As Africa braces for its first recession in 25 years, one group of global experts will gather to consider ways in which coordinated policy support can help economies recover more quickly.
The Transformation Leadership Panel (TLP), an initiative of the Africa Center for Economic Transformation (ACET), will meet on the 27th of May to review COVID-19 interventions in Africa, share lessons from their own institutions and consider new avenues for more collaborative action in support of Africa’s governments.
The Panel of 17 eminent persons, from the public, private, academic and charitable sectors in Africa and beyond, is chaired by Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, former President of Liberia. At its last meeting in February 2020 in Addis Ababa, the panel committed to charting a coordinated path to addressing Africa’s urgent economic challenges and this third meeting will be an opportunity for panelists to do just that.
“In my view, the COVID-19 crisis provides a real opportunity to collaborate around that mandate and demonstrate the full potential of the TLP,” said Dr. K.Y Amoako, Founder and President of ACET, and member of the TLP. Topics will include government effectiveness, resource mobilization and management, business and investment, and digital innovation and entrepreneurship.
The discussion will be guided in part by a recently published ACET paper, “Ten Policy Priorities for Africa’s Recovery, Growth, and Transformation,” now available on acetforafrica.org. The paper offers a different perspective from most other COVID-19 analysis to date in that its recommendations focus on actions for the longer term that should be taken regardless of the pandemic. The suggestions are now more important than ever for economies that will be struggling for recovery.
“Countries need emergency measures now to save lives and preserve livelihoods, but they must also protect their future,” Dr. Amoako said. “Our intention is to specifically target forward-looking policies to help ensure Africa’s progress is not permanently lost.”
Albert Zeufack, World Bank Chief Economist for Africa, will join the meeting and lead a discussion on mechanisms for achieving policy reform goals.
The inaugural meeting of the TLP was held in Accra, Ghana in 2019.
The members of the TLP are Acha Leke, McKinsey and Company’s Africa Region Chair; Ann Cotton, OBE, Founder and Trustee of CAMFED International; Agnes Kalibata, President, AGRA; Bineta Diop, Africa Union Special Envoy on Women, Peace and Security; Charles Boamah, Senior Vice President of the African Development Bank; Dolika Banda, CEO of African Risk Capacity; Gayle Smith, President and CEO of the ONE Campaign; and Hafez Ghanem, World Bank Vice President for Africa.
The other members of the panel are Ibrahim Hassane Mayaki, former prime minister of Niger & CEO, AUDA-NEPAD; James Mwangi, Managing Director & CEO of Equity Group Holdings; Masood Ahmed, President of the Center for Global Development; Ndidi Nwuneli, Co-founder and Managing Partner, Sahel Capital; Reeta Roy, President & CEO of the Mastercard Foundation; Stefano Manservisi, former Director-General, DEVCO, European Commission and Vera Songwe, Executive Secretary of the UN Economic Commission for Africa.
