As this year’s World Economic Forum (Wef) on Africa comes to an end, the key messages emanating from the discussions are that Africa is open for business and there are opportunities for investment and further economic growth.

It has also been concluded that Africa should take the opportunity of the global financial crisis to reshape its policies and practices in order to feature more prominently in a new world order and new financial architecture that is currently being formulated.

The discussions and debates at the Wef on Africa, which was held in Cape Town, were dominated by the global economic crisis and its implications for Africa.

Addressing delegates at the closing plenary session on Friday, SABMiller CE and Wef co-chair Graham Mackay said that a surprising conclusion drawn from the forum was that Africa was not as affected by the economic crisis as had been expected, which was out of sync with popular perception.

Compared with other emerging markets, the sub-Saharan African economies had weathered the global economic crisis in relatively good shape.

Significantly, Mackay said that Africa was not near the top of the list of places that had been most affected by the global economic crisis.

It was argued that, from a business perspective, Africa got a “worse wrap than it deserved” and that there was more to be optimistic about than negative.

While agreeing with this perspective, Absa Bank CEO Mario Ramos said that Africa could not entirely escape the effects of the economic recession of the North.

Thus, it was essential that African leaders and private sector focus on key issues that would mitigate the impacts of financial crisis.

Firstly, Ramos stated that it was essential to focus on leadership and values. She urged African leaders to find the courage to implement decisions, policies and projects that would stimulate African development.

Secondly, it was essential to concentrate on creating a benign investment climate, especially in the areas of infrastructure and telecommunications. It was also stressed that the continent needed to focus on a low-carbon model for economic development.

Thirdly, and most significantly, Ramos believed that African leaders needed to focus their efforts on implementation, rather than discussions and formulation of policy.

While there was much consensus by African leaders on the policies that would best reduce poverty and boost growth, it was important to effectively implement those policies.

Ramos argued that, often, policies that would facilitate investment were not implemented, thus, causing a barrier to economic growth.

Essentially, Ramos argued that the barrier or blockage preventing effective implementation of both policies and projects was that individuals and governments were not held accountable when delivery did not occur.

South African President Jacob Zuma agreed that African leaders should provide good leadership in this time of economic crisis and that they should also be held accountable for their actions and promises.
He told the closing plenary session, which was attended by a number of African leaders including Zambian President Rupiah Banda, Rwandan President Paul Kagame, and Lesotho Prime Minister Bethuel Pakalitha Mosisili, that he hoped his counterparts had taken note of the discussions at Wef.

Zuma said implementation of policies to mitigate the effects of the economic crisis was fundamental.

“We cannot agree that the crisis affects everyone and then disagree on the resolutions necessary to solve the crisis,” said Zuma.

The South African President also stressed that it was necessary to form partnerships in order to mitigate the economic crisis.

While the forum was successful in facilitating high-level discussions between African leaders and global governance institutions, a notable absence from such discussions was the voice of the private sector.

Mackay argued that one of the major flaws of the forum was that there was not enough private sector representation.

“The fundamental centrality of business’ role in wealth creation on the African continent was not emphasized at the forum,” said Mackay.

It was the private sector that drove economic growth on the continent and it was essential to include its voice in high-level, political debates.