UN Releases Latest Economic Report On Africa

While Africa has recorded impressive economic growth in the past decade, more credible industrial policies and institutions are needed to advance the structural transformation of the continent, says a new report released today (11 Apr) by the United Nations and the African Union.

This year's Economic Report on Africa, launched at UN Headquarters in New York, builds on the work of the 2011 edition – on the role of the state in economic transformation – as well as last year's report on leveraging Africa's comparative advantages in commodities to industrialize.

The Under-Secretary-General for Public Information, Peter Launsky-Tieffenthal, introduced the report and noted that it "draws attention to Africa's continued industrialization, and encourages enhanced interaction between the public and the private sectors", recommending "stronger institutions and policies to foster that industrialization."

Also at the launch, Under-Secretary-General Special Adviser of the Secretary-General on Africa, Maged Abdelaziz, said that despite sustained growth, "developments have not translated into the creation of a sufficient number of decent jobs and a broad-based economic and social development needed to reduce the high poverty and rising inequality rates seen in many countries."

Under-Secretary General and Executive Secretary of the Economic Commission for Africa (ECA), Carlos Lopes, pointed out that the practice of mispricing "is depriving Africa of about 50 billion a year, and mispricing is just one element of the equation."

Another issue, he said is "the lack of value addition" on African commodities. He said that these factors signify that "Africa is exporting its jobs instead of creating them."

Jointly produced by the ECA and the African Union (AU), the report notes that transforming Africa's industrial landscape has failed partly because countries used industrial blueprints characterised by lack of dynamism and high level coordination, as well as inadequate consultations with stakeholders.

Lopes said "Africa needs an organic proposal for industrialization" that "cannot be just a pure imitation of what others have done" but "a purely African product that takes into account the lessons from these two, but also takes into account the fact that Africa is a late comer when it comes to industrialization."

SHOTLIST:
11 APRIL 2014, NEW YORK CITY

Exterior United Nations headquarters
Dais
Audience
Delegates
Conference room

SOUNDBITE (English) Peter Launsky-Tieffenthal Under-Secretary-General for Public Information:
"The report that we are launching this morning draws attention to Africa's continued industrialization, and encourages enhanced interaction between the public and the private sectors. It recommends stronger institutions and policies to foster that industrialization."

SOUNDBITE (English) Maged Abdelaziz, Under-Secretary-General Special Adviser of the Secretary-General on Africa:
"Despite Africa's decade-long growth record and the achievements that have been made, these developments have not translated into the creation of a sufficient number of decent jobs and a broad-based economic and social development needed to reduce the high poverty and rising inequality rates seen in many countries. And that is why industrialization is being sought as a mean to address this important issue."

SOUNDBITE (English) Carlos Lopes, Under-Secretary General and Executive Secretary of the Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA):
"Mispricing is depriving Africa of about 50 billion a year, and mispricing is just one element of the equation. Another one is the lack of value addition on our commodities. And all of those resources are in very concrete terms, signifying that Africa is exporting its jobs instead of creating them."

SOUNDBITE (English) Carlos Lopes, Under-Secretary General and Executive Secretary of the Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA):
"Africa needs an organic proposal for industrialization. Organic meaning it has to be truly embedded in the realities of the continent and the countries. It cannot be just a pure imitation of what others have done. It cannot the import substitution model of Latin America, it cannot be the export driven industrialization of South-east Asia. It has to be a purely African product that takes into account the lessons from these two, but also takes into account the fact that Africa is a late comer when it comes to industrialization."

DURATION: 02:20