Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe, Monday 4th March 2024 – Deputy Minister of Finance II, Hon. Bockarie Kalokoh, has participated in a Roundtable Discussion on Technology for development in Africa: ‘crafting a path to inclusive technological advancement’ at the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (ECA) Conference of African Finance Ministers in Zimbabwe.
The fifty-sixth session of the Economic Commission for Africa Conference of African Ministers of Finance and Economic Environment came to a close with a position by the African Finance Ministers for a transformed digital economy, technologies, innovation, and connectivity with the imperatives to fast-track the realization of harnessing Africa’s technological transformation and development endeavors.
The focus of COM 2024 was to transform the continent’s digital connectivity and advance access to digital technologies by creating an inclusive digital economy in the continent.
Considering the role of the digital sector in economic development, Minister Kalokoh emphasized that digitalization is among the highest transformative opportunities in the current world and that the impact of the Internet on economic growth and prosperity is immense these days. The digital technology he noted is driving economic development and also a crucial instrument to ensure inclusive and sustainable development. It becomes an engine of development and transformation he added.
He indicated that now is the right time for Africa to properly harness this opportunity to transform the continent’s socio-economic developments noting that the digital sector can open African countries opportunities to improve and transform the overall development endeavours and introduce innovative ways. By increasing digital transformation, Africa can allow huge economic growth to increase productivity, innovation, and job creation, Minister Kalokoh emphasized.
Recounting the recent statistics on the economic contribution of digital technology which is growing at a faster pace, he threw light on the World Bank 2023 report that indicates that the digital economy makes up more than 15% and the global GDP has grown by 2.5 times faster. By 2030, the digital economy is projected to contribute up to 30% of world GDP and create 30 million jobs.
He furthered that the lack of a transformed digital economy is one of the major bottlenecks to ensuring a better, inclusive, and shared prosperity in Africa. But shared his optimism that Africans should rethink how to plug themselves into the new digital economy ecosystem which is technology-based and they should look inward.
“To achieve the Africa we want, he noted that the continent needs to re-conceive the economic growth trajectory in a way that would promote technology, science, innovation, and connectivity for the better future of the continent,” He made that statement as one of the panelists in Round Table 2 discussion. He underscored the crucial role of digitalization, innovation, and technology in promoting socioeconomic development in Africa and taxation as a fiscal policy tool to boost revenue. Technology is making a huge difference in every way, the Deputy Minister of Finance pointed out.
Under the theme “Crafting a path to inclusive technological advancement” Minister Kalokoh said that Africa needs to build new technology-focused digital systems that fit with the 21st century.
He highlighted the continent’s untapped potential in terms of natural resources and huge population but still remained far behind in technological advancement. He said even though countries in Africa are experiencing budgetary deficit and fiscal challenges, tax digitalization has the potential to deliver major benefits for governments, businesses, and individuals when it is designed and implemented effectively. Crucially, these benefits he stressed could drive financial inclusion and economic opportunity, particularly for women and marginalized groups given the efficiency of digital tax systems to help achieve the SDGs by growing government revenues and empowering businesses, he added.
Thus, the need to harness digitalization in the tax administration to address challenges of reduced tax revenue on one hand and improving efficiency, transparency, and accountability on the other. He underscored the tremendous efforts of revenue authorities in Africa to tackle weak compliance and enforcement systems in tax administration resulting in tax evasion, dodging, and avoidance. He called for the adoption of digital transformation and technological innovation to enhance economic development.
Speaking at the panel discussion, Mr. Kalokoh shed light on the efforts being made by African countries to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals and attain the aspirations, goals, and targets of Agenda 2063: The Africa We Want, of the African Union, emphasizing that could be supported through the transfer, adoption, and upgrading of productive technology.
“Technology facilitates a dynamic interaction among human, physical, and natural capital, bolsters competitiveness at the regional and global levels, fosters the creation of decent jobs for a growing labor force, and builds resilience to shocks,” he said.
In 2023, ECA jointly convened the fifth African Science, Technology, and Innovation Forum 1, where participants discussed ways to accelerate development and promote the dissemination of emerging technologies to foster the emergence of a green, inclusive, and resilient Africa.
“Development efforts can be enhanced in numerous ways through the adoption and dissemination of innovative technologies. Progress in that regard has been slow in Africa, however, giving rise to significant technological gaps with other global regions.
Development in many African countries is impeded, in particular, by deficiencies in digital infrastructure and, in a recent report, ECA underscored that the portion of total productivity driven by technological progress has been declining steadily in Africa and remains far below the equivalent figures for other global regions,” Mr. Kalokoh assured.
“It is, therefore, of critical importance to develop the infrastructure, policies, institutions, and instruments that Africa needs to support technological progress in the decades ahead. There is, in fact, significant potential for Africa to develop and use advanced technologies by leveraging regional value chains and building on countries’ knowledge and experience to facilitate the cost-effective processing of goods and the efficient provision of services.
“Regional technology hubs and incubation labs could, moreover, generate the momentum needed to accelerate the development of human capital, infrastructure, and other inputs and promote innovation, empowering African businesses to compete at the global level. In that connection, current efforts to promote regional integration could help close the technology gap between Africa and other global regions,” he asserted.
However, he said, it should be noted that Africa had already demonstrated its capacity to lead the way in certain fields in the development and application of technology, including in the field of mobile money. He stated that the use of technology was already revolutionizing financial transactions and savings modalities, thereby helping to transform people’s lives across the continent.
“African countries have also successfully leveraged the transfer of technology to strengthen their agricultural sectors and improve health care services and education in remote areas. Digital technology has significant potential to transform other economic sectors across Africa.
He noted that to transform the continent’s digital revolution and to harness the potential of the sector for the overall development endeavors of the continent, African countries should reform their policies and strategies. Similarly, investing in digital infrastructural networking is crucial for the continent’s nations to improve connectivity and provide digital access for all citizens.
At the continental level, cooperation among the continent’s nations he opined is vital to achieve digital transformation. Hence, countries, investors businesses, and other stakeholders should enhance cooperation at the regional and continental level to ensure and realize Africa’s digital transformation.
In another development, the Deputy Minister held a productive meeting with the Executive Secretary of the UN Economic Commission Africa pitching for support for private sector development and climate change. He spoke extensively on the need to develop a capital market to lubricate the economy and bring meaningful gains. Mr. Claver Gatete assured the Minister of his support on various fronts.
The meeting put a spotlight on reshaping the digital economy in 2024 and how should Africa leverage innovation, science, research, and technology to meet the continental vision and further deliberated on the progress, challenges, and prospects of harnessing Digitalization for Africa’s Transformation through such a platform to overcome digital hurdles facing Africa.
