AFRICA

ACTIVE WITH
Unlocking Africa’s role
in the global economy

The African continent holds great potential. This is based notably on its
population – the youngest in the world, its rapidly growing cities and markets,
a rising and increasingly educated urban middle class, its abundant natural
resources, and, in some countries, economies which are diversifying. The
continent is increasingly attracting attention from international partners while
also strengthening its influence as it takes a proactive stance on the global
stage. In the past decade, Africa has been the second fastest growing region in
the world – after East Asia – while poverty has also been reduced. Economic growth and financial inflows are expected to
rise further in the years ahead.

Turning this great potential into more inclusive and sustainable growth, leading to better lives for Africans, will not be
automatic. The current positive economic trends are still dependent on global dynamics and must be further anchored
in domestic reforms. Between now and 2030, 29 million young Africans will enter labour markets every year. African
governments can take advantage of the demographic dividend by promoting policies for more inclusive, sustainable
and resilient economies. This will require a focus on fostering productive entrepreneurship through professional
skills development, firm clustering and access to finance, as well as supporting innovative and greener industrial
development.

The OECD has a history of co-operation with institutions in the continent, and many countries in the region already
participate in the work of OECD Bodies and projects. In 2015, OECD Ministers invited the Organisation to strengthen
the regional component of its work with Africa; and in 2016, they encouraged the OECD to look for ways to enhance
its engagement with the sub-Saharan region. The Organisation considers Africa a crucial partner to strengthen global
governance and achieve the Sustainable Development Goals.
This brochure provides an overview of the OECD’s work with Africa and underlines the interest of the Organisation to
continue developing a promising and intense relationship with the continent. We are confident about the rich potential
of our co-operation and aspire to increase our work with many countries in the region. Together, we can deliver Better
Policies for Better lives in Africa.

ANGEL GURRÍA, OECD Secretary-General

Contents

CONTENTS
THE OECD AND AFRICA: HOW WE WORK TOGETHER 2 INVESTMENT, TRADE AND CONNECTIVITY 50
Snapshot: Africa within the global economy 4 Enhancing the investment environment 51
The OECD Development Centre 7 Achieving economic growth through competition 52
The African Economic Outlook 8 Promoting trade and integration of Africa into global
The International Economic Forum on Africa 9 value chains 53
The Sahel and West Africa Club 10 Meeting infrastructure and transportation needs 55
Working with Africa at the regional level 12 Promoting responsible business conduct 56
The MENA-OECD Initiative on Governance Boosting tourism in Africa 57
and Competitiveness for Development 13 Expanding capacity in the steel industry 58
The NEPAD-OECD Africa Investment Initiative 14
Partnership with the African Tax Administration Forum (ATAF) 15 PUBLIC GOVERNANCE AND RESOURCE MOBILISATION 59
OECD/AfDB Joint initiative to support business integrity Promoting public sector integrity and good governance 60
and anti-bribery efforts in Africa 17 Improving revenue collection and fiscal management 61
OECD engagement at the national level 18 Enhancing tax transparency and compliance 62
Key Partner: South Africa 18 The Inclusive Framework on Base Erosion and Profit Shifting 63
The Morocco Country Programme 20 Combating corruption 65
Multi-Dimensional Country Reviews 21 Efficient public procurement and budgeting 66

SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT AND INCLUSIVE GROWTH 22 LEVERAGING INNOVATION FOR GROWTH

Promoting structural economic transformation in Africa 23 AND DEVELOPMENT 67
Enhancing agricultural productivity and food security 25 Building a knowledge economy 68
Promoting effective development co-operation 27 Harnessing the digital transformation 69
Implementing the Sustainable Development Goals 30 Promoting productivity 70
Promoting regional development in view of rapid urbanisation 32
Delivering on “no one left behind” in fragile contexts 34 ENVIRONMENT AND ENERGY 71
Supporting SME development and entrepreneurship 36 Promoting green growth 72
Partnerships for better Statistics 38 Combating climate change, biodiversity loss and desertification 74
Strengthening chemical and biological safety 75
EDUCATION AND INCLUSIVE SOCIETIES 40 Ensuring reliable and clean energy 76
Fostering skills and employability through education
and training 41 ANNEXES 77
Tackling gender inequalities 43 Today’s OECD: Better policies for better lives 77
Promoting youth inclusion into political, economic Adherence of African countries to OECD legal instruments 77
and social life 46 On-going Participation of African countries in OECD Bodies
Harnessing migration for development 47 and other projects 78
Improving social protection and care policies 49 Partnerships in OECD selected key initiatives 79
Dialogue and data 80

CONTENTS . 1
 THE OECD

2 . ACTIVE WITH AFRICA

AND AFRICA

THE OECD AND AFRICA

HOW WE WORK
TOGETHER

THE OECD AND AFRICA . 3

Snapshot:
Africa within the global economy
After several years during which Africa’s growth was
very dynamic and systematically outstripped the world’s
Strengthening good
average, the financial crisis and subsequently the end of governance
the commodity super cycle, have temporarily altered the
Governments are more effectively
Continent’s growth prospects. Africa’s economic growth
projections are however promising again. The continent’s utilising public revenues to provide for
GDP is expected to increase by 3.4% in 2017 and 4.3% social services
in 2018, with the latter almost doubling the growth l 30 African countries improved
rate of 2016. The region is also undergoing rapid social and demographic
their budgetary management
changes that represent immense economic development opportunities for
scores between 2005 and 2015
both Africa and the world. In the last decade, multi-dimensional poverty has
fallen in 30 out of 35 African countries. Entrepreneurial activity has grown l In 2014/15, 5 African countries
at a higher rate than in any other developing region with 22% of working- ranked among the 10 best
age Africans starting new businesses, versus 13% and 18% in Asia and Latin
reformers in doing business
America respectively. Promoting quality and sustainable jobs will be crucial
to guarantee the future prosperity of the continent that will represent 20% l Connectivity to the electrical
of the world’s population in 2050. network is improving

