| Twenty-fourth meeting of the Committee
of Experts of the Conference of African Ministers of Finance, Planning
and Economic Development
Opening Statement
By
K.Y. Amoako,
Executive Secretary
Abuja, Nigeria
11 May 2005
Mr. Chairman,
The Honourable Minister of Finance of the Federal Republic of Nigeria,
The Representative of the African Union Commission,
Excellencies,
Distinguished Experts,
Ladies and Gentlemen,
It is my pleasure to welcome
you all to Abuja for this meeting of the Committee of Experts of the Conference
of African Ministers of Finance, Planning and Economic Development.
On behalf of all participants,
I wish to express my deepest appreciation to the Government and people
of the Federal Republic of Nigeria for offering to host this important
meeting, and for their hospitality since our arrival in this magnificent
capital, Abuja.
Abuja has, in recent years,
become a very important venue for tackling African issues. The Abuja treaty
establishing the African Economic Community was signed here in June 1991.
The Abuja declaration on tackling HIV/AIDS, TB and Other Infectious Diseases
was also made here in 2001.
His Excellency President
Obasanjo has been deeply involved in the search for solutions to many
African problems, including conflict resolution, and has played a leading
role in steering NEPAD. Abuja has therefore become a symbol of a common
African identity and African Unity.
I would like to thank the
Honourable Finance Minister of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, Ngozi
Okonjo-Iweala, for taking time from her busy schedule to be with us this
morning. I also want to take this opportunity to commend her for the far-reaching
and impressive efforts she is taking in reforming the Nigerian economy.
As has become customary over
the last three years, this meeting is being held consecutively with the
2005 Annual Meetings of the African Development Bank Group and the Joint
ADB/ECA symposium here in Abuja.
Allow me - in that regard
- to thank the President of the ADB and his staff for their friendly collaboration,
which helps to create a productive environment, and to maximize the efficiency
of time our ministers spend in consideration of the continent's key regional
economic organizations.
Mr. Chairman, Ladies and
Gentlemen,
It is now nearly a decade
since I began my tenure as Executive Secretary of the Economic Commission
for Africa, and first engaged with you as a group.
And as I look back and review
the last ten years, I am struck by the important role that this meeting
of Experts and the subsequent Ministerial Conference has increasingly
played in shaping the agenda on key development issues on the continent.
Our themes have been timely,
and our agendas have often been packed. But time and again this Committee
has deliberated on critical matters with focus and energy and thus significantly
helped to inform the dialogue at ministerial level.
Over this period, many faces
have changed and the Committee has met in all corners of the continent.
However, one thing has remained constant - your dedication and commitment
to the work of the Committee of Experts. That it why it is always a special
pleasure to appear before you.
I made my first address to
this committee nearly ten years ago now, when it was still known as the
Technical Preparatory Committee of the Whole, or TEPCOW.
I spoke then against a backdrop
that is very different from today. At the time of that speech, Africa
was just emerging from a very difficult period.
Many observers have correctly
described the 1980s as "a lost decade for Africa." For many
countries, the period of negative growth continued through the 1990s.
However, the 1990s also offered
renewed hope to Africa that the years of decline were behind us, and that
by our own actions we could begin to address the problems of poverty and
growth.
That's why in my first address
to this committee, almost ten years ago, I came with a vision of reforming
ECA in order to improve its effectiveness and enable the institution to
serve Africa better.
I spoke at the time about
our shared vision for Africa and the opportunities before us that we had
to seize to make that vision a reality.
We can be pleased that, since
then, the continent has indeed made good use of many global and regional
opportunities for positive change.
For example, regarding peace
and security, the situation is now getting better with many civil wars
being resolved and nations embarking on reconstruction.
This is a closely linked
to Africa's strong drive through the African Union and NEPAD, to take
the lead in tackling its own economic and social challenges.
On the governance front,
good governance is now widely accepted as critical to achievement of our
development objectives. African governments are not just talking: they
are acting. Our governance indicators are improving at least as fast as
any developing region.
In the area of democratic
transitions, many African countries have made significant strides, evolving
from authoritarian or military regimes to more democratic dispensations.
