Ministerial Conference

The Ninth Joint AUC-ECA Annual Meetings of the AU Conference of Ministers of the Economy and Finance and ECA Conference of African Ministers of Finance, Planning and Economic Development will take place from 31 March to 5 April 2016 in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.

The Conference will tackle the theme, “Towards an integrated and coherent approach for the implementation, monitoring and evaluation of Agenda 2063, the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the Sustainable Development Goals.”

This year’s conference will take place against the backdrop of the adoption of the Sustainable Development Goals, agenda 2030, where African leaders, along with other world leaders, recommitted themselves to the pursuit of a more sustainable development pathway. In this context, African countries are confronted with a dual transition: a global level transition from the Millennium Development Goals to agenda 2030; and a regional level transition to Agenda 2063. By signing onto Agenda 2030 and Agenda 2063, African member States demonstrated commitment to the implementation and follow-up on both agendas.  

The conference will therefore deliberate on pertinent issues of how countries can harmonise frameworks and establish common mechanisms of implementation, monitoring and evaluation to achieve Africa’s collective goals of sustainable development and transformation. A common development framework for Africa has the potential to be a powerful driver of sustainable pro-poor growth in African countries. The conference will place greater emphasis on the policies and institutions needed for the transformation of African economies.

The conference, which will draw seasoned and high-level panellists from Africa and other regions, will be interactive so as to give Ministers the opportunities to address the issues, discuss and share their views and experiences in the advancement of Africa’s development. 

The 2016 conference promises to be a very exciting and engaging event, with high expectations, as the topics to be discussed and decisions to be taken will have important implications for Africa’s future.

» Ministerial Conference: Concept note

African Development Week

The inaugural Africa Development Week is being hosted by the Economic Commission for Africa and the African Union from 31 March to 5 April. Close to 30 side events on topical issues including migration, industrialization, regional integration, and recent global agreements such as the Paris Agreement and the Sustainable Development Goals, will also be convened during the week. The annual high-level joint ECA-AU ministerial Conference will also take place during the week.

Over 1000 high level delegates, including Heads of State, former heads of state, member States, civil society, media and experts in various sectors of industrialization, energy, statistics, banking, and climate change, are expected.

Highlights of the development week include the Annual Adedeji Lecture. Renowned Development Economist Ha-Joon Chang and author of many popular policy books, most notably Kicking Away the Ladder and 23 Things They Don't Tell You About Capitalism, and Economics, will deliver the 2016 edition of the lecture. Chang teaches Economics at the University of Cambridge.

Other major events include the launch of ECA’s flagship Economic Report on Africa. The 2016 edition looks at Greening Africa’s Industrialization. The ECA will during the week also launch 20 Country Profiles which are meant, among other things, to provide a quality assessment of economic forecasting for the featured countries and help them in policy formulation, planning and other issues. Other publications to be launched include the Africa Governance Report IV on Measuring Corruption in Africa; a report on Investment Policies & Bilateral Investment Treaties in Africa.

The Regional Coordination Mechanism for Africa (RCM-Africa) will also hold its 17th session to discuss UN support for implementing Agenda 2063 and the Sustainable Development Goals. While the Caucus of Governors of African Central Banks will hold their annual meeting to address their role in Africa's transformation amidst turbulent times.

» African Development Week: Concept note

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Background documents

• 2016 Conference of Ministers Programme Brochure

 

• Agenda 2063 – A Shared Strategic Framework for Inclusive Growth and Sustainable Development: First Ten-Year Implementation Plan 2014-2023 | September 2015

• Biennial report 2014-2015

• Progress report on the work of the African Institute for Economic Development and Planning | March 2016

• Status of African Integration: The Implications of Agenda 2063 and Agenda 2030 on African Integration | March 2016

• Report of the ninth session of the Committee on Regional Cooperation and Integration | March 2016

• Overview of recent economic and social developments in Africa | March 2016

• Global and continental frameworks: implications for Africa | Briefing note, March 2016

• Accra Declaration: Fourth Congress of African Economists | March 2016

• Report of the 7th Ordinary Meeting of the African Union Sub-Committee of Directors General of Customs | March 2016

• Report of the first session of the Committee on Gender and Social Development | March 2016

• Report on United Nations support to the African Union and its New Partnership for Africa’s Development Programme | February 2016

• Background paper on “Implementation by RECs of the First Five Year Priority Programme on Employment, Poverty Eradication and Inclusive Development” | March 2016

