The future of Africa is now! The critical role of capacity development
| Date | 01 October 2011 |
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.1108/20425945201100008 |
| Pages | 137-152 |
| Published date | 01 October 2011 |
| Author | Frannie A. Léautier |
| Subject Matter | Public policy & environmental management |
Copyright © 2011 WASD 137
1Speech at the 20th Anniversary Celebration of ACBF in Kigali, Rwanda on February 9, 2011.
2Dr Frannie Léautier, Executive Secretary, the African Capacity Building Foundation. ZB Life
Towers, 7th Floor, Cnr. Jason, Moyo Avenue/Sam Nujoma St., P.O. Box 1562, Harare, Zimba-
bwe, Email: f.leautier@acbf-pact.org
THE FUTURE OF AFRICA IS NOW!
THE CRITICAL ROLE OF CAPACITY
DEVELOPMENT1
World Journal of Science, Technology and Sustainable Development, Vol. 8, Nos. 2/3, 2011
Frannie A. Léautier
African Capacity Building Foundation (ACBF), Zimbabwe2
Abstract: African countries experienced severe macroeconomic shocks in the 1980’s,
which put them on a reform path that has generated resilience visible in their ability to
recover and even grow from the fiscal and economic crises of 2008-2009. Critical to the
success of the reforms was a cadre of skilled people, focused organizations and effective
institutions for macroeconomic management, put in place in large part, by the efforts
of key stakeholders involved in capacity development. The African Capacity Building
Foundation (ACBF) is the single most important entity that was created to focus on
building capacity in Africa. The choices made and successes achieved by ACBF tell a
story of Africa’s attempt to build the capacity needed to develop. Emerging challenges
on the horizon call once again for attention to capacity; focus that ACBF is ready for af-
ter 20 years of existence. This keynote speech was delivered during the 20th Anniversary
Summit of the African Capacity Building 8-9th February, 2011.
Keywords: Africa; Capacity Building; Leadership; Innovation; Private Sector; Networks; Skills;
Knowledge; Sustainable Development; S&T; MDGs; Challenges.
INTRODUCTION
Poor development results caused
leaders in Africa at the end of the
1980’s to orient state economic
policies and efforts more directly
towards poverty reduction. Lack
of visible results also led African
leaders to reflect on options for
tackling development challenges,
including the role of capacity. And
that was the environment in which
F. A. Léautier
138
on economic policy and man-
agement. It did so by supporting
the creation of autonomous and
semi-autonomous policy units
and developing a critical mass of
experts in economic policy and
management.
ROLE OF MACROECONOMIC
MANAGEMENT
Macroeconomic performance
dramatically changed for the bet-
ter over the last ten years since
2000, marking the longest growth
episode since the 1960s. In 2000-
2008 Africa’s annual GDP grew
at an average of 5 percent at pur-
chasing power parity, twice as fast
as in the 1980s and 1990s and
above the global average of 3.8
percent. Similarly, annual GDP
per capita rose from 1.1% in the
late 1990s, to 4 percent between
2004 and 2006, and the number
of people living in extreme pov-
erty decreased notably from 47%
in 1990 to 41% in 2004 and was
even forecast to reach 37% by
2015. The average inf lation rate
fell from 22 percent in the 1990s
to 8 percent since 2000.
EXPANDED MANDATE OF ACBF
With the early success in skills
building and economic analy-
sis, attention shifted to other
the African Capacity Building
Foundation (ACBF) was born.
ACBF had three parents,
also known as the founding in-
stitutions, which were the Afri-
can Development Bank (AfDB),
the United Nations Develop-
ment Programme (UNDP), and
the World Bank. Ownership and
governance structures were com-
posed of African member states
and nationals. The midwife was
Sweden and the birth was cel-
ebrated in the streets of Harare,
Stockholm, and Gaborone.
ACBF’S EARLY MANDATE
Africa experienced severe macro-
economic problems in the 1980s,
which spawned talk of the “lost de-
cade” for Africa. Initially, a run of
robust economic growth and no-
table improvements in infrastruc-
ture, health and education in the
1960s ended when severe exter-
nal shocks hit African economies
in the 1970s. Shocks were in the
form of the fuel price crisis and
the deterioration in the terms- of-
trade for the sub-region’s primary
commodity exports — leading to
heavy international borrowing to
shore up declining revenues and
a consequent debt overhang. This
pattern of events shaped ACBF’s
early mandate to have it focus
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