We have also entered an era
of greater political inclusiveness. More women are in politics and in
positions of power in all spheres of public life. (And they really
don't get much better than my good friend, the Honourable Minister Ngozi
Okonjo-Iweala). Rwanda, for example, leads the world in the
number of female parliamentarians. And half of the Commissioners of the
African Union are women.
There's expanded voice and
accountability. Our press is much freer. New and various avenues are being
created to allow citizens to participate in the political process and
express their demands, without fear of retribution.
On the economic front there's
also been significant progress:
There is unprecedented macro-economic
stability, which is contributing to better economic growth rates than
we have achieved in decades.
Today, average economic growth
is 4.6% and has remained positive for several years now.
The IMF is projecting economic
growth for Africa at over 5.3 per cent for 2005, and average inflation
of 9.9 per cent compared to 41 per cent over 10 years ago.
Africa has also made its
way onto the international digital highway. Although many of our countries
are still driving in the slow lane, t is evident that information technology,
which has revolutionized the way the world does business, has already
positively affected the lives of millions in Africa.
What a difference a decade
makes! Take telephony for example.
Looking out into this audience
ten years ago, I think I would have been pushed to count the number of
people with cell phones on two hands.
Today I am sure many of you
have two mobiles!
Next, there is the whole
issue of our development financing needs. I recall that one of the main
challenges facing Africa when I assumed the position of Executive Secretary
was the need to mobilize financial resources and human capital for development.
At the time, development
assistance to the continent had been declining for several years, there
was no sign that private flows would soon fill the gap, and yet the trend
of aid assistance looked to be going further down.
However, since then, Africa
has made its needs known at the global level, especially at Monterrey
and we have successfully helped set a new global agenda to reverse this
trend.
Talk is now of how to increase
aid to Africa and also how to make it more effective. The paradigm has
moved from conditionality to mutual accountability.
On the trade front, we are
working hard to address our decline in trade performance by looking inwards
and also by strongly fighting for our cause in the global WTO environment.
A key priority now is a pro-development
outcome for the Doha round and there is now great pressure for action
by rich countries to break down their barriers and end their subsidies,
particularly in agriculture.
I am pleased that ECA was,
in 1995 and 1996, (in collaboration with our ministers), able to correctly
anticipate the key emerging challenges faced by the continent at the dawn
of the 21st century.
We were thereby able to position
ourselves to help member States meet these challenges, and this programme
has guided our work over the past decade.
Looking back, we can say
that we have made a significant contribution to the advancement of the
contemporary African development agenda in several ways:
We have actively promoted
good governance - not least through a major benchmarking survey.
Above all, we have advocated
the need for Africa to build capable and effective states
- those that can protect human rights, as well as deliver services to
their people and establish a climate for entrepreneurship and economic
growth - as they are
the foundation of development.
ECA has also worked hard
to ensure that the overriding objective of gender equality is placed at
the centre of economic and political discussions at the highest political
and policy-making levels.
Over the past ten years,
we have therefore dramatically increased our capacity for analytical and
advocacy work in this area, including developing indicators for tracking
governments' performance towards meeting the goals enshrined in the Beijing
Platform of Action.
ECA has also played a key
role in helping Africa to bridge the digital divide through its lead role
in the implementation of the African Information Society Initiative.
I am pleased to note that
over thirty countries now have comprehensive national information and
communication technology infrastructure plans in place since the launch
of this initiative in 1996.
Additionally, we have sharpened
the focus of our economic and social policy analysis. Based on this research,
we provided member States with guidance on how best to establish a good
policy environment and a supportive institutional environment to spur
economic growth.
At the same time, we have
placed a strong focus on the nexus issues of food security, population
and environment in order to present effective policies for promoting sustainable
development.
Finally, we are working hard
to support Africa's efforts in improving trade and advancing the regional
integration agenda.
Over the past decade, we
have helped Africa to clearly articulate joint positions on trade and
to gain attention well beyond its market size.
We continue to do so through
the office in Geneva and through our new African Trade Policy Centre.
And we have worked strenuously
to help further the regional integration process through our detailed
work in assessing the actual implementation of the agenda.
Mr. Chairman,
Dear Experts,
As you know, the themes of
this Conference of Ministers have served each year to advance the African
development agenda by taking positions on critical issues.
