22nd ordinary session of the African Union executive council: Statement By Carlos Lopes UN Under-Secretary-General and Executive Secretary of ECA

Abstract

Statement by Carlos Lopes UN Under-Secretary-General and Executive Secretary of ECA at the 22 nd Ordinary Session of the African Union Executive Council. The theme for this meeting which is ‘Pan-Africanism and African Renaissance’ resonates very strongly as a response to Cheikh Anta Diop of Senegal who famously asked “When will we be able to speak of an African Renaissance”. Going forward, Africa must use current growth trends as a platform for broad structural transformation. The world may have its own particular interest in a rising Africa, but the growth that must matter for Africans is one that is primarily anchored on their interest and concerns. An agenda of transformative development in Africa will also necessarily entail new approaches to macro-economic policy-making and management anchored on the primary goal of boosting growth and employment without losing overall balances necessary and permissible for relative stability. The world is changing; Africa is changing, so ECA must change. To be relevant to the transformative development agenda of its member states, ECA must retool itself and recalibrate its programme.