Africa: Recent ECA Statements, 5/9/97

UNIVERSITY OF PENNSYLVANIA - AFRICAN STUDIES CENTER

Africa: Recent ECA Statements, 1
Date distributed (ymd): 970509
Document reposted by APIC

The Economic Commission for Africa, which just completed its latest Conference of Ministers meeting in Addis Ababa, is now making a wide variety of documents available by e-mail and on the World Wide Web. This posting and the next one contain a press release and statements from the May 5-8 meeting.

For more information, please contact:

Peter K.A. da Costa Regional Adviser, Communication for Development Cabinet Office of the Executive Secretary UN Economic Commission for Africa P.O. Box 3001 Addis Ababa Ethiopia Tel: +251-1-51 58 26 (direct) or +251-1-5172 00 Ext 161 Fax: +251-1-51 22 33 E-Mail: <ipspdc@harare.iafrica.com> or <Peter_da_Costa_at_UNECA@un.org>

The ECA's web site, on-line at http://www.un.org/Depts/eca, has additional documents, including the "Report on the Economic and Social Situation in Africa, 1997" (http://www.un.org/Depts/eca/current/conf/23conf/ecorpt.htm). For most convenient access to recent information, go directly to the "What's New" page (http://www.un.org/Depts/eca/new/).
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May 8, 1997 ECA PRESS RELEASE NO. 14

ECA MINISTERS STRONGLY ENDORSE ROLE OF INFORMATION AND PRIVATE SECTOR IN AFRICA'S DEVELOPMENT

Addis Ababa, 8 May 1997: African Ministers responsible for economic and social development and planning ended a 5-day meeting at the headquarters of the Economic Commission for Africa (ECA) with a set of resolutions and a declaration on accelerating trade and investment in the region in which they strongly endorsed the role of information and the private sector in Africa's development.

The 'Declaration on Accelerating Trade and Investment in Africa' clearly sets out its purpose, saying: "We are convinced that trade and investment are essential components in any credible strategies to accelerate our countries' development and sustain high rates of economic growth".

The Declaration comes out strongly in favour of partnership with the private sector in general and Transnational Corporations (TNCs) in particular as a policy choice.

Broadly-based high rates of economic growth geared towards creating employment and generating rising incomes are recognized as essential components for poverty reduction and its eventual eradication.

The Declaration stresses that to boost domestic savings and investment, attract private foreign capital transfers and expand trade with the rest of the world Africa must, among other things:

(a) change the negative perception of Africa as a high-risk place; (b) improve information flow on development in Africa; (c) modernize, expand and diversify production; (d) reduce the cost of establishing business; and (e) strengthen international competitiveness.

It takes the Uruguay Round Agreement in its stride by noting that it offers Africa both challenges and opportunities. It however goes on to point out that, though Africa has created a conducive environment for trade expansion with the rest of the world, protectionist policies on the part of others with regard to African agricultural, textile and clothing have frustrated that expansion.

Welcoming the debt-reduction initiative for highly indebted poor countries (HIPCs) recently proposed by the World Bank, and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) as a first step in the right direction, the Declaration calls for additional and more generous resources to "substantially reduce all Africa countries's debt stock". The cost of servicing external debt is estimated to have exceeded US$340 billion by the end of 1996.

The conference -- which met from 5 to 8 May -- came out decisively in favour of implementing the African Information Society Initiative (AISI), a framework adopted by ministers in 1996 to build Africa's national information and communications infrastructure as a part of a strategy to harness information and communication technologies towards development.

"The next step is for African governments in implementing aspects of AISI at national level," said Nancy Hafkin, ECA's AISI focal point. "We at ECA are going to be placing emphasis on action-oriented interventions and are here to work, with our partners, to assist African governments."

Key attention was given to the role information and communications technologies in promoting trade and investment in a major symposium -- organised by ECA together with the Global Information Infrastructure Commission (GIIC). The symposium was broadcast live by satellite on Multichoice DSTV by MNET Wednesday.

