COM2024: Africa is stronger together, says African Union Commission Deputy Chairperson

The outcome of the 56th Session of the Conference of Ministers of Finance, Planning and Economic Development opening held in Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe, will go a long way in realizing and fostering inclusive growth and sustainable development of Africa towards achieving Agenda 2063 and Agenda 2030, Monique Nsanzabaganwa, the Deputy Chairperson for the African Union Commission, said on March 4. ALSO READ: President Mnangagwa calls for innovative green investment strategies to boost Africa’s economic growth She was making her opening remarks during the conference themed “Financing the transition to inclusive green economies in Africa,” where experts met to, among others, come up with solutions on how Africa can address the never-ending economic shocks, how well to implement the AfCFTA, and reform the global financial architecture for the benefit of the continent. While Agenda 2063 is Africa's development blueprint to achieve inclusive and sustainable socio-economic development over a 50-year period, the 2030 Agenda for sustainable development, approved in September 2015 by the United Nations General Assembly, establishes a transformative vision towards the economic, social and environmental sustainability of UN member states. It is a plan of action for the sustainable protection of people, planet and prosperity, made up of 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) for sustainable global social, environmental and economic development. ALSO READ: Africa needs right policies, infrastructure to prosper from AI, experts say Nsanzabaganwa said that Africa is navigating the delivery of its blue print – Agenda 2063 in a turbulent global environment, pausing tremendous challenges to African economies, with ripple effects on socio-political spaces as well. The impact of the global shocks induced by the Covid-19 Pandemic, geopolitical tensions and climate change continue to affect Africa’s growth trajectory, she said, adding that Africa’s gross domestic product (GDP) growth is expected to average 3.8% and 4.2% in 2024 and 2025, respectively. Despite this regain and positive trend, she noted, this growth however remains below the pre-pandemic average of 5% and the targeted 7 to 10 percent level required to achieve Agenda 2030 and Agenda 2063 goals. ALSO READ: We cannot ignore climate change challenges, need to respond accordingly – UNECA boss Nsanzabaganwa added: “To accelerate growth and cope with this unfavourable global environment, governments have increased fiscal spending in a context of declining domestic revenues. Which has led to unsustainable debt levels and limited access to international finance. On a positive side, the continent’s potential to reclaim its long-overdue rightful treatment is increasingly materializing as the global landscape takes multi-polar shapes and the African Union became a full member of the G20. “Amplify our common voice” “Today, more than ever, we stand a better chance; to develop Africa’s productive capacities through industrialization; to harness the potential of our youth as an engine for greener economic transformation; to tap Africa’s green potential; to stem illicit financial flows and recalibrate our taxing rights; to harness the role of private sector investments and innovative financing mechanisms; and to reform the global financial architecture. However, no African country can do it alone. Africa is stronger together.” Nsanzabaganwa then argued that the value proposition of the African Union is “indeed to foster coherence in our strategies and amplify our common voice.” The February 28 to March 5 conference, she noted, came at an opportune time “of our collective, renewed commitment towards a transformed Africa.” She said that the adoption of the Second Ten Year Implementation Plan (STYIP) of Agenda 2063 with its seven ambitions (Moonshots) adopted by the Assembly of the Heads of State and Government in February, amplifies the commitment of member states “to accelerate the attainment of the Africa We Want.” “The lessons learnt from the past decade of Agenda 2063 implementation, which was a decade of convergence, included among others; a need for more domestication; deliberate costing; robust resource mobilization mainly domestically; stronger implementation capacity at sector, national and regional levels; better data statistics and reporting to monitor progress; and more engagement of the civil actors, media, academia, and private sector players for a shared vision and purpose.” “Therefore, the decisions we make today will shape the future of our continent for generations to come.” She then suggested that the conference participants, among their decisions, several important elements including that member countries commit to the domestication of the second 10-year implementation plan of Agenda 2063; its mainstreaming in national budgets; and joint reporting on Agenda 2063 and the SDGs. Enhancing the participation of the Ministers of Finance, Planning and Economic Development in the governance