C'Wealth leaders meet in AustraliaJonathan seeks foreign investmentNigeria in rapid growth markets forcastAS the economy of several nations in the West continues to teeter, African leaders have been advised to rethink their strategies not only to ensure sustainable development but to also insulate the continent from the vagaries of the global economy.The issue again took the centre stage at the headquarters of the United Nations (UN) Economic Commission for Africa (ECA), Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, where the country's Prime Minister, Ato Meles Zenawi; his Republic of Congo counterpart, President Denis Sassou Nguesso; Chair of the African Union Commission, Mr. Jean Ping; UN Under-Secretary and Executive Secretary of the ECA, Mr. Abdoulie Janneh; and Nigeria's Minister of Environment, Hajia Hadiza Ibrahim Mailafia, joined others to call for a new strategy aimed at realising the goal.The occasion was yesterday's opening session of the ministerial segment of Africa Regional Preparatory Conference for the UN Conference of Sustainable Development (Rio+20), which also coincided with the African Economic Conference.On his part, President Goodluck Jonathan yesterday arrived in Perth, Australia to participate in the 2011 Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM). The theme of CHOGM 2011 is, 'Building national resilience, building global resilience.'Although the main CHOGM will take place from Friday to Sunday (October 28-30), President Jonathan, along with other leaders of the 54-member body, is expected to attend the Commonwealth Business Forum organised by the Commonwealth Business Council (CBC) in collaboration with the Australian and Western Australian Governments and the private sector.At the three-day Forum, which holds from tomorrow, with the theme: 'Unleashing Africa's potential: A new vision', Jonathan will deliver the keynote address and participate in its other activities, including a panel discussion on: 'Africa: Creating a new economic power for the 21st Century.'And in a forecast that reflects the continent's sustainable growth story and its increasing attractiveness to foreign investors, four African economies ' Nigeria, Ghana, South Africa and Egypt ' have been placed on the same level with other Rapid Growth Markets (RGMs) that have the potential to weather the economic storm.Disclosing this in an online press conference yesterday, in which The Guardian participated alongside other African media organisations, leader of the Africa Busines Centre at the Ernst & Young, Mr. Michael Lalor, specifically described Nigeria and Ghana as growth leaders 'which, together with a number of other economies in sub-Saharan Africa, continue to grow at rates in excess of seven per cent.'He said the RGMs were set to generally grow by 6.2 per cent this year and by 5.9 per cent in 2012, compared with 1.6 per cent for the Eurozone this year falling to 1.1 per cent next year.According to him, disorderly Eurozone debt crisis could lead to growth in RGMs dropping to 4.1 per cent in 2012.However, the growth is on the assumption that the RGMs deal with inflationary pressures and put sufficient infrastructure in place to secure long term growth.Senior Economic Adviser to Ernst & Young's Rapid Growth Markets Forecast, Rain Newton-Smith, explained that, 'the RGMs are becoming increasingly more important in terms of both their overall weight in the world economy and their global influence. While the advanced economies struggle with weak growth the RGMs are well-placed to weather the economic storm.'Prior to the commencement of CHOGM, Jonathan will be a guest of the Australian Government, during which he will hold bilateral talks with Prime Minister Julia Gillard. He will also be hosted to an official dinner by the Australian Governor-General, Quentin Bryce and attend a dinner with that nation's top businessmen.Jonathan will also take part in the Presidential Country Roundtables, specifically the Nigeria/Australia Mining Roundtable, and other consultations with global business leaders.After a formal opening ceremony and Executive Session, the leaders meet privately in a 'retreat' setting. The atmosphere is informal, encouraging full and frank exchange of views, and decisions are reached by consensus. Queen Elizabeth II, who is the head of the body of former British colonies, will host a dinner for all participating leaders and their spouses in the evening of the same day.Other major events in which Jonathan will take part include a sports breakfast, a reception by the Commonwealth Secretary-General, a global polio eradication session, retreat sessions for Commonwealth leaders and an official dinner to be hosted by Gillard.He will also hold bilateral talks with several Commonwealth leaders, including the Prime Ministers of Malaysia, Canada, Antigua and Barbuda, Vice President of India, as well as the High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs, and meet with a cross-section of the Nigerian Community based in Australia.Nigeria's High Commissioner to Australia, Mr. Ayo Olukanni, explained that President Jonathan's presence is imperative because of the need to advance the relations between both countries.The leaders in Addis Ababa called for the adoption of concrete time-bound targets that would ensure accelerated implementation of sustainable development commitments on the continent, including those to be adopted in Rio+20, as well as reaffirming strong commitment to the New Partnership for Africa's Development (NEPAD) as Africa's framework for sustainable development.The speakers also stressed that critical foundation for achieving this development objective lies in good governance, strong and responsive institutions, wealth creation, social equity, poverty eradication, environmental sustainability as well as sustained progress in the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs).Setting the tone for the discussion, Zenawi said not much had been done towards realising the lofty objectives set at Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, 20 years ago.He said: 'Indeed, a disturbing pattern of much promise and little or no delivery on promise seems to have emerged in such large international meetings to the detriment of those who do not have the necessary resources and technology to cope with the changing global environment.'In many ways, Africa is getting the short-end of the stick in such meetings. The same limited resources are pledged to us at every such meeting and so at times the same money is pledged 10 times for 10 different objectives. The technology transfer that is often promised is very rarely, if ever, acted upon'.Given these trends, Janneh stressed that 'the call for a balanced integration of the interdependent and mutually reinforcing economic, social and environmental pillars of sustainable development, made almost two decades ago in Brazil, remains relevant.
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