I will be reviewing the impact
of these meetings in some detail when I address our ministers on Saturday.
In that regard, I am sure
you will agree with me that this year's Conference is most timely, and
that it also has the potential to "push the envelope" in a number
of key areas.
Because, despite the progress
I outlined earlier, we also know that there are still three very fundamental
issues on which we are yet to see significant movement in the right direction.
These are debt, HIV/AIDS,
and the overarching quest for poverty reduction. All three are inter-related
and very pertinent to the theme of this year's conference.
Before I address the theme
itself, which pulls them together within the context of the Millennium
Development Goals, let me briefly highlight the challenges we are still
confronted with in each area.
Firstly, debt. There are
currently several initiatives around and momentum has been building for
change for some time, as it is clear that the enhanced HIPC initiative
is inadequate, particularly when viewed through the prism of Africa's
MDG financing needs.
However, we now need more
than good will. There simply has to be more significant action, with influential
partners such as the G8 leading the way.
We, at ECA, therefore back
the decision, taken by African Finance Ministers in Dakar at the weekend,
that our leaders should adopt a "militant and forceful position"
on debt cancellation at the Millennium Summit in September.
In that regard, the position
taken by the Commission for Africa, on which I serve, is, in my view,
also helpful.
In our report, released in
March, we call on developed countries to immediately help finance 100
per cent multilateral debt service cancellation for all countries that
need it.
We recommend that it should
cover multilateral and bilateral debt, and reduce debt stock and debt
service by up to 100 per cent.
And, moving away from sustainability
analysis of HIPC, we recommend that the key criteria for debt relief should
be the financing needs of the MDGs and overall goal of poverty reduction.
Therefore debt relief schemes should also cover countries such as Nigeria.
The second challenge is HIV/AIDS,
which we know is seriously hampering Africa's efforts to sustain positive
economic growth rates over the long term and aggressively depleting our
human capital.
It is most encouraging that
there is now significant political will at the highest levels to tackle
it.
However, we still need to
do much, much more in this battle. The challenge is how exactly to scale
up the fightback efficiently and effectively.
Above all, what we need now
are the right tools to tackle HIV/AIDS on all fronts over the long-term.
One of many key elements
in the global fightback against the disease is work of the Commission
on HIV/AIDS and Governance in Africa, which I chair.
Its report, to be published
later this year, will present a comprehensive picture of the HIV/AIDS
threat to Africa's societies and economies.
Furthermore, the report will
provide a holistic package of options to assist policy makers in scaling
up the response to this challenge in a comprehensive manner.
I believe that it will be
critical to begin implementing the Commission's recommendations on several
fronts, without delay, as the virus continues to relentlessly eat away
at the socioeconomic foundation of African states.
HIV/AIDS is without a doubt
the greatest leadership challenge to our continent and our quest for sustainable
development is doomed to fail if we are not able to defeat it.
Mr. Chairman,
Ladies and Gentlemen,
Since 2000, Africa's quest
for sustainable development has been a key component of a major global
cause- the Millennium Development Goals.
The theme of this year's
Conference of Ministers of Finance, Planning and Economic Development
is therefore firmly situated within a big global picture.
The timing of the meeting
also gives it a crucial role in providing expert input and guidance for
dialogue at the [forthcoming] African Union Summit on the MDGs.
Furthermore, the positions
taken here can also feed into the international dialogue on the same theme
later in the year.
As you know, world leaders
will once again gather at the United Nations in September for a Special
Session of the General Assembly to review progress towards achieving the
Goals.
The summit comes at a time
when economic and social trends in Africa suggest that the continent will
not achieve most of the MDGs by the target date of 2015.
This is clearly unacceptable.
As we will discuss in this
afternoon's session on the MDGs, there are, fortunately, valuable international
initiatives on the table attempting to create a big push to help Africa
achieve the MDGs.
These initiatives include
the reports of the Commission for Africa and the United Nations Millennium
Project.
The report of the Project,
which was an independent advisory body to the UN Secretary General, asserts
that, unless technically proven otherwise, the starting assumption for
every country is that the goals are achievable.
