President to open 56th Uneca Conference

PRESIDENT MNANGAGWA is tomorrow expected to officially open the 56th Session of the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (Uneca) Conference of African Ministers of Finance, Planning and Economic Development here in Victoria Falls.

Running under the theme “Financing the Transition to Inclusive Green Economies in Africa: Imperatives, Opportunities and Policy Options”, the conference started on Wednesday and ends on Tuesday.

Officials from the majority of member states and development partners are attending the hybrid meeting, with some attending virtually.

Zimbabwe has taken over the chairmanship of the Economic Commission for Africa, and Finance, Economic Development and Investment Promotion Minister Professor Mthuli Ncube will be at the helm for this year.

“This is a very important conference of finance ministers in Africa to drive strategic thinking and what Africa should be focusing on.

“We are looking forward to in-depth discussions around climate-proofing our agriculture and our economies.

“We have had deeper discussions looking at the macro picture in Africa where countries have seen rising debt and His Excellency will on Monday officially open the meeting, before we close on Tuesday,” said Prof Ncube.

While commending Uneca’s support towards the development of Africa over the years, especially in supporting African Union (AU) member states in the implementation of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) agreement, Prof Ncube told journalists during the week that the conference offers an important platform for African ministers of finance and central bank governors to converge and exchange ideas, experiences and knowledge with regard to mitigating climate change towards green transition.

He called for a whole of government approach to issues affecting the continent.

Uneca deputy executive secretary Mr Antonio Pedro called upon member states to transition into inclusive, low carbon and resource-efficient economies, and transforming food systems to address hunger, post-harvest losses and widespread malnutrition.

Discussions during the week have been around the need to climate-proof agriculture, attract financing towards green transition and the cost of transition, promote the economic and social development of member states, foster intra-regional integration, promote international cooperation and tackle rising debt levels for Africa’s development.

Deliberations also focused on how the continent can address illicit financial flows.

This comes amid concerns that Africa is disproportionately impacted by climate change, yet it contributes less than 5 percent to global warming.

“Africa is the most impacted by climate change, but least energised on the globe.

“We need to create tools and build capacity, and make the continent climate-resilient and attract finance,” said Mr Linus Mofor, the senior environment officer at Uneca.

Said interim chief director for climate and meteorological services in the Ministry of Environment, Climate and Wildlife Mrs Veronica Jakarasi: “We need to increase green financing in Africa and come up with risk mitigation methods, while also involving small-to-medium enterprises which make up the bulk of the economy in Africa.

“We need critical data centres so that when investors come, they know about investable projects.”