The United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA) says Africa continues to be highly exposed to volatility and trade shocks as a result of its dependency on imports and resilience on commodity and natural export resources with a small number of buyers in the international market.
Speaking at the ministerial conference in the framework of African Development Week in Addis Ababa on Monday, he said low commodity prices are causing lower export revenues, fiscal imbalances and current account deficits across several African countries.
The impacts of these shocks are often aggravated by Africa’s under-developed domestic financial system and low institutional quality. However; the current volatility of most commodities (oil excluded) is not out of the ordinary when compared to the past trends, says the ECA.
Therefore; the ECA Executive Secretary Carlos Lopes urged African countries to transform their industrial sector structurally through the expansion of commodities value chains, transform agriculture and the capacity to attract low-value manufacturing production to bring about a robust growth.
Mr. Lopes remarked that “transformation will not happen spontaneously but rather as a result of deliberate and coherent policies that are entrenched into a coherent development strategy, enlightened by a transformational leadership.”
Addressing the gathering, Dr. Nkosazana Dlamini Zuma, the Chairperson of the African Union Commission, implored African countries to improve young people’s skills in science and engineering. “With an average of over 90% of graduates in social sciences, Africa’s innovation and scientific skills lag behind.”
She noted that with a burgeoning youth population, Africa has no choice but to look for solutions. She also spoke on industrialization and economic diversification, on the need to reduce import dependency and on creating regional centers of innovation.
[en.starafrica.com/]