By Asmau Ahmad
The Acting Executive Secretary of the Economic Commission for Africa (ECA), Antonio Pedro, has emphasised the need for urgency in meeting the twin agendas 2030 and 2063.
Pedro in a statement issued on ECA website, spoke while declaring opening the 2023 Second Quarter Accountability and Programme Performance Review Meeting (APPRM) in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.
He stressed the role of ECA with its partners in rescuing the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and accelerating the implementation of the African Union (AU) Agenda 2063.
The Acting executive secretary emphasised the need for proactive and adaptive responses in a changing global environment.
He, therefore, called on members of staff to respond to new and emerging challenges through innovative and creative approaches.
Pedro reiterated the need to focus on the three major strategic tracks of the ECA.
He said it included implementation of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) in promoting economic transformation and inclusive diversified growth.
“Addressing the challenges of climate change, green economy and energy transition.
“And Strengthening macroeconomic policies and governance.”
According to him, these tracks must be buttressed by an ECA theory of change with clear value propositions and comparative advantage in order to achieve the agreed strategic objectives.
Meanwhile, Hanan Morsy, the Deputy Executive Secretary and Chief Economist, ECA, said the APPRM was an opportunity to showcase the successes of the commission.
Morsy said it provided the avenue for highlighting challenges and synergies across the subprogrammes and collaboration of ECA with other stakeholders.
She then urged staff to also report on areas that needed additional support.
APPRM is a quarterly evaluation process that assesses the progress of the ECA’s subprogrammes and divisions.
This is done in relation to their planned outcomes and targeted benchmarks.
It enables the ECA to assess its progress toward achieving its desired outcomes and to spot any deviations from the yearly business plan.
The APPRM provides the ECA with a chance to make mid-course adjustments and confirm that it is on track to meet its strategic goals.
