African leaders commit to reforms for economic reliance

The African Economic Platform meeting has ended in the Mauritius capital of Port Louis with a resolution by African leaders to focus efforts of avenues aimed at mobilizing resources to make the continent self-reliant. 

Leaders also asked the African Union (AU) to transform its system into a more dynamic and result oriented mechanism to facilitate the implementation of the Union agreed projects to concretise the continent's development agenda. 

In a statement issued at the end of the three-day event at the Indian Ocean Westin Resort, African leaders observed that whereas AU Agenda 2063 aims at the attainment of a Pan African Vision of an integrated, prosperous and peaceful Africa, driven by its own citizens, it may be difficult to realise.

They recommended the institutionalisation of the AEP by bringing together the different stakeholders as one; a means for achieving a prosperous continent by engaging Africans to derive African solutions for African issues through identification of the best ways and resources to achieve Africa's goal for inclusive growth and sustainable development. 

They called for the continent's uniform legislation to abolish exporting of the continent's raw natural resources without value addition, rendering African borders tariff free to allow free movement of goods and people to facilitate intra trade within the continent and ensuring that the continent's natural resource are not abuse or plundered. 

African leaders also committed to the support of the private sector development and facilitation especially the small and medium scale enterprises which they cited as the engine for innovation and entrepreneurship that can ignite the foster industrialisation, job creation and economic transformation.     

It is shame they noted for the leadership of Africa, that African people are dying on the high waters in attempt to seek survival in Europe and other countries due to instability at home and resolved to tackle issues of peace and security on the continent and urged development partners to support African initiatives to facilitate projects on the continent that will provide skills and job opportunities for the youth. 

The AU African Economic Platform (AEP) was conceptualised by the African Union Commission as a forum for frank engagement amongst African leadership from different spheres of society to reflect on how to accelerate Africa's economic transformation through collaboration, cooperation and joint ownership of Africa's continental goals.

The AEP is one of the flagship projects of Agenda 2063 which prioritises the establishment of an annual multi-stakeholder forum to bring together African leaders from all spheres of society to reflect on how to accelerate Africa's economic transformation through the implementation of economic reforms under Agenda 2063.

The event organised by the African Union Foundation brought together African political leadership, business leaders, civil society, the private sector and academia to discuss issues affecting Africa and how the continent can harness its vast resources to enhance the development of its people.

Other areas discussed included the skills development on the continent, infrastructure, industrialisation, governance and resource mobilisation to enable the continent to be self-reliant.

Vice President Edward Kiwanuka Ssekandi led Uganda's delegation to the summit that was also attended by several African Heads of State and Government.