Renewing ECA to serve Africa better: a framework for partnership

Abstract

The case for the renewal is compelling. African countries are in the midst of multiple transitions — from state-dominated to free-market oriented economies,from autocracy to democracy and, in some cases, from conflict to rehabilitation and reconstruction. In other words, the member states of the Commission are undergoing changes. Now ECA must change in answer to their needs. Change also comes in response to concern expressed, both within and outside ECA, about the agency's effectiveness. This is documented in many of the Commission's recent policy and management reviews. Another factor is the financial constraint on the UN system in general, and in particular on the UN Secretariat, of which ECA is apart. For all these reasons, ECA needs to renew its programs and its way of doing business.