The Eleventh Session of the Africa Regional Forum on Sustainable Development (ARFSD-11) kicked off in Kampala, Uganda, with a powerful call to action on bold leadership and decisive policies that drive jobs, inclusive growth, science and evidence-based solutions.
President Kaguta Yoweri Museveni, host of the ARFSD 11 stressed the need for Africa to stop exporting raw materials saying : « When you export raw materials and somebody goes and makes more money out of it and creates jobs for their children, it means you are donating money and donating jobs ».
« That is what Africans have been doing. I’ve banned the export of unprocessed minerals. No unprocessed mineral leaves Uganda now. I told our people that if we can’t process the minerals, they must stay in the ground. Our grandchildren will process them », said president Kaguta Yoweri Museveni.
The forum serves as a critical platform for dialogue and action, with the potential to shape Africa’s trajectory towards sustainable prosperity in the coming years.
President Museveni said the Uganda’s agricultural sector employs 3.6 million people; manufacturing and industry employs 1.4 million people; and the services sector 5 million people. The ICT sector is currently employing 46,000 people. « We are just beginning, but you can see jobs can be created », he said.
« We cannot have individual countries championing as individual countries. There must be a connectedness of our efforts. We need to share, discuss and interrogate what means we have to achieve our goals », said Emmerson Mnangagwa, president of Zimbabwe.
United Nations Deputy Secretary General Amina J. Mohammed said progress has not been fast enough. « Structural inequalities persist, and informal unemployment remains widespread. Let us tell a new story driven by African leadership, especially our young people, powered by African people and anchored in African values », said, Ms. Mohammed.
For his part, Executive Secretary of the Economic Commission for Africa (ECA) Claver Gatete underscored the significant hurdles that currently obstruct the continent’s progress, including the lingering effects of Covid-19, geopolitical tensions, and a staggering debt burden that stands at 64.3% of GDP.
He noted that Africa’s GDP growth has stagnated at around 3%, falling short of the 7% required to achieve Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 8, which focuses on economic growth and decent work.
« Aid is no longer sustainable. We must scale up domestic resources, curb illicit financial flows, and tap into pension and sovereign wealth funds to fund Africa’s transformation. With only five years to 2030, the clock is ticking. We must move beyond diagnosis to implementation ; bold, inclusive, and evidence-based solutions are our only options », he said.
Touching on Africa’s integration agenda, Robert Rae, president of the Economic and Social Council, and Permanent Representative of Canada to the United Nations said, « ‟Africa for the Africansˮ was a slogan of the 1950s and 1960s but it still needs to be a slogan today, to show how we’re going to achieve prosperity. I endorse regional co-operation and the AfCFTA. The next five years must be marked by bold leadership, decisive policies, and strengthened partnerships ».
The ECA and UN system remain committed to collaborating with African nations and partners to achieve the promises of sustainable development for the continent.
ARFSD 11 is themed : “Driving job creation and economic growth through sustainable, inclusive, science and evidence-based solutions for the 2030 Agenda and AU Agenda 2063”, and has brought together heads of state, government officials, academia, civil society representatives, and international partners to tackle pressing development challenges facing the continent.
The forum is being held against sobering data, with just five years until 2030, of 144 measurable SDG targets, only 10 are on track, while 106 are progressing too slowly.
Leaders have called for a shift from merely diagnosing issues to implementing actionable solutions on the five critical SDGs that are under review in 2025 : Good Health and Well-being (SDG 3), Gender Equality (SDG 5), Decent Work and Economic Growth (SDG 8), Life Below Water (SDG 14), and Partnerships for the Goals (SDG 17).
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