An executive summary of the GIIC Statement of Addis Ababa is attached below. A full version -- as well as the full text of the Declaration on Accelerating Trade and Investment in Africa -- is distributed under separate e-mail cover.

This and other press releases and background documents relating to the conference are available either by e-mail or post, or at the UN ECA Web site: www.un.org/depts/eca

UN ECA's African Information Society Initiative (AISI) home page is at: www.bellanet.org/partners/aisi, and it includes the full text of the AISI framework.

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GIIC Statement of Addis Ababa - Executive Summary -------------------------------------------------

The Global Information Infrastructure Commission (GIIC) strongly supports the forward looking thinking of the Economic Commission for Africa (ECA) in its call for active and on-going private sector participation in the implementation of the African Information Society Initiative (AISI).

As the leading intersectoral global private sector organization which seeks to actively involve the developing countries in the process of building the Information Society, the GIIC was pleased to contribute to the formulation, launch, coordination and dissemination of the AISI.

To further contribute to the success of the AISI, the GIIC proposes a set of principles that should guide the implementation of the AISI within each African country. This Brief Statement is drawn from a longer Policy Statement. The GIIC statement focuses on the following four points:

The Information Revolution is partially driven by information and communications technologies (ICTs) and is fundamentally important for all societies around the world;

The ICT revolution is especially important for developing countries and their people;

While a modern imperative for all countries, diffusing ICT effectively and equitably, is neither easy nor automatic;

We support and encourage the ECA's commitment to adopt a concrete implementation plan for the AISI as plans for National Information and Communications Infrastructure (NICI) within each African country;

We recommend that the implementation of the AISI should take place with as much cooperation as possible between the relevant societal sectors.

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Africa: Recent ECA Statements, 2 Date distributed (ymd): 970509 Document reposted by APIC

The Economic Commission for Africa, which just completed its latest Conference of Ministers meeting in Addis Ababa, is now making a wide variety of documents available by e-mail and on the World Wide Web. This posting and the previous one contain a press release and statements from the May 5-8 meeting.

For more information, please contact:

May 8, 1997

Global Information Infrastructure Commission(GIIC) Statement of Addis Ababa

1. The Information Revolution is driven by information and communications technologies (ICTs) and is fundamentally important for all societies

The processes of development and growth that are appropriately the focus of much of the ECA, will be greatly affected by the Information Revolution now under way around the world. The Information Revolution is a real thing; it is not hype; it is not just for rich countries; it is not a self-serving campaign by vested interests; it is not peripheral to development. Information and communication services are as important as other basics of social well-being and civilization, for collective and individual fulfilment. These changes may be as great as those of the industrial revolution, with far reaching effects we cannot even envision today. No country or region can afford to be left out. Because change is occurring so fast, a wait-and-see-policy is a recipe for marginalization. Governments, private firms, NGOs and others are strongly urged to recognize the critical, core importance of these new technologies.

2. The ICT revolution is especially important and essential for developing societies and their people

More and more information and communication services and technologies are being embedded in the everyday processes and activities of modern life. "ICT" is no longer a thing apart, but is an integral part of societies today. Information processing is embedded everywhere in developed and in developing societies. It should be thought of as a requirement for equitable and sustained economic development and social development, through education, training, health care, culture, leisure, employment and so forth.

3. While a modern imperative for all countries, diffusing ICT effectively and equitably, is neither easy nor automatic

To be effective, ICT diffusion and popular acceptance requires top leadership, effective vision to mobilize new behaviours, wider participation, and major organizational changes in the ways that governments, NGOs and firms are organized internally and to interact with one another. In the main, it will be diffused as much or more through the private sector as the public.

