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Tinashe Makichi Business Reporter
African countries must transform their vast natural resources into job creation and economic development centres in order to drive the continent’s blue print for transformative growth, Finance and Economic Development Permanent Secretary Willard Manungo said. The African Union rolled out Africa’s blue print for transformative growth – Agenda 2063, which is both a Vision and an Action Plan – calling for all segments of the continent to work together and build a prosperous and united continent based on shared values and a common destiny.

Agenda 2063 is a strategy that was set to optimise use of Africa’s resources for the benefits of all Africans. “The African continent has of late been called a hopeless continent but we have managed to achieve positive results. It imperative now that we must move much faster going forward and this can only be achieved if our institutions are adequately capacitated.

“The continent should be able to transform its natural resources endowment and transfer that into job creation, development of the education systems and economic development in general,” said Mr Manungo while addressing journalists on the sidelines of the African Capacity Building Foundation 25th Anniversary celebrations yesterday.

African Union Commission Economic Affairs Commissioner Dr Anthony Maruping who gave a keynote address at the anniversary celebrations said the social, economic and political transformation required to attain the “Africa We Want” calls for capacity.

“Accelerated, inclusive, transformative real growth with equity is no longer an option but an imperative for Africa in order to create jobs, tackle poverty and gain rapid, resilient, inclusive and sustainable socio-economic development. All relevant stakeholders are agreed that this should be the way forward.

“African stakeholders and leadership started developing transformative strategies in 2011 /12 when formulation of Common African Position on Post 2015 Development Agenda (CAP) commenced and in 2013 when 50 years of achievement by AU was celebrated and the decision to develop a vision and strategic framework for the next 50 was taken. Africa has thus been ahead of the curve in this regard. This was well before another wave of commodities prices collapse,” said Dr Maruping.

He added that diversification and value addition would result in an accelerated, inclusive, job creating growth and economies that are more resilient to external and, indeed even internal shocks. A number of African countries are already busy transforming their economies having domesticated Agenda 2063 (A2063) and SDGs with either technical support or on their own.

He said domestication involves assimilation or infusion of the relevant contents of A2063 and SDGs into the national strategic and action plans. The ACBF executive secretary Professor Emmanuel Nnadozie said the continent is still facing youth unemployment, poverty, low industrialization, declining commodities prices, and poor infrastructure development.

“The question is why? The central issue, according to various studies, including those by ACBF is primarily the lack of capacity. Therefore, capacity deficiencies remain a binding constraint to Africa’s economic and social transformation.

He said Africa still needs to develop the capacity to successfully design, implement and monitor the policy measures and reforms.