structures of the AU to actively shape agile common positions on relevant matters such as the Executive Council, Sectoral Technical Committees, the Committee of 15 Ministers, and others, was another key decision she suggested should be considered. “Continuously capacitate the forums or structures that convey our common voice ... the African Union participation in the G20, Groups of African Ambassadors and AU Representational offices based in multilateral capitals such as New York, Brussels, Geneva, Rome, Vienna... Explore synergies that could accrue by pooling resources through AU institutions and implementing agencies to finance the portfolio of bankable regional green projects.” On the latter, Nsanzabaganwa listed examples, including the African Union Development Agency (AUDA-NEPAD) accredited to access the Green Climate Fund and channel the resources to African countries; the African Capacity Building Foundation that will assist countries to translate their National Determined Contributions (NDCs) and National Action Plans (NAPs) into bankable projects; and the Africa Risk Capacity (ARC), to increase the number of countries’ paid premium for disaster risk and insurance cover. She also named the AU Assembly endorsed African multilateral development banks (MDBs) such as the AfDB and Afrexim Bank as recipient of reallocated Special Drawing Rights (SDRs), to leverage through international capital funds markets and on-lend cheaply to countries; and African countries to subscribe more capital – including callable capital – into African multilateral financial institutions and multilateral development banks, so they may expand their financial products, including concessional lending and capacity building grants to African countries. “Operationalize the African Union financial institutions – the African Central Bank, African Monetary Fund, African Investment Bank, Pan-African Stock Exchange – to secure long-term financing of Agenda 2063.” Six imperatives to finance the transition to green economies in Africa The Deputy Chairperson for the African Union Commission also shed light on the six imperatives to finance the transition to green economies in Africa. The first imperative, she said, is to develop Africa's productive capacities through industrialization. She said: “We must focus on sectors such as agriculture, industry, and services to shift from reliance on non-transformed commodities export to export of value-added manufactured goods. “We must prioritize productive transformation at the core of national, regional and continental strategies and develop regional value chains to reap the financial returns of the African Continental Free Trade Area.” The second imperative, she said, is to harness the potential of the youth as an engine of greener economic transformation. She noted that Africa has the youngest population of all continents, with a median age of 19 years, compared to 30 for Latin America and the Caribbean, 31 for developing Asia and 42 for Europe. “By harnessing the potential of the youth through digital transformation, we can attract more capital to drive inclusive green growth and achieve sustainable development.” Third imperative is to harness Africa’s green potential. From 2011 to 2020, Nsanzabaganwa said, African forests increased carbon stock by 11.6 million kilotons of CO2- equivalent net emissions, while carbon stocks in forests outside Africa declined by 13 million kilotons. She said: “The Congo Basin forests have now become the world’s largest sink of CO2 emissions. But the continent only received 2.7% of promised financing. Achieving the green transition requires bold action, innovative financing, and partnerships between governments, the private sector, and the civil society. In that perspective, a key policy approach would be to enhance the linkage between climate financing and growth returns to ensure a continental smooth green transition.” “The fourth imperative is to stem illicit financial flows and reduce tax incentives that deprives the continent of approximately USD 90 billion and USD 220 billion each year. Our policy priorities should aim to better collect and channel domestic resources to productive investments. The fifth imperative is to enhance the role of the private sector as a source green financing. Our policies must amplify the impact of capital to ensure that Africa’s private stock of assets contributes to green transition and inclusive development.” ALSO READ: Africa demands ‘fair international finance architecture’ The sixth imperative is to advocate for a comprehensive reform of the global financial architecture, something that African leaders have backed. “A reformed international financial system should provide liquidity, improve multilateral lending mechanisms, guarantee debt sustainability, and financing for climate change. We must work towards a United Nations Framework Convention on International Tax Cooperation to protect the taxing rights of developing countries.”

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COM2024: Africa is stronger together, says African Union Commission Deputy Chairperson