The Brussels Programme of Action: Review of Progress

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The Brussels Programme of Action Review of
Progress

• Trade, Finance and Economic Development Division

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OUTLINE

• Background
• Commitments and ECA Actions
• The Way Forward

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1. Background

• 34 of the 53 Countries in Africa are LDCs.
  Therefore, progress in African LDCs will to a
  large extent affect the ability of the region to
  meet the MDGs
• The BPOA recognizes the importance of LDCs in the
  fight against poverty. It also places the
  economic problems of these countries at the
  center of national and international policy
  discussions
• However, since the adoption of the BPOA five
  years ago, very limited progress has been made in
  the seven areas of the programme

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Commitment 1 Fostering a People-centred Policy
Framework

• There has been an improvement in growth
  performance (from 3.3 over 1998-2001 to 5.2
  over 2003-05)
• But the magnitude is low relative to what is
  required to make a significant impact on poverty
  reduction
• ECA has undertaken several actions to help boost
  growth in African LDCs
• The introduction of a PRSP Learning Group to help
  countries share experiences in designing pro-poor
  development strategies
• The establishment of the African Center for
  Statistics to aid in policy formulation, planning
  and evaluation
• The development of the African Gender and
  Development Index to enhance capacity for
  monitoring progress towards women advancement

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Commitment 2 Promoting Good Governance

• ECAs report shows that Governance in many
  African LDCs has improved
• With the assistance of ECA and other African
  institutions, African leaders have set up a
  mechanism for monitoring progress on governance
  issues
• About 17 African LDCs have acceded to the African
  Peer Review Mechanism

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Commitment 3 Building Human and Institutional
Capacities

• Lack of human and institutional capacities
  continue to constraint growth and development in
  African LDCs
• ECA has been supporting African countries in
  strengthening human and institutional capacities.
• However, these efforts would have more impact if
  the constraints posed by political conflicts and
  the HIV/AIDS epidemic are lifted

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Commitment 4 Building Productive Capacities to
make Globalization Work

• African LDCs have a limited production base. This
  coupled with structural and supply-side
  constraints limit their ability to take advantage
  of trade opportunities
• ECA recognizes the importance and need for
  production restructuring in African LDCs and have
  taken several steps to assist in this area
• ERA 2007 on Diversification and other research
  studies
• 2006 Conference of African Ministers of Industry
• 2007 Meeting with UNIDO on Investments in
  Productive Capacity
• Support to Member States on Infrastructure as
  well as Information and Communication technology

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Commitment 5 Enhancing the Role of Trade in
Development

• African LDCs are heavily dependent on exports. In
  recent years there has been an increase in the
  growth of merchandise export in these countries
  (from 11 over 2001-2002 to 28 over 2003-04)
• ECA continues to provide valuable support to
  African LDCs on trade issues (WTO and EPAs)
• The assistance takes various forms
• Research on trade issues
• Training workshops on trade negotiation
• Training on use of quantitative tools
• Support to Member States in Trade Policy
  Formulation through the African Trade Policy
  Center

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Commitment 6 Reducing Vulnerabilities and
Protecting the Environment

• African LDCs are vulnerable to natural shocks
  such as drought, floods etc
• ECA collaborates with other organizations to
  implement measures to combat the adverse effects
  of natural disasters.
• ECA has also implemented a project on capacity
  building in trade and environment aimed at
  enhancing the capacity on Member States to
  formulate coherent and environmentally friendly
  trade policies

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Commitment 7 Mobilizing Financial Resources

• Effective Mobilization of financial resources
  remains a challenge for African LDCs. Domestic
  Savings are still very low and FDI and ODA levels
  are also low relative to investment requirements
• ECA continues to provide valuable support to
  African LDCs in the area of mobilization of
  financial resources
• Research Studies
• Training workshops
• Capital Market Development Project
• The establishment of a Financing Development
  Section at ECA

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3. The Way Forward

• There is the need to accelerate progress in the
  implementation of the BPOA . This requires
  dealing with the following challenges and
  constraints
• Improving infrastructure
• Reducing vulnerability to external shocks due to
  high dependence on commodities
• Increasing levels of technology and ICTs
• Inadequate financial resources
• Vulnerability to natural disasters and
  environmental degradation
• Lack of political will by development partners to
  fulfil their pledges and commitments