The 4th International Conference of the Financing for Development (FfD4) is well underway here in Addis Ababa raising important issues that relate to the very needs of Africa. Stakeholders should seize this opportune moment to come up with viable solutions to help the continent catch up with the rest of the world.
Development is a global agenda of all times. It is a human right as enshrined in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) and the respective laws and policies of countries. Development is also an outcome of the joint efforts of nations across the world to see a better world.
One of the most important inputs for development is finance. It is an all-round input that can help address many of the challenges that developing countries like Africa are facing. Africa faces a lot of challenges due to lack of financing for its development. Indeed, Africa is endowed with abundant natural resources and human resources that can support its rapid development.
However, Africa needs to properly harness the exploitation of its resources so that it can support its development needs with its own resources. To achieve this, the continent must make sure that it can harness its resources efficiently which means exploiting them with the least cost and time as well as quality.
This calls for modernizing and expanding its development. For instance, the continent needs to upgrade its agricultural, mining, manufacturing and tourism sectors. Furthermore, it has to build the capacity of its human resource to become more efficient in its utilization of domestic resources. The continent must create more jobs.
Sign up for free AllAfrica Newsletters
Get the latest in African news delivered straight to your inbox
All these need appropriate and more financing. Yet, the continent needs to attract finance from outside sources. Also, it has to be backed to wisely and efficiently use resources found at its realm. However, it is a hard fact that the continent loses a huge sum of capital due to problems like illicit trade, tax evasion and failure to collect revenue commensurate with the economic growth.
Africa needs due support to devise and implement appropriate financial policies and technologies so as to diversify its domestic resource mobilization through taxation and capital market among others. Being able to revamp the utilization of domestic resource would help the continent harness more resources from inside and outside with due efficiency.
However, the collaboration of partners so far has not been that adequate to build its capacity and attain sustainable development. The financial and technical aids were mostly focused on addressing temporary problems. As a result, the continent is known to be off the track in keeping pace with the rest of the world in achieving the Sustainable development goals. Furthermore, it still is lingering in difficult situation in terms of development.
Hence, the forum must take the right measures to align its actions with the continent's long term development agenda.