4. We support and encourage the ECA's commitment to adopt a concrete implementation plan for the AISI (African Information Society Initiative) as plans for National Information and Communications Infrastructure (NICI) within each African country

We encourage the ECA to find a constructive role for the public sector and the NGOs in this implementation. We especially encourage the ECA to develop an ongoing mechanism for private sector participation in the coordination of the AISI. Thus, the AISI should:

Be African led, but within a global context;

Take into consideration the substantial work on NICI in Africa that has preceded it, and related work worldwide on developing the Information Society;

Encourage developing countries to cooperate with each other, as well as with the developed world;

Promote African and global private sector leadership in the introduction of NICI in Africa; together with active participation from the public sector, civil society and international organizations;

Be driven by development needs and the implementation of applications and services and not by technology;

Foster transparent plans and policy frameworks for NICI involving all relevant stakeholders, based on the promotion of: - rights in information access and use; - global trade and investment; - diversity of content; - telecommunications competition; - interoperability and appropriate standards; - privacy, data protection, data security and intellectual property rights.

5. We recommend that the implementation of the AISI should take place with as much cooperation as possible between the following sectors: -There is an important role for the public sector -There is an important role for the private sector -There is an important role for the labor sector -There is an important role for civil society -There is an important role for academia and research institutions -There is an important role for the ECA

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May 8, 1997 ECA CONFERENCE OF MINISTERS DECLARATION ON ACCELERATING TRADE AND INVESTMENT IN AFRICA

PREAMBLE

1. We, the African Ministers responsible for economic and social development and planning, meeting in Addis Ababa, during the thirty-second session of the Commission/twenty-third meeting of the Conference of Ministers from 5 to 8 May 1997, guided by the principles and spirit embodied in the Charters of the United Nations and of the Organization of African Unity, the Abuja Treaty establishing the African Economic Community, the Cairo Plan of Action for Relaunching Africa's Development, the Marrakech Final Act of the Uruguay Round Agreement on Multilateral Trade Negotiations, UNCTAD IX Midrand Declaration "A Partnership for Growth and Development", and the Comprehensive and Integrated World Trade Organization (WTO) Plan of Action for the Least Developed Countries, endorse the resolutions and declaration adopted by the recently concluded Conference of African Ministers of Finance at its session of 31 March to 2 April 1997.

PURPOSE

2. We have taken stock of Africa's position within the emerging global economic system at the threshold of the twenty-first century. We have deliberated on the appropriate orientation of the development of our countries in the era of a liberalizing and integrating world economy, and the necessary measures that we need to implement in Africa at the level of government, with support from bilateral and multilateral development partners, and in full partnership with African and foreign private enterprise. We reaffirm that African countries assume the primary responsibility for restructuring their economies to the challenges and opportunities of a globalizing and liberalizing world economy.

TRADE, INVESTMENT AND DEVELOPMENT

3. We are convinced that trade and investment are essential components in any credible strategies to accelerate our countries' development and sustain high rates of economic growth. We are also convinced that poverty, which constitutes the most serious problem facing African society today, can be reduced and eventually eradicated by sustained high rates of economic growth that is broad-based and geared to creating employment and generating rising incomes. This objective requires a sustained high rate of investment and production.

DEVELOPMENT RESOURCES

4. We are convinced that this requires considerable resources which can be obtained mainly from an increased rate of domestic savings (by households, private enterprises, and governments), supplemented by official development finance and foreign investment (foreign direct investment, portfolio funds, and finance tapped from international capital markets). We are concerned about the long-term declining trend of official development assistance (ODA) in spite of our economic restructuring efforts and continuing need of development resources. We deplore the marginalization of Africa, at a time when significant positive developments are taking place in our countries.

5. In the light of intensifying globalization, we realize that private local and foreign investment is destined to assume increasing importance. We also recognize the central importance of mobilizing domestic financial resources, to boost our domestic savings. Furthermore, our countries have created an environment conducive to expanding trade with the rest of the world. Unfortunately, these efforts have been frustrated by continuing protectionist practices hindering our countries' exports, particularly agricultural products, textiles and clothing, by our trading partners.

