Africa Must Take Charge: Turning Ambition Into Action For Sustainable Transformation

The 11th African Regional Forum for Sustainable Development came to an end with calls for African countries to respond to evolving global circumstances by focusing on local value addition and intra-continental trade. Delivering his remarks at the closing ceremony, Leonard Zulu, UN Resident Coordinator, Uganda, praised President Yoweri Museveni for highlighting the urgent need for African countries to transform the continent's approach to development, recalling that "his message was clear: we must cease exporting our jobs and raw materials.

"He underlined that instead we must invest in our systems through advanced transportation, affordable greener energy, transformative education and robust financial systems and add intentional value addition to our abundant resources."

Noting the interconnectedness of the challenges the continent faces, Zulu called for collective and integrated responses. "Durable peace requires sustainable development. Sustainable development requires sustainable financing. Sustainable financing requires control over economic and financial flows and this control requires robust state institutions," he argued.

Zulu further called for investment in science, technology and innovation, as well as a "transformative mindset that prevents the shipping away of jobs through the exporting of raw materials to intentional value addition on them".

For the continent to grow inclusively, Zulu said, gender equality, youth empowerment and social protection must be prioritised. Partnerships must also be strengthened across government, civil society, the private sector and other stakeholders.