African growth stalled by logistics - Unctad

African countries need to pay greater attention to improving infrastructure – such as roads, railroads, ports and electricity supply – if they want their economies to grow. This was the message from a three-day United Nations Conference for Trade and Development regional workshop on productive capacities, economic growth and poverty reduction in Africa’s least developed countries (LDCs) held in Addis Ababa in April. Thirty-three of the globe’s 48 LDCs are in sub-Saharan Africa. The conference heard that recent increases in food and energy prices could undercut progress made by Africa’s (LDCs) since the turn of the millennium, and their economies needed greater breadth and variety to cushion them from such shocks. Junior Davis of Unctad’s division for Africa, Least Developed Countries and Special Programmes, told the meeting that employment and export structures were still concentrated in a few sectors of LDC economies, such as natural resource extraction. He and other speakers said that LDC governments also should study carefully their increasing economic ties with other developing countries, such as China and India, to ensure that stable, effective economic growth results. Governments were urged to find ways to boost domestic agriculture and savings, and to promote the growth of small and medium-sized businesses.