Without capacity development, chances are relatively minimal that the African Union Agenda 2063 - a vision focusing on a sustainable transformation of Africa in the next 50 years - will succeed in achieving its goals. The need to reflect on the capacity imperatives of the Agenda 2063 cannot, therefore, be overstated as concluded by African experts at a high level panel discussion organized by ACBF on 26 March 2015 during the 8th AUC/ECA Annual Conference of African Ministers of Finance, Planning and Economic Development held in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, on the theme “Capacity Imperatives for the African Union Agenda 2063”.
The experts agreed that there was need for a strategic approach that prioritizes areas of capacity challenges that can unlock potential for the implementation of the African Union Agenda. They also agreed on the need for Africa to ‘revolutionize’ its approach to addressing the capacity gaps in the continent and come up with practical interventions, which are adapted to capacity imperatives and Africa’s plans for structural transformation. It was also deemed important that lessons from the past be learned and that a new mindset toward development be cultivated as a result, they said.
“For a long time, African countries have invested time and resources to establish the pre-conditions of development and by doing so, sometimes focused on what was not working rather than what could have been working,” said Prof. Emmanuel Nnadozie, ACBF’s Executive Secretary. “Now we need to find out what is working, start from what is working and build from what is working and see how we can develop despite the daunting challenges Africa faces.” The experts also agree that Agenda 2063 will be a success if it is owned and domesticated by Africans and if they work towards achieving its goals. “There has been a lack of confidence among Africans in their capacity to develop the continent. However, development of Africa through partnerships and a concerted effort can be achieved,” said Prof. Nnadozie.
For the continental agenda to be successfully designed, implemented, monitored and evaluated, cross-cutting capacities are needed at the individual, organizational and institutional levels; but also at the local, community, national, regional and continental levels. Other key elements that were agreed to be important to the realization of Agenda 2063 included domestic resource mobilization, the importance of gender equality and youth, knowledge and skills and maintaining a good coordination of efforts by various capacity building institutions across Africa.
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