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Leader view
LEADER'S VIEW
Africa’s quest
to industrialise
Numerous programmes and initiatives provide opportunities
for G20 members in Africa, writes Jacob Zuma
South Africa recognises itself as an integral
part of the African continent. It is therefore
encouraging that Africa has been placed at
the centre of the development agenda of the
Chinese G20 presidency in 2016. Key in this
regard is the G20 Action Plan on the Implementation of
the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, the G20
Initiative on Supporting the Industrialisation of Africa
and Least Developed Countries, and the G20 Blueprint
on Innovative Growth.
The proposed outcomes of the Hangzhou Summit
will dovetail with and add value to Africa’s own
blueprint for growth, prosperity and peace, as contained
in the African Union’s Agenda 2063 and reflected in
the 2030 Agenda. This will give further impetus to the
development and growth trajectory of the continent.
Many factors make Africa an attractive destination
for investment. The African Economic Outlook 2016
indicates that Africa has achieved impressive economic
growth over the past 15 years, with gross domestic
product (GDP) growth averaging above five per cent
between 2001 and 2014. Africa’s economic performance
held firm in 2015, amid global headwinds and regional
shocks. The industrialisation of African economies
will significantly increase the growth trajectory and
contribute positively to global growth and trade.
Africa is the second-fastest growing region in the world
after Asia. It has enormous reserves of natural resources,
60 per cent of unused arable agriculture land, a young
and growing population, and a growing middle class,
coupled with vast improvements in political and economic
governance. However, the continent’s full potential will
remain unfulfilled unless we address the infrastructure
deficit, small and fragmented markets, underdeveloped
production structures, inadequate economic
diversification, and exclusion from the global value
chain. One of Africa’s important development challenges
is structural transformation, namely to shift its current
growth path based on minerals and commodity exports
onto a more sustainable industrial development path.
9 th
Summit
2007
Elected
Jacob Zuma
President, South Africa
Synergy and complementarity
Sustainable Development Goal nine directs that we
“build resilient infrastructure, promote sustainable
industrialisation and foster innovation”. This
corresponds with the continent’s Agenda 2063,
which seeks to promote a “prosperous Africa, based
on inclusive growth and sustainable development.”
Agenda 2063 is a transformative agenda to position
Africa as a long-term strategic market and supplier of
beneficiated resources through the prioritisation of:
• labour intensive manufacturing and
industrialisation;
• doubling both the agricultural productivity and
value addition of the blue economy; and
• regional industrialisation hubs linked to global
value chains and commodity exchanges, the African
Minerals Development Centre and the African Centre
for Blue Economy.
The central role of industrialisation for achieving both
the 2030 Agenda and Agenda 2063 was once again
highlighted during the 35th Summit of New Partnership
for Africa’s Development (NEPAD) Heads of State and
Government Orientation Committee meeting that took
place in Rwanda in July.
Industrialisation through partnership
It is recognised that industrialisation, reinforced by
beneficiation and value addition, is critical to the
economic growth of the African continent. If the African
continent is to develop faster and take advantage of
regional integration, globalisation and further improve
its prospects, we need to address the constraints
facing the supply side of African economies, including
those related to inadequate regional infrastructural
linkages. Key in this regard will be our ability to
address the continent’s high dependency on primary
products, low value addition to commodities before
exports, high exposure to commodity price volatility,
high infrastructure deficit, limited investment in
research and development, science, innovation and
technology, an undercapitalised private sector, and
skills challenges.
To address some of the challenges the continent
has embarked on a number of initiatives and
programmes that include, among others, the NEPAD
African Action Plan, the Presidential Infrastructure
Championing Initiative, the African Mining Vision and
the Programme for the Infrastructural Development
of Africa. These programmes and initiatives provide
significant opportunities for G20 members in terms of
investment and partnership.
Africa’s vulnerabilities and limited participation in
22 G20 China: The Hangzhou Summit • September 2016 G7G20.com