• Joint AUC-AACB strategy on the establishment of the African central bank (ACB) | March 2016

• Proposed strategic framework for the period 2018-2019: Programme 15 - Economic and social development in Africa | March 2016

• The status of statistical development in Africa | March 2016

• African Inclusive Markets Center of Excellence (AIMEC) | Working Document, March 2016

• Draft Pan-African Investment Code | March 2016

• Draft revised statute of the African Institute for Economic Development and Planning | March 2016

• Report of the ninth session of the committee on Sustainable Development | March 2016

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Background

For over a decade, economic growth in African countries has exceeded the global average and remarkable progress has been made on several socioeconomic indicators despite low initial conditions. Notwithstanding the positive performance, much more remains to be done to reduce poverty and improve access to health and education services that meet minimum standards of quality. Almost one out of every two individuals in Africa lives below the extreme poverty line and the continent has the highest levels of maternal and child deaths. Approximately 3.2 million of the continent’s children did not reach their fifth birthday in 2012 and the maternal mortality rate of 289 maternal deaths per 100,000 live births exceeds the global average of 210 deaths per 100,000 live births.

The relatively high level of poverty is linked to the structure of most African economies. African countries are largely dependent on commodities which are exported with little or no value added, undermining prospects for job creation. Through commodity-based industrialization, economic transformation can create decent job opportunities, substantially reduce poverty and minimize income and wealth inequalities.

It is against this backdrop that African Member States prioritized structural transformation in Agenda 2063 (the continental framework for development), the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development (the global development agenda, which sets out the new Sustainable Development Goals) and the Addis Ababa Action Agenda, which supports the implementation of Agenda 2030. Through the adoption of Agenda 20631 by Heads of State and Government at the African Union Summit in January 2015, in Addis Ababa, and the first ten-year implementation plan during the June 2015 Summit in Sandton, South Africa, African policymakers have designed the continental, sequenced, forward-looking vision for the next fifty years. At the global level, the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, together with the Sustainable Development Goals, were adopted in September 2015 as the international community’s response to the fundamental challenges facing the world today: eradicating poverty and achieving inclusive and sustainable development for present and future generations.

Objective of the Conference of Ministers

There is an imperative need for Africa to adopt a coherent strategy for the effective and coordinated implementation of Agenda 2063 and the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. The Joint Annual Meetings of the African Union Specialized Technical Committee on Finance, Monetary Affairs, Economic Planning and Integration and the Economic Commission for Africa Conference of African Ministers of Finance, Planning and Economic Development, more commonly referred to as the Conference of Ministers, provide an ideal opportunity to address this challenge, as the gathering has become the premier forum on the continent for African ministers responsible for finance, economy, planning, integration and economic development and governors of central banks to discuss issues pertinent to the development of Africa.

The Conference of Ministers will, therefore, address the question of how African countries could adopt and implement effectively the first ten-year implementation plan, with a wider mandate to support the promotion and implementation of a common framework for meeting the goals of Agenda 2063 and the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. Such strategies should not only focus on promoting strong and sustainable long-term growth but also ensure that the benefits of such growth are widely shared in order to reduce poverty and improve the standard of living for all Africans. Furthermore, at the end of their deliberations, the ministers will offer guidance on mechanisms for the adoption and successful integration of the first ten-year implementation plan at the national, regional and continental levels.

The Conference of Ministers is expected to draw on lessons learned from the ongoing process of domesticating the first ten-year implementation plan, which has already taken place in 23 countries, as well as Africa’s development experience with other continental initiatives and global development processes, to ensure that the implementation framework includes:

• Effective implementation, coordination, monitoring and evaluation arrangements at the national, regional and continental levels

• Mobilization of resources for implementation at the national, regional and continental levels

• Provision to enhance the capacities of national, regional and continental institutions involved in the execution of the common framework

• Raising awareness among institutions and organizations at the national, regional and continental levels responsible for the design, implementation, monitoring and evaluation of the common development goals

• Engagement with the African public, civil society organizations and all other identifiable groups for information exchange and participation in decision-making with respect to the design, implementation, monitoring and evaluation of the framework

The Conference of Ministers offers an opportunity, therefore, to discuss the harmonization of Agenda 2063 and the 2030 Agenda during implementation by addressing the following issues: harmonization, synergies and sensitization regarding the two frameworks; integration of the frameworks into national development plans; monitoring and evaluation; and financing.