HIGH LEVEL SIDE EVENT ON

EVALUATION OF THE FIRST TEN YEAR IMPLEMENTATION PLAN AND FORMULATION OF THE SECOND TEN YEAR PLAN OF AGENDA 2063 (Special Project).

16 February 2023

Addis Ababa, Ethiopia

Your Excellencies Heads of State and Government,

Honourable Ministers,

Your Excellencies Chairperson and Madam Deputy Chairperson of the African Union Commission,

Your Excellency Secretary General of the East African Community and Representatives of the Regional Economic Communities

Your Excellency Chief Executive Officer of the African Peer Review Mechanism (APRM)

Your Excellencies, Representatives of the Diplomatic Corps and Development institutions

Ladies, and Gentlemen,

It gives me great pleasure to welcome you to this High-Level Side Event On Evaluation Of The First Ten Year Implementation Plan And Formulation Of The Second Ten Year Plan Of Agenda 2063, a process dubbed the Special Project.

For this occasion, I would like to begin my remarks by starting at the beginning. 60 years ago, to be exact.

Allow me to recall the moment the Founders of the Organization of Africa Unity (OAU) shed light on the plight of our people across Africa and challenged us to break the shackles of oppression, slavery, colonialism and apartheid. The founders called on African on the continent and the diaspora to pave a way forward for freedom, liberation, solidarity, self-determination and independence for the achievement of the legitimate aspirations of the African peoples. This moment also resulted in the establishment of an organization that would become the African Union as we know it today.

Decades later, we are still concerned with the securing these liberties for our brothers and sisters through the principles of Pan Africanism, the ideal of Africa’s renaissance and through the adoption of Africa’s blue print and masterplan for sustainable development and economic growth – Agenda 2063.

Excellencies, we are assembled here today to follow in the footsteps of the Founders. We are here to reaffirm that “it is the inalienable right of all people to control their own destiny.”

We are “Conscious of our responsibility to harness the natural and human resources of our continent for the total advancement of our peoples in all spheres of human endeavour.”

We are also here to honour the Executive Councils clarion call to AUDA-NEPAD and the African Union Commission to coordinate and track the progress of Member States in achieving Agenda 2063’s First Ten-Year Implementation Plan and to lay the groundwork for the Second Ten Year Implementation Plan.

As the Development Agency of the AU, we are honoured to use this opportunity to tack stock of the efforts deployed in the implementation of the Common Development Agenda, and to draw lesson and insights on the catalytic actions required to accelerate the realization of the Africa We Want.

In line with today’s theme, allow me to briefly reflect on the key outcomes of First Ten Years Implementation of Agenda 2063.

Excellencies, whilst there are many recommendations from the evaluation of A2063 – and I encourage you to read the Report made available to you today - allow me to highlight two pertinent recommendations:

Firstly, we need to put in place systems and intentionally collect and analyze data needed to track progress. We cannot do this without the Ministers in Planning, Ministers in Finance and national statistical offices. Agenda 2063 belongs to us all and so does the monitoring of its implementation.

In the same breath, we need monitoring to be a statutory obligation. The monitoring and evaluating process is important for ensuring transparency, accountability, evidence-based decision-making, learning and improvement, and demonstrating impact and enhancing transparency and accountability.

Secondly, we need to facilitate alignment and incorporation of priorities identified under Agenda 2063 into National Plans and budgets. There must be a continuous and deliberate effort between planning and budgeting to include continental priorities.  This, for example, can be achieved by dedicating units that will ensure the prioritization of Agenda 2063 in the Planning, Finance, and Budgeting Ministries.

In this regard, AUDA-NEPAD will support capacity building for MS in foresight modelling and scenario building to help Member States in planning, monitoring, evaluation, and effective implementation of their National Development Plans as well as ensure they align with both continental and global development goals.

Excellencies, these are but a few lessons and areas for improvement which we believe will be critical enablers for the success implementation of the Second Ten Year Plan.

As I conclude, I wish to applaud our joint efforts at attaining this milestone. Every journey starts with formative steps, and I have no doubt we are making good progress in our journey of charting and owning our development planning process. It has been a heavy task for all so congratulations on getting us here.

I also wish to reaffirm our commitment to Africa’s development blueprint as we continue to improve and fine-tune our development blueprint based on our priorities and experiences.

We will continue to provide support to Member States, Regional Economic Communities and AU Organs and Institutions to leverage your input and solicit proposals on the design and implementation of the Second Ten Year Plan of Agenda 2063.

I thank you for your kind attention.