The United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (ECA) urged African countries to move away from "one-size-fits-all" macroeconomic models and towards more flexible policies to create greater diversity, develop a wider range of goods and adjust policies to individual countries. The recommendations were made in the Commission's annual economic report on the region.

Released on 3 April 2007, the report entitled "Accelerating Africa's Development through Diversification" called on the continent "to adopt less conservative fiscal policies, including cheaper credit, to promote more investment by the private sector". It also urged countries of the region to embark on a more systematic economic effort at diversifying its economy and to their vulnerability to commodity export prices.

"African economies have sustained the "growth momentum" of the past years, increasing at 5.2 per cent in 2005, up to 5.6 per cent last year and an estimated 5.8 per cent in growth is expected in 2007", said Ejeviome Eloho Otobo, former ECA officer and currently Director of Strategic Planning in the Peacebuilding Support Office. Countries like Tunisia and Mauritius in particular have registered growth rates of 5.5 per cent and 4.4 per cent per year from 1981 to 2000, respectively, he said. On average, the growth in oil-exporting countries was 1 per cent higher than in their non-oil-exporting counterparts. Meanwhile, the economy in countries like the Côte d'Ivoire and the Seychelles has significantly declined in recent years. In the case of Zimbabwe, the economy continues to decline, to minus 4 per cent in 2006.


Over the past decades, African countries have relied on macroeconomic stability by "accelerating the privatization of State enterprises, developing the private sector, promoting experts and increasing domestic competition", said Mr. Otobo. And, even though some of these measures have fallen short, both ECA and the Commission of the African Union suggest that countries "not break with old programmes" but pursue more "pro-active policies to develop different industrial sectors, move away from primary resources and increase financing for research and development, to encourage innovation and increase productivity". Such policies may vary across countries because they need to have "specific objectives and have to be based on analyses that identify key country-specific constraints and priorities".

Pointing to the example of Southeast Asian countries that have invested double in their economies, compared to their African counterparts in the recent years, the report states that, on average, "an African country needs national investments equal to 12.5 per cent of gross domestic product (GDP) to reach the turning point where diversification occurs". Therefore, African Governments should commit more of their national incomes to investment to broaden their range of products.

In the report, ECA also recommends that African countries should be analyzed according to their political stability--whether they have been involved in conflict or are experiencing political tension. Therefore, the study proposes that Governments in Africa invest in peacebuilding and peace-promoting institutions that can proactively deal with the threats of conflict and a post-conflict environment, for example in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Mr. Otobo pointed out that new and more flexible growth policies are required and that economic reform must include the battle against corruption.