On Monday I received my e-issue of the Africa Journal of Management. I found all of the articles intriguing just by reading the titles. But one of them interested me the most: “The African Union’s Agenda 2063: Aspirations, challenges, and opportunities for management research,” by Kaitlyn DeGhetto, Jacob R. Gray, and Moses N. Kiggundu. Maybe it grabbed my attention because in my last post I touched upon Agenda 2063 in relation to visa openness in African countries. If you want to have a good idea about the Agenda, this article is your reading.
Overall, the Agenda aims at promoting Africa’s “positive socioeconomic transformation.” It couldn’t be otherwise: one of the beauties of the continent is that they can’t even think of an economic transformation that’s decoupled from the social transformation. This includes governance changes, and an inclusive prosperity that elevates the socioeconomic status of all of the population – far from current reality, but that’s why we have an agenda for the next 50 years.
Another feature of the Agenda which I find very tuned to African cultures is its participatory nature. It has not been set up by a few “superior minds.” Instead, it has involved consultations with multiple stakeholders. These include the youth, women, and the African diaspora, in addition to experts from official organs and academia among others.
The Agenda is not fixed for the next 50 years – else, we would have a problem. For the time being, two documents are in place: the Agenda 2063 Framework document, and the first 10-year Implementation Plan. A document articulating how to evaluate progress, outcomes, and impact is on its way.
Key flagship projects the Agenda promotes are:
- An integrated high speed train network
- An African virtual and e-University
- Formulation of a commodities strategy
- Establishment of an annual African forum
- Establishment of the continental free trade area by 2017
- The African passport and free movement of people
- Implementation of the grand Inga Dam project
- The pan-African e-network
- Silencing the guns by 2020
- Africa outer space strategy
- Establishment of a single African air transport market
- Establishment of the African financial institutions
If these come to fruition, we’ll see a new Africa in the decades to come. Bridging the gap from vision and ambition to reality requires effective implementation. This is the Agenda’s acid test.
I plan to comment on issues related to the Agenda in coming posts: keep abreast!
As an African, thanks for great and informative article. peace is something really needed in Africa “Silencing the guns by 2020”.
I hope all of goals reached and maintained.
Thank you, Kharid. I always find it encouraging when Africans value the blog contents!
Peace will bring many benefits to all, and will make other goals feasible.
The vast majority of Africans (especially those in Central Africa) are embedded in such a precariousness it prevents them from thinking about something else than what they and / or their families will be able to eat the next day. The absolute priority is, in my opinion, to allow them a minimum purchasing power. I am afraid that, in their minds, medium and long term plans are too much abstract notions.
Hi Marc-Henry, what you point out is a harsh reality: millions of people are in daily survival mode, and the idea of long-term is alien to them. This doesn’t mean that others shouldn’t be thinking long-term so that the children or (most likely) the grandchildren of those may have a longer “short-term.” Socioeconomic development can’t happen in a vacuum, and creating the right conditions is a long-term endeavor. Reaching it takes creating short- and medium-term milestones. The post of last week on visa openness stems from a call by the Africa Development Bank to start putting Agenda 2063 in motion.
Thanks a lot for your information, we need a good media to show all the reality, we love Africa
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Thank you, Hani!
Welcome mr. Arino
Great post.
All those projects that the Agenda promote are great.
Out of those key projects, I personally think that an African virtual E-University is cost-effective project that will greatly impact on all African nations. Education is powerful key.
I also see that two projects will help Africa flourish quickly are: the African passport and free movement of people, and the establishment of a single African air transport market.
Yet, all those projects that the Agenda promote are very good. Thank you for sharing your post.
Thank you for your comment, Khaled. These are all impactful projects… hopefully the necessary short-term steps will be taken to make them happen.