EXTERNAL DEBT BURDEN

6. The cost of servicing external debt which, for the continent as a whole, is estimated to have exceeded US$ 340 billion at the end of 1996, siphons away considerable resources which could have been productively invested in the development of Africa. We welcome the debt reduction initiative for the highly indebted poor countries (HIPCs Initiative) recently proposed by the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund (IMF). This is a first step in the right direction. We are hopeful that it will be reinforced by additional more generous bilateral and multilateral measures to substantially reduce all African countries' debt stock.

TRANSNATIONAL CORPORATIONS AS PARTNERS

7. We believe that any fruitful and long-lasting business relationship must be built on the hallowed principles of equity, mutual responsibilities and mutual benefit. It is in this spirit that, in recent years, our countries have adopted new investment codes and instituted many economic reforms. Foreign partners who believe with us in these principles will make good on their investments and reap the expected dividends. In this regard, we invite transnational corporations to play their rightful role in securing the flow of foreign direct investment while respecting the principles adopted by our countries.

TRADE AND INVESTMENT: OPPORTUNITIES AND CHALLENGES

8. We recognize that boosting domestic savings, local and foreign investment, and the productivity of capital together constitute a real challenge. Regarding trade, the entry into force of the Uruguay Round Agreement, mandating significant cuts in tariffs on most tradeable products and limiting countries' recourse to non-tariff measures, offers Africa both opportunities as well as challenges. The thrust of the social, macroeconomic, sectoral, and trade policies that we are implementing in our countries is towards meeting these challenges and grasping the opportunities, so that our countries can realize the full potential of their natural comparative advantages in the world economy.

PREREQUISITES FOR EXPANDING TRADE AND INVESTMENT

9. We are aware that in order to achieve our goals (i.e., to boost domestic savings and investment, attract substantial private foreign capital transfers, and expand trade with the rest of the world) our countries must accomplish at least the following prerequisites:

(a) Changing the negative perception of Africa as a high-risk place;

(b) Improving information flow on developments in Africa;

(d) Reducing the cost of establishment and doing business;

(e) Strengthening international competitiveness;

(f) Striving for genuine regional economic integration; and

(g) Participating more effectively in the multilateral trading system.

POSITIVE POLICY TRENDS

10. We are convinced that the steps taken by our countries in each of the above areas will contribute to efficiency in our economies. The economic fundamentals are more solid today than they have been in decades. In a number of our countries, fiscal deficits have been reduced, the money supply has been disciplined, inflation is falling, currencies are finding their realistic levels guided by market forces, pressures on the current account have been reduced, economic recovery is under way, and the local private sector is resurgent. To that effect, the reforms undertaken and performances attained will be intensified.

AREAS FOR ENHANCEMENT

11. We invite domestic and foreign investors to take advantage of the opportunities that have been created by the improved policy and economic environment in our countries.

12. We urge Africa's bilateral partners to continue to provide direct financial support, on concessional terms at increased levels, and to extend indirect support through tax incentives to their national investors participating in infrastructure development projects in Africa.

13. We trust that multilateral development finance institutions, notably the African Development Bank, the African Export-Import (AFREXIM) Bank and the World Bank, will continue to play an important role, not only in providing substantial financial resources, but also in providing technical assistance to our countries in carrying out analyses of profitability, risk, and environmental factors of projects, especially in infrastructures.

THE ROLE OF ECA

14. We request the ECA secretariat to identify issues crucial to accelerating trade and investment, and to come up with appropriate strategies, in collaboration with African Governments and leading African and global multilateral institutions, inter alia, the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) and the World Trade Organization. We recommend that emphasis be placed especially on practical strategies, and economic and social policy innovations, with particular emphasis on regional cooperation, public-private partnership, and international competitiveness, thereby pointing to new approaches to accelerate Africa's development process. ECA should also function as the clearing house for gathering and disseminating experiences and best practices from within Africa as well as from other regions.

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From: apic@igc.org Message-Id: <199705100121.SAA25907@igc3.igc.apc.org> Date: Fri, 9 May 1997 21:09:35 -0500 Subject: Africa: Recent ECA Statements, 1/2

Editor: Ali B. Ali-Dinar

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