest of Honour, Honourable Situmbeko Musokotwane, Minister of Finance and National Planning,
It has been a pleasure being among so many distinguished guests to this launch of the second African Economic Outlook and the 2009 African Competitiveness Report. The launching of the second jointly prepared edition of the African Economic Outlook 2009 by the African Development Bank, the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa and the OECD Center along with the 2009 African Competitiveness Report has been very useful in not only to disseminate information and views on African economic and development issues to a broad public audience- it has also allowed for dialogue and engagement. In the last hours, we have heard the statistics and figures that underline the depth and breath of the economic landscape - the outlook is clear and we certainly cannot be complacent, especially against the backdrop of the global financial and economic crisis and the extreme challenges posed to our economies. While various annual reports are published by international organisations on Africa, including ECA and AfDB, the AEO and the African Competitiveness reports are perhaps the only annual publications that cover the continent on a country-by-country comparative basis. With respect to the African Economic Outlook it provides consistent, reliable, and timely information on the economic, political and social developments. As the report shows African countries exhibit a high degree of diversity among themselves and across time and the need of periodic reviews of their situation and short-term prospects is a necessary tool for good policymaking and economic development. This Report rightly highlights the many existing uncertainties surrounding the extent and effect of the global recession on OECD countries and the slowdown of major emerging economies. These will definitely have implications for sustained growth, trade, aid and investment in African countries. Thus the current crisis should be seen as an opportunity to scale up the process of diversification and regional integration to increase our resilience to external shocks. The promotion of intra-regional development and trade should be enhanced as an important element in harnessing Africa’s economic potential. In this regard, the Outlook is a powerful means for ECA, AfDB and their partners (OECD) to use their strengths to give Africa a real voice in the international fora and help the continent develop common positions and perspectives on development challenges. The collaboration between ECA, AfDB and OECD is strength for the Report because it brings together perspectives of experts from the three institutions and other African institutions with rich and varied expertise in the development of the continent.
What we can do, as these reports made clear is for policymakers and development partners alike to serve as catalyst in taking measures to enhance the productivity of African economies and their integration. The theme of the 2009 Outlook “Innovation, Information and Communication Technologies in Africa” noting the low rate of ICT penetration underscores the increasing need for addressing the cost of doing business in Africa to make it more competitive. We look forward to seeing the AEO reaching new heights in terms of country coverage, depth of analysis and impact on stakeholders, including member States and national policy makers, international donors and development community, researchers, civil society and journalists. As we end this launch, we express our gratitude to the African Development Bank, The OECD, the guests, the discussants and all of you who are here including the media for their coverage of this event. Thank you |
