African Regional Economic Communities (RECs) have developed a roadmap to address challenges to the realisation of the African Union (AU) Agenda 2063, a framework for the socio-economic development of the continent over the next 50 years.
Agenda 2063 was formed at the 50th anniversary of AU in May 2013, where African leaders made a pledge to accelerate growth, development and prosperity on the continent going forward to 2063.
The agenda was formulated through the inclusion of citizens in the process with provisions made to ensure monitoring, evaluation and accountability, and that set targets were achieved.
The AU further developed a draft 10-year plan to identify priority areas, set specific targets, define strategies and policy measures required to implement the first 10 years of the agenda.
Mr Njikam Theodore, Representative and Head Liaison Office to the AU, Economic Community of Central African States (ECCAS), told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) that the roadmap would address common regional challenges to the agenda.
“We had a meeting co-organised by ECOWAS, the African Foundation for Capacity Building (ACBF) and the International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance (International IDEA), a body promoting democratic governance globally.
“The purpose was to help RECs build capacities in order to deliver better on the continental agenda; we have agreed on a roadmap and action plan on the way forward.
“We started by identifying the capacity gaps of RECs and then we moved to their priorities and what kind of capacity can be provided to them so as to enhance their capabilities to implement African projects.
“We have problems for instance in resource mobilisation and utilisation; in planning, monitoring and strategising; we need capacities in such areas”, he said.
Theodore said that the deliberations of the meeting were based on the report of ACBF with a focus on the implementation of the 10-year-plan of the Agenda.
He further said that the meeting sought to create a forum for inter-REC cooperation “so that we can learn and get used to planning together and implementing together”.
Also, the Director, Knowledge and Learning, ACBF, Mr Thomas Munthali, said that identifying the needs of the RECs toward achieving the 10-year-plan would help them deliver on their mandate.
Munthali said that the common gaps identified among the RECs were inadequate policy planning and coordination, effective monitoring and evaluation, challenges in mobilising and assessing resources and untapped human resources.
“We shared information on the strategies that can be put in place to address those gaps.
“Like skills development, making sure we set in place a framework for reviewing existing policies and strategies that might have shortfalls, and supporting RECs with setting up of institutional capacities to help them deliver on their various mandates.
“We have put together a roadmap where we have commitments of all the RECs in terms of how they intend to move forward with the various capacity gaps that have been identified. ”
He said that the roadmap would be presented to heads of the various economic communities at the next summit in January 2018.
“We will put this roadmap before the heads of the RECs to sign in terms of getting them to commit,” he said. (NAN)