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Africa Moyo Deputy News Editor
The 56th Session of the UNECA Conference of African Ministers of Finance, Planning and Economic Development, opened in Victoria Falls today.
In his presentation, Finance, Economic Development and Investment Promotion Minister Professor Mthuli Ncube urged delegates to exchange ideas on boosting food production and financing the transition to inclusive green economies.
The conference runs until March, under the theme; “Financing the transition to inclusive green economies in Africa: Imperatives, opportunities, and policy options”.
President Mnangagwa is expected to address the delegates during the course of the conference.
Prof Ncube said the conference offers an important platform for African Ministers of Finance, Planning and Economic Development and Central Bank Governors to converge and exchange ideas, experiences and knowledge.
This year’s conference, he added, provides us an opportunity to foster greater understanding and collaboration among African Ministers of Finance, ICT, Trade and Industry and Environment on the theme of the conference.
“Implementation of this important theme requires a whole (of) Government approach,” he said.
“As you are aware, the primary objective of this conference is to promote the economic and social development of our member States, foster intra-regional integration, and promote international cooperation for Africa’s development.
“It is also an opportunity for us to collectively address the challenges and opportunities that lie ahead as we continue to navigate the post-COVID-19 era.”
Prof Ncube also said the hungry world cannot be fed until and unless there is a balance in the growth of resources, technology and population.
However, he said it was unfortunate that Africa was not leveraging its resources including land.
“As the continent has around 127 million hectares of potentially irrigatable land of which only around 13 percent of this land is currently being used for irrigation.
“We have vast water bodies to irrigate our rich soils; all we need is investment in advanced irrigation technology and enough funding to climate-proof agriculture so that we become food-secure,” said Prof Ncube.
UNECA Deputy Executive Secretary – Programme Support, Mr Antonio Pedro, said since the last conference, the world has “fallen deeper into economic fragility, climate change, conflict, and distrust”.
“Sadly, Africa has not been spared from these global trends. As most of you know, the continent faces disproportionate burdens and risks arising from climate change-related events and patterns.
“These include prolonged droughts, devastating floods, and out-of-season storms – all of which cause massive humanitarian crises and deepen our economic vulnerabilities,” Mr Pedro.
He added that the frequency of the natural disasters reminds everyone that “we are living in an unprecedented era in human history, characterised by critical social and environmental issues”.
Given the magnitude of the challenges, Mr Pedro said there was a need to accelerate the adoption of just and sustainable transitions, which require long-term structural changes and adequate investment.
“The issues we face today are particularly acute because the global financial system is inadequate and has completely failed Africa.
In spite of this, we are equally reminded that we have the ability to create our own solutions to our problems, no matter how small they may be.
“That should be our collective focus as we continue the fight to reform global systems.
“We have, therefore, a unique opportunity to actively transform our countries by transitioning into inclusive, low carbon, and resource-efficient economies. In practice, this can be achieved by combining environmental commitments with climate action – socio-economic commitments with poverty eradication and reducing inequalities. And we must break away from being exporters of raw materials,” he said.
Online Reporter