Congress of African economists begins

The fourth Congress of African Economists aimed at creating a platform for collaboration to advance solutions to the key economic challenges facing the continent, has opened in Accra.

The event is being organised by the African Union Commission (AUC) on the theme; “Industrial Policy and Economic Performance in Africa”, and it focuses on the critical role of industrialisation in the quest for transformative growth.

Dr Anthony Mothae Maruping, Commissioner for Economic Affairs of the African Union Commission, in a welcome address, said participants made up of representatives from African Union (AU) member States, would spend three days collaborating and finding practical solutions to transform African economies.

He said African economies were currently going through a rough patch, with demand for raw materials sharply declining; falling commodities prices; and drought adversely affecting agricultural production and hydro-electric power generation.

He said the situation has obviously resulted in the rising unemployment rate, declining incomes and the rapid rise in poverty amongst other challenges.

Dr Maruping said there is the need to refocus economic development strategies on industrialisation, particularly on the means of formulating and implementing effective industrial policies.

He said in the past most African countries pursued industrial policies with mixed results and it is time to acknowledge that appropriate developmental state support was vital to address market failure and spur industrialisation.

Dr Maruping said industrialisation was the key for Africa to foster structural transformation and improve standards of living more so it would render African economies more resilient to external shocks.

African countries, he said, require high and sustained economic growth to make significant progress in reducing poverty, generating employment opportunities for young people and engendering development.

“In spite of the continent’s huge untapped human resources and natural endowments and more than a decade of growth turnaround, the lack of industrialisation has limited Africa’s long-term growth prospects as well as success of growth on social development”, he said.

Dr Maruping said a robust and expanding industrial sector, including more manufacturing and resource processing and value addition was crucial for the structural transformation of the continent’s economies.

He said the AUC has proposed a strategic framework to strengthen the role of the private sector in achieving inclusive and sustainable growth; foster a business environment conducive to private sector initiatives; and developing productive capacities of the private sector.

He said sustainable and inclusive industrialisation must also be built on regional integration and efficient economic and social infrastructures to ensure the development of effective regional policies to support industrialisation.

The AU, he said was taking practical measures to deepen integration, enhance free movement of people, goods and services and removing tariff and non-tariff barriers, as well as harmonising regulations and policies so as to boost intra-African trade during the next decades.

Ms Mona Quartey, a Deputy Minister of Finance and Economic Planning, who stood in for President John Dramani Mahama, commended the AUC for the initiative, which highlighted the practical engagement of the Commission towards building a more inclusive society where growth was shared by all.

She said Ghana’s experience to promote the emergence of a strong manufacturing sector involves greater efforts to shift labour from lower to higher productivity sectors, increase the level of educational attainment and skills of labour force.

Ms Quartey said African economies therefore would require promoting knowledge-intensive services, advancing better solutions and appropriate regulations for strengthening the role of the private sector, improving capital and labour markets, and facilitating more effective regional integration into the global value chain.

We need to strengthen the capacity of the society to innovate, produce and distribute goods and services in order to harness the huge potential of the continent and international markets through appropriate integration in the global value chain, she said.