African leaders see resource mobilisation as key for development

Rwanda’s President Paul Kagame and his Kenyan counterpart President Uhuru Kenyatta were speaking at the 38th session of the orientation committee of the New Partnership for Africa’s Development (Nepad).

CAPE TOWN, May 26 (ANA) – Rwanda’s President Paul Kagame and his Kenyan counterpart President Uhuru Kenyatta have concurred that mobilising resources is key for the African continent to achieve its goals.

The leaders were speaking at the 38th session of the orientation committee of the New Partnership for Africa’s Development (Nepad) .

On Tuesday, Nepad’s Heads of State and Government Orientation Committee (HSGOC) met virtually for the first time in light of the Covid-19 pandemic as they continued to address Africa’s development problems and possible solutions, the Presidency of Rwanda stated on its official social media account.

Kagame, who also chairs the HSGOC, reiterated the need for Nepad to ensure delivery on key priority areas, especially since its reformed organisational structure in 2018 was implemented to improve efficiency.

The key priority areas include economic integration, industrialisation, environmental sustainability, knowledge management, human capital and institutions development, as well as technology, innovation and digitisation, according to the African Union Development Agency (AUDA) Nepad’s website.

The HSGOC is made up of 20 African countries with the purpose of setting the agenda, policies and course of action. The 20 African countries in the HSGOC are elected according to the five AU regions.

Kagame highlighted the need for resource mobilisation on the continent to achieve these goals, as well as the problems concerning health systems as the continent reels from the Covid-19 pandemic, according to the Rwandan Presidency.

As a solution, Kagame reiterated his sentiments of February 2021 for AUDA-Nepad to assume the responsibility of providing expertise to member states, “to increase domestic health financing”, working together and making the establishment of the African Medicines Agency (AMA) a priority.

AMA is seen as a vital regulatory body for Africa “to produce safe and effective pharmaceuticals and vaccines for our people”, according to Kagame.

Meanwhile, President Kenyatta, who was attending the virtual 38th session from State House in Kenya’s capital Nairobi, concurred with the idea of mobilising resources and the importance of African unity in the face of the pandemic, according to a statement from the Kenyan Presidency.

“Nepad is an important tool that can help mobilise resources for the continent to enable it to achieve tremendous growth in all sectors,” Kenyatta said.

“If we continue working together, we will enhance our capacity to handle future pandemics just as we are doing with Covid-19, and are managing to flatten the curve,” he added.

– African News Agency (ANA); Editing by Yaron Blecher