African countries must base their industrialization policies on regional orientation frameworks, says this year’s economic report on Africa launched on Monday by the Economic Commission for Africa (ECA) at the sixth conference of African ministers of Finance, Economic Planning and Development.
“To be efficient and to improve coordination at the regional and continental level, Africa’s national industrial development executives should, as much as possible, be aligned on the priorities of the action plan for Africa’s accelerated industrial development adopted by African Industry ministers in 2007,” says the report on the theme: “Draw biggest profits from Africa-based products: Industrialization in service of growth, employment and economic transformation.”
The plan set priorities in terms of actions at the national, regional, continental and international plans, as well as the policy to diversify and export of basic products, the management of natural resources and the gain in value of natural resources, the institutional frameworks and the mobilization of resources.
To meet the needs of the national and export markets, the report also recommends close collaboration of national strategies creating added value in a bid to promote the efforts made by African countries to develop basic strategic products.
It identified rice, beans, maize, cotton, palm oil, pork and milk products and poultry at the continental level, as well as cassava, sorghum and millet.
The sixth joint conference is on the theme: “Industrialization in service of Africa’s emergence.”
Initiated by the Economic Commission for Africa and the African Union Commission, the conference is the main annual consultation forum for African ministers of Finance, Economic Planning and Development and governors of central banks.
