Kinshasa — Closing the 10th African Economic Conference in Kinshasa, Mr. George Wembi Loambo, Minister of Planning in the Democratic Republic of the Congo spoke of the need for shared prosperity and reduction of poverty as the most needed elements in African economies.

At the conclusion of this conference titled 'Addressing poverty and inequality in the post 2015 development agenda', Mr. Loambo called for inclusive growth and the promotion of spatial inclusion. "It is possible to eliminate poverty and reduce inequality," he declared.

Those present agreed with him in that inclusive growth is central to addressing poverty and inequality. To achieve this, African states should prioritise infrastructure, reduce vulnerability to external shocks and domestic conflicts, enhance access to quality health care, improve quality education and accelerate land reforms.

Conference participants point to a strengthened role of inclusive developmental states in economic transformation as one of the ways forward for inclusive African economies. Agriculture as the major source of livelihoods and the extractive industries as a potential key source of revenues are seen as the cornerstone of economic transformation.

The Kinshasa Outcome Document, summarising salient points of the conference, noted the prevalence of poverty, the high cost of doing business in the continent, governance failures caused by overdependence on primary commodities, weak health infrastructure, lack of gender equality, low quality of education and lack of credible data as some of the factors hampering inclusive economic growth in Africa.

To change economies for the benefit of the majority of citizens by ending poverty is a "matter of will, accountability and good governance," said Mr. Abebe Shimeles, the Acting Director of the African Development Bank. Mr. Shimeles encouraged policy makers to speak truth to leaders to allow implementable policies to take effect.

According to ECA's Mr. Adam Elhiraika, this conference is lauded for "bringing young African researchers together to help countries articulate their vision." Mr. Elhiraika believes that the aspirations of the continent are well articulated and that all want to see a peaceful and prosperous Africa. He encouraged African states to conduct further research on competitiveness, health and technologies.

Mr. Ayodele Odusola of UNDP praised the conference for providing space for the exchange of ideas and experiences. "A lot of things are happening in Africa and we want to know more of what is occurring so we can share experiences," he said.

The participants concurred Africa needs developmental states that are committed to the improvement of people's lives. Mr. Loambo summed up, saying leadership, effectiveness, transparency, pro-activeness in reforms and commitment to quality policies are the components required to reduce inequality and to eliminate poverty.

To be able to cease the drain of resources and export potential, conference participants also urged African states to work towards rectifying the disproportional global governance and finance architectures as these were viewed as impending African socio-economic transformation.

The 10th African Economic Conference jointly organised by the African Development Bank, the Economic Commission for Africa and the United Nations Development Programme, held in Kinshasa from 02 -04 November brought together researchers, policy makers and decision makers.