The Executive Secretary of the Economic Commission for Africa (ECA), Abdalla Hamdok, has called on African countries to export finished products and stop exporting raw materials.
Hamdok made the call in a statement posted on the ECA’s website on Thursday.
Hamdok spoke at the opening of 2017 Africa Regional Forum on Sustainable Development (ARFSD) in Addis Ababa.
The official said exporting finished products would help Africa empower its people by eradicating some of the challenges it is facing, in particular unemployment and poverty.
“It is high time the continent changed this outdated model inherited from colonial rule, of continuing to export raw materials and primary commodities.
“Africa has to take a bold decision and say to itself ‘stop exporting raw materials.’
“We have to add value to our commodities and that is the surest way of creating decent jobs, addressing unemployment and related issues”, Hamdok said.
He said Africa should resist the continuing economic model that benefits outsiders more than local populations for the continent to be successful in implementing Agenda 2063 and Agenda 2030 for Sustainable Development.
Hamdok, however, said African countries should take advantage of the ongoing protectionism debate in the West and concentrate on increasing trade and investments amongst themselves for the betterment of its people.
“Many have seen this as an alarming signal but I see it as an opportunity which will allow us to develop our intra-Africa trade”, he said.
According to him, ARFSD is a stark reminder that the clock is ticking very fast for the continent.
“We have a narrow window of opportunity to march boldly towards reducing poverty.
“The challenge is huge but the opportunities for transformational development are limitless.’’
Ethiopia’s Water, Irrigation and Electricity Minister, Seleshi Bekele, said the theme of the meeting would be rendered meaningless unless the continent started addressing vulnerabilities on the continent
He said the theme “Ensuring inclusive and sustainable growth and prosperity for all’’ focused on inclusiveness, citizen participation, peace and security to the achievement of the development agendas.
“Good governance and leadership are also crucial ingredients to a peaceful and prosperous Africa.’’
The 2017 ARFSD is in preparation for the 2017 High-level Political Forum on Sustainable Development (HLPF).
HLPF will be held in New York in July under the auspices of the Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) with the theme; “Eradicating poverty and promoting prosperity in a changing world”.
The ARFSD tracks progress in the implementation of the 17 SDGs that are at the core of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. (NAN)
