African countries need to concentrate on building a green economy, said Meles Zenaw,i Prime Minister of Ethiopia, speaking at the annual Conference of African Ministers held in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.
Alternative development paradigms are necessary because of the failure of neo-liberal paradigms in African development Meles said.
The economies of African countries are largely based agricultural activities and therefore any efforts toward green development need to take in account the agrarian sectors the Prime Minister explained.
The fourth joint conference was held under the theme "Governing Development in Africa: The Role of the State in Economic Transformation."In related news the African Development Bank has plans for a 100 billion dollar ‘Africa Green Fund’ according to Professor Mthuli Ncube, Chief Economist and Vice President of the African Development Bank.
The fund will be employed to finance green infrastructural programs in including hydro-electric power generation, dams, wind farms, geothermal, and all forms of clean energy will be supported by the find said Professor Ncube.
The fund will help to support programs under the African Bank to help address challenges related to desertification through reducing the impact on farmers he said. In addition it would also finance irrigation schemes to reduce the dependence of farmers on the rains, according to Professor Ncube.
The fund is still at the conceptual stage and its launch will depend on identifying sources for funding he said. Professor Ncube mentioned that the money is expected to come from countries in the north and in Africa. The money could be raised from sources such as pension funds he added.
Source: The Africa Report/Ghana Business News
