African States Emphasizing Quality of Continental Economic Transformation -By Kestér Kenn Klomegâh

The Agenda 2063 “Decade of Acceleration” drawn by the African Union has been seriously considered not by the quality of its plans, but by the delivery of tangible transformation, underscoring steady economic progress and consolidating support for current initiatives that advance peace and cooperation across Africa.

The first Biennial Progress Report of the Second Ten-Year Implementation Plan (2024–2033) has noted that Africa’s continental performance currently stands at 53%. While progress is noticeable and visible, it is not yet occurring at the speed & scale required to meet the ambitions of Agenda 2063.

By encouraging gains in governance reforms and citizen empowerment, Africa could advance progress across several flagship economic sectors. Currently, three priorities are necessary to accelerate implementation:

1. Regional integration must be fast-tracked, building on progress under the AfCFTA, air transport liberalisation, energy market integration, and digital transformation, while addressing persistent gaps in infrastructure, connectivity, and protocol implementation. There is a need to provide high-level guidance, and to converge as regional bloc and build resilience in continental trade.

2. Peace and security remain indispensable prerequisites for development, investment, and trade across the continent. While working consistently toward ensuring regional peace, the AU pledges to navigate and respond strategically to the current multilateral, continental, and bilateral trade landscape. The greatest challenge is not the absence of policy, it is the imperative of turning policy into practice, and practice into substantive prosperity.

3. Financing for development must be urgently reformed through stronger domestic resource mobilisation, fair and effective taxation, enhanced public financial management, decisive action against illicit financial flows, and the deployment of innovative financing instruments. Regional efforts are directed at assessing trade facilitation and non-tariff barriers to identify bottlenecks and propose solutions to ease cross-border trade, while reviewing progress on a common roadmap and agreeing on priority actions to accelerate continental and global trade commitments.

The necessity for policy harmonisation, and removal of trade barriers as essential to unlocking growth, creating jobs, and enhancing competitiveness. In the final analysis, to ensure inclusive and sustainable economic development, and delivering shared prosperity for African citizens. The above priorities further called for stronger alignment between planning, budgeting, and execution; deeper integration of Agenda 2063 into national development frameworks; and the reinforcement of accountability systems to ensure delivery of economic growth.

While Africa stands at a crossroads largely due to multifaceted internal political divergencies, and the influence of geopolitical changes, we can still reiterate here the AU’s commitment to building an integrated, prosperous, and financially sovereign Africa. The Agenda 2063 was developed as a strategic framework for Africa’s long term socio-economic and integrative transformation. The African Union (AU) is a continental union of 55 member states located on the continent of Africa.