ECA implements key recommendations from CoM2021

The ECA has made serious headway in adopting and implementing many of the key recommendations set in last year’s Conference of Ministers held in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.

The hybrid event was held under the theme Africa’s sustainable industrialisation and diversification in the digital era in the context of Covid-19 as officials and policymakers sought to bounce back from the pandemic.

Said Adejumobi, Director, Strategic Planning, Oversight and Results Division at the ECA, said that there has been progress in three key areas: regional integration and economic development, development planning, statistical and data systems and the response and recovery from Covid-19.

On regional integration, the ECA has helped 10 African countries implement AfCFTA strategies and overseen the formulation of seven new national strategies.

It also developed a Country Business Index tool that uses high-quality data to assess the impact of the AfCFTA on the private sector, which was deployed in five countries.

The ECA developed and deployed nine country profiles on digital-trade regulatory integration, helping to identify and overcome the challenges faced in terms of Africa’s digital economy.

On economic development, the ECA helped support and develop an industrialisation and economic diversification masterplan in Central Africa.

It also supported the Congo’s strategy to develop network connectivity for the 5th generation of mobile services and the incorporation of digital infrastructure and payments in e-government systems in five African countries.

It assisted five least developed countries to estimate their national illicit financial flows and successfully aligned current national development plans with 2030 Agenda and Agenda 2063 using ECA’s planning toolkit.

On development planning, the ECA helped build capacity in two countries as part of support to increase the adoption of the Integrated Geospatial Information Framework in Africa.

It also strengthened civil registration and vital statistics systems in 18 countries using a business improvement framework.