Experts reveal needed efforts to transform Africa’s economy

{Economic experts gathered in Kigali for the Africa Transformation Forum have warned that Africa’s economic transformation can only be attained when Africa models its own development policies other than copycats from the developed world.}

The two-day forum held in Kigali aims at seeking economic transformation through policy implementation for sustainable African progress and reposition Africa in the international markets and polity. It is also aimed at exploring means of keeping away from depending on imports but become more dependent on local manufacturing.

ATF facilitates knowledge sharing and peer learning across global and African luminaries from the public and private sectors. The participants are contributing their rich insights, and uncover challenges and solutions for galvanizing economic transformation in Africa.

The discussions fall into two categories: i) the coordinated development and implementation of national development plans; and ii) catalyzing transformation within critical sectors, notably: extractives; light manufacturing; agriculture; skills development; entrepreneurship; financial inclusion; infrastructure; and regional integration.

The United States executive secretary in charge of African economy, Carlos Lopes, said that Africa has chances to be transformed based on existing wealth and learning from others.

“Africa needs a structured transformative economic policy different from existing ones. The best way to attain this is to have an economy based on industries,” he said.

Lopes added that such industries must be unique.

“Such industries must be different from those from America, Asia or Europe since they don’t produce based on what is needed in Africa. Their activities are based on the rate of world’s economy which is not apparent in Africa,” he added.

He stressed that African industries need to first satisfy local markets before exporting and concentrate their production on agriculture and livestock products, export processed minerals. “If we process at least 15% of minerals before exportation, we can create five million job opportunities every year,” he said.

The director of African Center for Economic Transformation (ACET), Kingsley Y. Amoako, said that adding the value products for export will play a vital role in African development.

The Minister of finance and economic planning, Claver Gatete said that Rwanda targets to become a middle-income economy has not yet been attained adding that more strategies are being implemented in various programs including EDPRS II and Vision 2020.