Infrastructure “missing component” in Africa's development
by Robert T. Lisinge

Addis Ababa, 23 May - The Economic Commission for Africa (ECA) and the African Development Bank (AfDB) last week jointly organized a ministerial round table and two high level seminars aimed at highlighting the importance of infrastructure development and regional integration on the continent.

African ministers, Central Bank governors, leaders from the private sector and civil society as well as development partners attended the events held on 16 May 2006 in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso. ECA's Executive Secretary and USG Abdoulie Janneh co-chaired the round table along with AfDB President Donald Kaberuka, while Burkina Faso's Prime Minister Paramanga Ernest Yonli opened the session.

In his address to participants, Janneh pointed out ECA's leadership role in infrastructure development on the continent, and acknowledged calls for the Commission to join the Infrastructure Consortium for Africa (ICA). The ICA is a major donor effort to accelerate progress in meeting urgent infrastructure needs on the continent. In that regard, he proposed hosting the next meeting of the Consortium in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.

In his opening statement, Yonli noted that economic integration required modern and regional infrastructure, capable of creating jobs and facilitating free movement of people and goods. He observed that the costs of telephone communications as well as those of air and maritime transport were two to three times higher in Africa than other regions of the world. The prime minister added that infrastructure remains the “missing component” in Africa's development strategy.

Kaberuka meanwhile called on African governments to abolish visas to facilitate the movement of people. He also called for the removal of non-tariff barriers so as to speed up trade on the continent.

For his part, South African Finance Minister Trevor Manuel - the keynote speaker of the session - addressed the critical issues affecting infrastructure development and regional integration, and explored the opportunities and challenges faced by African governments. He noted that infrastructure development was crucial for enhancing trade as well as for speeding up the diversification process. He urged African countries to take full advantage of the improved political and economic climate on the continent as well as the renewed commitment of development partners to boost the implementation of infrastructure projects.

The two seminars meanwhile discussed the themes of Infrastructure Development and Regional Integration: Getting the Policy Framework Right and Infrastructure Development and Regional Integration: Meeting the Investment Needs.

Addressing the second seminar, Cote d'Ivoire's Prime Minister Charles Konan Banny stressed that infrastructure development was indispensable for economic development and poverty reduction. He said the seminar was a good opportunity for sharing international and regional experiences, as well as highlighting the financial needs and opportunities for investing in infrastructure.

Hakim Ben Hammouda, director of ECA's Trade and Regional Integration Division, noted renewed interest in infrastructure development in Africa, such as the launch of NEPAD with infrastructure as one of its priority areas. He also pointed out that inadequate infrastructure had contributed low levels of intra-African trade and the marginalisation of the continent in the globalisation process.

All the discussions acknowledged Africa's huge infrastructure gap, and the need for a regional vision of infrastructure development. Participants also agreed that African countries lacked adequate financial and technical capacities to meet existing infrastructure requirements and therefore supported calls for the use of innovative approaches in financing infrastructure development on the continent, notably by involving the private sector.

Participants urged governments to provide incentives to encourage private sector participation, such as providing risk guarantees, boosting public sector investment in infrastructure development, and establishing transparent and effective regulatory frameworks. The need for appropriate mechanisms to finance and implement regional infrastructure projects was also emphasised.