Industrialization on the agenda for major Africa meeting

Giovanne Biha, the Deputy Executive Secretary, United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (ECA) said African governments need to adopt coherent strategies and national development plans to address the continent’s challenges of inequality. (Lucie Morangi/China Daily)

Dakar, Senegal -- African development week officially opened on Thursday with calls for more efforts to be made to develop and implement polices that specially cater for women and youth.

African delegates at the meeting in Dakar, Senegal, unanimously agree that revving up the industrial engines will effectively address challenges of urbanization, poverty, inequality and sluggish economic growth.

More than 500 delegates have congregated in the west African country for the 10th high-level meetings, including senior ministers and high-level advisors from many countries.

In his welcoming speech, Senegal’s budget minister, Birima Mangara, said the event's theme, "Growth, inequality and unemployment" could not have come at a better time, stating that his country was strongly pursuing structural transformation of its economy for the benefit of every citizen. The country has a population of 15.6 million people that is expected to reach 20 million in 2030.

"We are committed to structurally reforming our economy to meet the Sustainable Development Goals, Agenda 2030 and Africa's Agenda 2063 to ensure social inclusiveness and fuel economic growth," Mangara said.

He noted that the meeting, which starts with the committee of experts forum, is expected to come up with relevant strategies that will contribute to the wellbeing of all.

Some of the key topics under discussion will touch on industrialization, infrastructure, urbanization and agriculture.

According to Desire Sibanda, the permanent secretary of the ministry of macro-economic planning and investment promotions in Zimbabwe, many of the papers that will be presented draw on lessons from China. He said African countries that are emulating China are experiencing galloping economic growth that is trickling down to its youthful population.

"Countries such as Ethiopia and Zimbabwe are heavily implementing industrialization policies that have successfully worked in China such as the special industrial zones. I think we will see the experts referring to these successes during the different sessions. There is a lot to learn and I believe this has been made possible with the close collaboration we are having with China."

The conference will explore measures for reducing inequality and extreme poverty on the continent in order to achieve the targets of the First Ten-Year Implementation Plan (2013-2023) of Agenda 2063 and the goals of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, among other issues.

Among the high-level delegates present were the newly-elected African Union Commission Chairperson Moussa Faki Mahamat, President of the office of the committee of experts, Lizenga Maluleka, representatives of UN agencies, the African Union Commission, African Development Bank and civil society.