Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and UN Economic Commission for Africa (ECA) have laid a foundations for the formulation of Congo Vision 2047, the country’s long-term framework to build a peaceful nation, diversified and globally competitive economy.
The move was reached after a thorough consultation that was conducted by UN officials to understand country’s political and socio-economic context to trigger structural transformation.
Speaking at the laying of the of the strategy, Antonio Pedro an officer from Central Africa of ECA said it is reassuring to see that the National Development Plan (PND) has chosen human capital development and economic diversification as the two priorities for the short-term 2017-2022 Plan.
“Rapid industrialization and the horizontal and vertical diversification of the economies of the Congo and other Central African countries, through harnessing the full potential of the region’s endowments in natural resources and exploring the trade and market access opportunities,” he said in Yaoundé, the capital of Cameroon.
He said Congo is currently experiencing macroeconomic instability linked to its overdependence on the exportation of crude oil for its own development, the move is linked with regional and global value chains, all in synchrony with the ECA-inspired Douala Consensus that calls for rapid economic diversification in Central Africa.
Congo’s Minister of Planning, Statistics Regional Integration Ms. Ebouka-Babackas Ingrid Olga Ghislaine acknowledged the urgency for Congo to tailor its development vision in the frame of structural transformation.
The Minister expressed appreciation to the Commission for accepting to support Congo in its effort to piece-together and roll-out its development vision of overarching development model that would end oscillating of Central African economies into moments of spikes and slumps due to over dependence on raw materials for revenue.