ADDIS ABABA - The African Union Commission emphasized that robust political commitment, deeper integration, and bold strategic reforms are critical to driving rapid socio-economic transformation across the continent.
At the side event on the margins of the 2025 High-Level Political Forum on Sustainable Development, the African Union Commission Deputy Chairperson Selma Malika Haddadi said that accelerating Africa's transformation requires multi-actor ownership of both Agenda 2030 and Agenda 2063.
"We are less than five years from 2030, and already deep into the decisive decade of Agenda 2063's Second Ten-Year Plan. This is not the time for hesitation. It is the time for clarity, for courage, and above all, for continental conviction," Selma said.
According to her, Africa's transformation must emerge from the grassroots level, where development is not only delivered but also defined by those it is intended to serve.
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"However, even with such mechanisms in place, our collective ambitions will remain unfulfilled without coordinated political will to support this transformation," she said, while explaining the necessity of making three strategic shifts.
First, the political will must translate into operational alignment. "Our partners must align not only with Africa's needs but with our frameworks in financing, trade, and governance. This means addressing the structural asymmetries in global finance as well as the trade system, which continue to constrain African economies," Selma said, stressing that partnership must be grounded in mutual recognition and institutional respect.
Secondly, she said integration must move beyond coordination. "Our national, regional, and continental institutions must communicate with precision. Data must be interoperable, and budgets must reflect present-day priorities while learning from past constraints. This calls for amplifying regional solutions -- from the AfCFTA and PAPSS, to Africa-led innovations in climate resilience and digital infrastructure."
The third shift that Africa's transformation requires, according to the Deputy Chairperson, is focusing on strategic re form than rhetoric. To her, the call to overhaul global financial and trade architecture is not ideological but essential.
A continent with the youngest population and the most significant potential cannot be expected to grow on terms it did not help define, she added.
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To Selma, Africa has never lacked ambition, and the Kampala Declaration did more than reaffirm Africans' shared development goals. "It sharpened our tools, clarified our direction, and reasserted Africa's leadership in shaping solutions that are both scalable and context-driven."
The Kampala Declaration is a shared assertion of a bold continental commitment to unlocking job-rich economic growth, grounded in science, powered by inclusion, financing gaps for above 1.3 billion USD each year and guided by evidence. According to Selma, meaningful transformation can only be achieved through principled partnerships, grounded in co-creation, shared accountability, and structural equity.
BY STAFF REPORTER
THE ETHIOPIAN HERALD FRIDAY 25 July 2025
