Kigali, Rwanda 26 May 2016 (ECA) - Three ECA publications were launched this week in Kigali. These are the Economic Report on Africa 2016 subtitled ‘ Greening Africa’s Industrialization’, the report on Transformative Industrial Policy for Africa and the Country Profile for Rwanda.
The Deputy Executive Secretary of ECA, Ms. Giovanie Biha, who presided over the launch, described the three reports as useful materials that could “help to debunk the myths that Africa is not ready for green industrialisation”.
The three publications acknowledge Africa as a latecomer continent to industrialization, which on the other hand, has opportunities to avoid mistakes made by some of its predecessors.
The Economic Report on Africa 2016 presents ‘green industrialisation’as an opportunity to achieve the type of carbon-neutral structural transformation that yields sustainable and inclusive growth in Africa. The report offers a concrete package of policy options for decarbonising Africa’s industrialisation efforts.
Transformative Industrial Policy for Africa is a think piece, which offers historical and contemporary insights on the implementation of industrial policies for transformative development. In particular, the report provides concrete strategies for the integration of industrial policies into national development plans across the continent.
The Country Profile –Rwanda offers an independent narrative of the country’s recent economic and social achievements and challenges, with a particular focus on regional integration and economic transformation.
In her remarks, Ms. Biha said that greening Africa’s industrialisation is the only viable conduit through which the development objectives of the continent can be met. She emphasized that if Africa takes and implements the right type of policies, it could turn the present adverse conditions into “a catalytic springboard for leapfrogging the fourth industrial revolution for the Africa we want”.
Three Rwandan ministers namely, Minister of Trade and Industry; Minister for Natural Resource and Minister of State in charge of Economic Planning who attended the event lauded the ECA for the efforts and affirmed that these publications "are very key to informing the transformative agenda of many African countries."
In his remarks, the Minister of Economic Planning of Rwanda, Dr. Uzziel Ndagijimana thanked the ECA for organising the launch in Rwanda. “This discussion provides insights into ways of implementing our vision of green industrialization”, he said. “Rwanda has the target of reducing agriculture employment to 50 per cent. In doing so, the country has to transform its economy structurally with increased contribution from manufacturing,” said Ndagijimana.
The Kigali launch gathered senior officials from the Ministry of Finance and Economic Planning and the National Bank of Rwanda, high level representatives from the UN and other international organisations, ECA senior economists, academia, media as well as other economists and experts.
Issued by:
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Economic Commission for Africa
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E-mail: ecainfo@uneca.org