Review of the implementation of Agenda 21 in Africa : guidelines for monitoring the progress made in building critical management capacities for sustainable development

Abstract

At its 1994 annual meeting, the ECA Conference of Ministers responsible for Economic and Social Development and Planning, by resolution 771 (XXIX), endorsed the preliminary report on "A Framework Agenda for building and utilizing critical capacities in Africa". The initiative to focus on capacity building was borne out of the realization that the missing link and, therefore, the major reason for the generally observed failure in the efforts deployed during the past two decades to put Africa on the path of accelerated growth and sustainable development has been the lack of systematic action on building and enhancing the critical capacities needed to sustain growth and development. The objective of the Economic Commission for Africa (ECA) initiative is, therefore, to build comprehensive consensus framework to serve as basis for action on all the critical aspects of capacity building at country, subregional and regional levels. The Framework Agenda, therefore, will provide a mechanism for collaboration, coordination and harmonization, and for the monitoring of efforts by African Member States, their intergovernmental organizations and development partners, including agencies of the United Nations system, towards African capacity building.