Page 15 - DIVA_1_2015

resources and the rest of the econo- private sector development. best way to eradicate poverty is to
my. If you look at the dynamics of What is UNCTAD doing in this create sustainable livelihoods. If
the African economy, the majority field? people have sustainable incomes
of the population does not work in they become the main players in
the extractive industries; they are Well, we cannot fix every problem. achieving social goals -- better
in what we call non-tradable sec- We have no ability to do so, nor education, better housing, better
tors. So, the spin-off from oil and even the ambition. I remember health care, etc.
mineral exports has been fuelling a Danish minister made a very
the management of state affairs famous remark when his govern- So we say, do not just set the goals
and has not been improving hu- ment was accused of investing too of social aspiration, but of econo-
man resources within the country. much money in education. He said: mic empowerment. That is one
More deliberate action, linking "If you think education is expen- major area of our contribution. The
the spin-off of natural resources sive, try the alternative. What is second one is to look at innova-
with the local population, through the price of an illiterate popula- tive ways of financing these goals.
investment in education, competi- tion?" To my mind, the growth in How do we tap into sector finan-
tiveness, more agriculture and the modern education -- investment cing more than before? How do we
tourism sector, can be the include the private sector as
only way that the gains of partners in conceiving and
the commodity boom can implementing social deve-
be good for countries. lopment and sustainable
development goals? We
The other fact is that also note the wealth of sus-
countries that have done tainable resources that are
extremely well are those held back by such players
in
investing as Norway and Qatar. They
heavily
infrastructure, like Ethio- have huge sovereign funds
pia with 6,000 kilometres that are basically held back
of asphalt roads, 2,000 from circulation and pro-
kilometres of railways, etc. These in the intellectual development of ductive activity. What is neces-
efforts, in the short term, create the population -- is not only impor- sary for them to transform these
a boom in construction employ- tant to create jobs, it's liberating resources into non-traditional in-
ment, but unless there is a sustain- for individuals. Despite the politi- vestments? These are some of the
able boost on economic activity cal consequences, liberated indivi- areas in which we are engaged. We
beyond this phase, you face many duals are better whether they have are hosting an open dialogue ta-
challenges. In 2050 Ethiopia will modern sector jobs or not. There king place in Geneva. The next one
be placing 2.5 million new persons may be problems in the short term will be in June 2014. We believe
on the labour market every year. for the governments that fail to ex- that the trade hub of Geneva has
To employ that level of population pand employment opportunities. I something refreshing but impor-
represents a very substantial chal- cannot trade off the desire for sta- tant to say in the process going on
lenge. The absence of investment bility with illiteracy. in New York.
in structural transformation makes
the current boom very vulnerable. Q: The United Nations is cur- Q: Finally, do you have so-
That is the reason why I am not rently working on the post- mething that you would like to
totally optimistic. I would be more 2015 Development Goals. highlight?
optimistic if it were possible to add What is UNCTAD doing in this
more value to African products, to sphere? In June 2014 we will be marking
have a more organic relationship the fiftieth anniversary of the si-
between the extractive industries As a member of the UN family, gning of the constitutional act set-
and the rest of the economy, to we are facilitators as countries ting up UNCTAD. We are proud of
invest more in human resources move towards their involvement, our contribution to humanity and
-- the most important guarantee of which will start in September at some of the work we have done
future prosperity. the General Assembly. Having said has been translated into long-term
that there are two areas where we progress in the world, such as the
Q: Many African countries continue to contribute. Sustainable concept of the LDC, the proposal to
have universities. People are goals should not just be a bucket- write-off debt, the proposal of 0.7%
saying that it is only a matter ful of social deliverables: so many for development assistance, etc. N
of time before there is social health centres, so many schools,
disorder due to the lack of etc. China has taught us that the

International 13