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INDUSTRIALISING Africa in a socially inclusive and environmentally
sustainable manner was a
major concern for African leaders, United Nations (UN)
officials and representatives
of international finance institutions and the private
sector who all met on
Thursday at the UN headquarters.
Their confab was to reaffirm
their commitment to a broad-based international
partnership. According to
a UN Information Service, Vienna (UNIS) press
statement, unemployment and
poverty are very serious concerns for the continent.
The leaders noted that where
over 70 percent of the working-age population is
unemployed or has no job
security in Africa, the situation has prompted the UN to
declare 2016-2025 as the 'Third
Industrial Development Decade for Africa
(IDDA III)'.
Both African leaders and
development partners therefore
reiterated the importance of
industrialization towards
eradicating poverty and
ensuring that the continent’s fast-growing
population yields its demographic
dividend.
Describing lack of skills as
the major problem in Africa, Ethiopia’s Prime Minister, Hailemariam
Desalegn suggested that with an integrated industrial strategy,
African states will hopefully
mobilize funds, build the capacity of local employment
and promote small, medium
enterprises with domestic development projects.
African Union’s Commissioner
for Trade and Industry, Albert M. Muchanga, noted:
“Let me stress that, in line
with the theme of this event -from political commitment
to action on the ground - and
the underlying principle of inclusiveness, it is my
expectation that resources
mobilized under the IDDA III will be deployed so as to significantly
show benefits accruing to the ordinary Africans on the ground
through decent employment,
and access to high-quality, safe and affordable
manufactured goods that are
made in Africa, among other direct and tangible benefits.
“It is high time to move the
IDDA III agenda steadily forward in order to foster inclusive
and sustainable
industrial development in Africa. Today’s presence of high-level participants
from the public and private sectors, development financial institutions,
the UN system, and bilateral and
multilateral institutions confirms that Africa’s industrialization is of global
importance,” said the UNIDO Director General LI Yong,
whose agency is tasked
with leading the implementation of IDDA III as well as implementing its
new innovative approach to bring about the necessary
structural transformation.
The IDDA
III approach is based on a country-owned model known as the
Programme
for Country Partnership (PCP)
that leverages financial and non-financial
resources, promotes regional
integration and mobilizes co-operation among
Africa’s development partners
according to a joint communique signed by
the African leaders and
UNIDO.
