Africa’s growth yet to reach ordinary people – UN official
The Deputy Secretary General of the UN Economic Commission for Africa (ECA), Ms Jennifer Kargbo, has underscored the need for integrated development that harnesses the linkages between economic growth, social development and environmental protection.
According to Ms Kargbo, because gains made in one pillar of development could undermine progress in the other two.
“Although African countries have achieved continuous growth rates since 2000, that performance is yet to translate into commensurate reduction in unemployment and poverty, or into significant progress towards the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) in Sub-Saharan Africa,” said Ms Kargbo at the opening session of the 7th Session of the Committee on Food Security and Sustainable Development and the Africa Regional Preparatory Conference for Rio+20 in Ethiopia, according to a statement from Information and Communication Service of ECA October 20, 2011.
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) in its Regional Economic Outlook released October 19, 2011, projects that growth in sub-Saharan African (SSA) economies will remain on average above 5% in 2011 and the rate is expected to increase in 2012 to nearly 6% because of one-off boosts to production in a number of countries.
The Deputy Executive Secretary stressed that more is needed to foster integrated planning, and the Rio+20 theme on Institutional framework for Sustainable Development.
She explains that this is an opportunity for Africa to articulate its position on institutional set-ups and “that will further its interests, including addressing the challenge of integrating the three pillars, from the global to the local level.”
Experts will focus on two substantive themes: a “Green economy in the context of sustainable development and poverty eradication” and “Institutional framework for sustainable development”, she added.
She urged participants at the meeting to focus on bridging the implementation gap because, “all too often, commitments at the political level are not translated into concrete actions on the ground.”
Ms Kargbo advised them to seize the opportunity to transform the global sustainable development agenda, refocusing it on the priorities of developing countries, particularly those in Africa and, above all, on action-oriented decisions that will translate into meaningful sustainable development outcomes.
The session ends today October 25, 2011.
By Ekow Quandzie