Focus on Africa at indaba
AFRICA’S drive to generate inclusive economic growth and the leadership this requires will be the focus of the 27th World Economic Forum on Africa, taking place in Durban from May 3 to 5.
The 27th World Economic Forum on Africa will draw together over 1 000 leaders from more than 100 countries, representing business, government, academia, civil society, media and the arts for the meeting which is themed “Achieving Inclusive Growth through Responsive and Responsible Leadership”.
In a statement yesterday, the WEF said Africa’s imperative was to generate truly inclusive economic growth that “provides everyone with the same opportunity to prosper and achieve”.
The Durban meeting aimed to move leaders to change the way they approached development planning by designing policies that allowed everyone to benefit from economic growth, it said.
The meeting’s other priority is to help Africa prepare for the huge changes the world is about to experience as a result of the Fourth Industrial Revolution.
“Rapid technological advances in the physical, digital and biological worlds are giving rise to a new era that will have a profound effect on how humans live, work and interact with one another,” the WEF said.
Among the key issues that will come under the spotlight in Durban are food and water security, preventing the deforestation of tropical forests, securing investment to tackle Africa’s large infrastructure gap, bridging the digital divide, improving delivery of health care, helping Africans gain access to financial services, and facilitating better intra-regional trade.
Key participants from the region include President Jacob Zuma, Deputy President Cyril Ramaphosa, King Mswati III of Swaziland, the President of Mauritius, Ameenah Gurib-Fakim, Zambia’s President Edgar Chagwa Lungu, Uganda’s President Yoweri Museveni, the President of Mozambique, Filipe Jacinto Nyusi, Senegal’s President Macky Sall, the Prime Minister of Swaziland, Barnabas Sibusiso Dlamini, the Prime Minister of Namibia, Saara Kuugongelwa-Amadhila, and the Vice-President of Ghana, Mahamudu Bawumia. – ANA