However, this requires extensive
national and international effort, to improve governance, promote entrepreneurship,
mobilize domestic resources, substantially increase aid and improve global
governance on issues such as the international trade regime.
The core operational recommendation
of the Millennium Project is that every country should adopt and implement
a national development strategy ambitious enough to achieve the
Goals.
And, that the international
community needs to respond with at least a doubling of global ODA.
Your Secretariat has provided
you with several documents to help guide your discussions on the MDGs.
Let me briefly highlight
our views on the main issues and questions that need to be considered.
Our assessment has led us
to the conclusion that economic growth that generates employment, especially
in areas where the poor make their living, will have the greatest impact
on poverty reduction in Africa.
Here, I would like to stress
three things:
First, growth, per se, is
insufficient to lift millions out of poverty and achieve the MDGs. The
question to answer is what growth strategies should be pursued in order
to ensure that the poor truly benefit and that widespread employment opportunities
are generated?
The issue of growth and distribution
is not mutually exclusive, but may involve some policy trade-offs. Here,
we can learn from different country experiences and make recommendations
to our ministers.
Second, growth must be sustainable.
Therefore, it is important to support the drivers of growth over a long
period of time.
And for this we need wise
planning and relevant policies. The key questions that we need to tackle
here are:
- What lessons can we learn from first generation
Poverty Reduction Strategies which should be incorporated into Second
Generation Poverty Reduction Strategies which are politically owned
and which carry us through the 2015 MDG target date? And;
- How can we best address
the importance of investing in the agriculture and infrastructure sectors
and mainstreaming trade in national strategies in order to simultaneously
stimulate economic growth and achieve the MDGs?
Evidence shows that countries
that have grown significantly have managed to support these drivers of
growth by taking difficult long-term decisions.
This is only possible under
conditions of peace and security, with strong institutions and the infrastructure
to support the private sector at all levels.
Third, resolving debt, trade
and aid issues is critical to our achieving the MDGs. And there's still
much work to do here.
As you know, we, at ECA,
at the request of NEPAD's leaders, have jointly with our partners in the
OECD, developed a framework for monitoring commitments to development
effectiveness that have been made under the principle of mutual accountability.
Tomorrow, we will present
to you the findings and recommendations of the first Mutual Review of
Development Effectiveness report.
As in the past, this Committee
makes very important inputs by highlighting key issues, sharing successful
country experiences, and making concrete recommendations.
We therefore greatly look
forward to your insights on this work and all the other subject matters
in the issues note.
Mr. Chairman,
Let me now quickly note other
agenda items. Since we met in Kampala a year ago, ECA has worked hard
to fulfill its mandate by working to assist member States in a range of
key areas.
Our activities are comprehensively
outlined in the Annual Report on the Work of the Commission, which
will be presented to you.
Finally, the Secretariat
has prepared for your consideration and adoption ECA's proposed programme
of work and priorities for 2006-2007.
There is no significant change
in the broad priorities to be pursued, but you may wish to note the renewed
emphasis on statistics in ECA's work, with the establishment of the Advisory
Bureau on Statistics in Africa (ABSA), as well as actions to focus on
enhancing synergies between ECA headquarters and the sub-Regional Offices
in delivering the work programme.
As discussed and agreed at
our last meeting in Kampala, development of the Commission's priorities
should be through a broad consultation process. This process included
the meeting of the ad hoc group of experts held in December 2004.
We are pleased that a significant
number of you were able to participate in that meeting and we hope you
find your discussions well reflected in the proposed programme of work.
Mr. Chairman,
Ladies and gentlemen,
As I have outlined above,
the theme of this conference is not only important in itself, but could
not come at a more crucial time.
This year offers a great
opportunity to launch Africa on a sustainable path to achieving the MDGs,
whose achievement would transform our countries and our prospects.
I have also outlined the
long road we have travelled together in our quest for poverty reduction
and economic development in Africa.
I am certain that your time
in Abuja will be well spent and that together we will help our ministers
produce a concise and action- orientated ministerial statement, that will
help increase the momentum for change on the ground from the current unacceptable
trends to one of progress towards the MDGs in the near future.
I look forward to your deliberations
with the greatest of interest.
Thank you for your kind attention.
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