Antonio Pedro stresses “proactive and adaptive” responses to meet emerging challenges

Addis Ababa, 25 July 2023 – The Acting Executive Secretary of the Economic Commission for Africa (ECA), Antonio Pedro, on July 25, 2023, opened the 2023 Second Quarter Accountability and Program Performance Review Meeting (APPRM) with an emphasis on the need for urgency in meeting the twin agendas - 2030 and 2063.

In his opening remarks, Mr. Pedro stressed the role of ECA together with its partners in rescuing the SDGs and accelerating the implementation of the African Union Agenda 2063.

The Acting Executive Secretary also emphasized the need for “proactive and adaptive responses in a changing global environment,” calling on staff to “respond to new and emerging challenges through innovative and creative approaches.”

He concluded by reiterating the need to focus on the three major strategic tracks of the ECA:

• Accelerating the implementation of the AfCFTA in promoting economic transformation and inclusive diversified growth.
• Addressing the challenges of climate change, green economy and energy transition.
• Strengthening macroeconomic policies and governance.

These tracks must be buttressed by an ECA theory of change with clear value propositions and comparative advantage in order to achieve the agreed strategic objectives.

For her part, Hanan Morsy, Deputy Executive Secretary and Chief Economist, said the APPRM is an opportunity to showcase success, highlighting challenges and synergies across the subprogrammes and collaboration with other stakeholders. She urged staff to also report on areas where that need additional support.

The APPRM is a quarterly evaluation process that assesses the progress of the ECA's subprogrammes and divisions in relation to their planned outcomes and targeted benchmarks. It enables the ECA to assess its progress toward achieving its desired outcomes and to spot any deviations from the yearly business plan.

The APPRM provides the ECA with a chance to make mid-course adjustments and confirm that it is on track to meet its strategic goals.