Rising economic potential Expanding trade and

Key financial flows are increasing for regional integration
2017 Trade between Africa and the world has
l Foreign direct investment to increase quadrupled in two decades
by 1.9%, reaching USD 58 billion l The European Union is Africa’s

l Remittances expected to approach biggest trade partner, with 30% of

USD 66 billion Africa’s total trade

l In non-resource rich countries, total l African exports remain undiversified:

domestic revenues have increased a quarter of African economies rely

by 9.6% since 2012 on a just a few key products for 75%
of their exports.

l But trade in services have increased

by 93% in a decade
4 . ACTIVE WITH AFRICA
 THE OECD AND AFRICA
The challenge of human development
18 African economies have achieved l Africa’s inequality is one of the

medium to high development in key highest in the world, with a Gini

areas of human development coefficient of 0.43

l 54% of the population in 46 African l Gender inequality is high. Women

countries is still considered multi- achieve only 87% of men’s level of

dimensionally poor human development.

l 35% of children under 5 years l The informal sector accounts for

old in Sub-Saharan Africa suffer 80% of Africa’s labour force and

malnutrition, although this has unemployment remains a major
dropped by 10 percentage points challenge, reaching up to 50% in
since 1995 some countries

Entrepreneurship and industrialisation

Economic diversification is key for l Translating the competencies

absorbing global price shocks acquired from formal education into

marketable skill sets to compete in
l 26 African countries have a national
the workforce remains a challenge.
strategy on industrial development
Unemployment rates among youth
l 22% of the working-age population with tertiary education are more
of Africa are starting new businesses, than twice that of youth with
the highest rate in the world. primary education
l The share of manufacturing l Only 11% of students in secondary
in Africa’s GDP has declined 6 education are enrolled in vocational
percentage points since 1990 programmes, compared to 21% in
l Access to finance can be enhanced.
East Asia and the Pacific
Less than 13% of SMEs are financed
by banks
THE OECD AND AFRICA . 5
Africa within the global economy

“The OECD’s Global Relations Strategy aims to “Sustainable global development is a key
build dialogue platforms, mutually beneficial factor in reducing poverty and global risks.
partnerships and a shared vision of how to The OECD supports Africa’s aspirations
forge a more efficient, inclusive and greener for inclusive growth and welcomes the
world economy. Africa should be a key player constructive efforts made by many African
in this process. Through its enhanced co- countries to build stronger links with
operation with Africa, the OECD aims to the OECD. Through its global relations
mobilise its experience of working with many strategy, the OECD will continue to promote
countries at different levels of development increased partnership with Africa, building
to help Africa address its challenges and enhance its presence on on the positive experiences gained with partners in the region,
the global scene. We look forward to further strengthening our notably with Key Partner South Africa, with several North African
relations with African countries and better reflecting the continent’s countries under the MENA-OECD Initiative for Governance and
perspectives and aspirations in OECD’s work.” Competitiveness, and with regional organisations, like the African
Andreas Schaal, Director of OECD Global Relations and G20 Sous-Sherpa Development Bank and the African Union.”
Ulrich Lehner, Ambassador of Switzerland to the OECD and Chair of the External
Relations Committee
“Africa’s progress is fundamental for the
global community to deliver on the 2030
Agenda for Sustainable Development.
Therefore, donors must understand the
African context. The OECD/DAC members
are committed to continuing their support
for countries most in need, leveraging
comprehensive and effective initiatives. To
accelerate structural transformation on the
African continent the OECD/DAC will also encourage members
to stimulate other financial flows, support domestic resource
mobilisation and increase emphasis on dialogue beyond its
membership.”
Charlotte Petri Gornitzka, Chair of the Development Assistance Committee.

6 . ACTIVE WITH AFRICA

 THE OECD AND AFRICA
The OECD Development Centre

The OECD Development Centre provides a place where “We are learning so much from African
OECD countries, as well as emerging and developing countries. The challenges they face for
economies can meet as equals. The Centre provides analyses structural transformation — from the
and fosters dialogue on national, regional and global pressures of urbanisation, industrialisation,
development challenges, with an emphasis on promoting productivity, infrastructure, youth and
sustainable growth and well-being in its members’ gender inclusion — require African solutions
constituencies, to include a number of African countries. that reflect Africa’s priorities. We promote
debate, dialogue and learning on these
As of September 2017, the Centre has 52 members of which 27 and other topics as more and more African
OECD members and 25 non-OECD members, including 9 African countries become members of the OECD Development Centre and
countries (Cabo Verde, Côte d’Ivoire, Egypt, Ghana, Mauritius, benefit from the Centre’s resources. The continent is optimising
Morocco, Senegal, South Africa and Tunisia). The Centre also collaboration and partnerships at every level to achieve its own
enjoys longstanding regional partnerships with the African vision for inclusive, sustainable development. And such engagement
Development Bank, the African Tax Administration Forum; the also reaffirms Africa’s crucial role in advancing global prosperity.”
African Union Commission; UN-ECA and ECOWAS. Mario Pezzini, Director of the OECD Development Centre and Special Advisor to
the OECD Secretary-General on Development

The Development Centre has bolstered its place at the nexus

of thinking and doing in the Africa region in the past years.
The Centre engages in a myriad of sectors, inter alia, enhanced
integration in global value chains (GVCs); natural resources;
gender; investment; migration; skills; social protection;
urbanization and youth.

This work in partnership with African countries has resulted in

concrete support of policy implementation, notably:

l Burkina Faso adapted the methodology and conceptual

framework of the global Social Institutions and Gender Index
(SIGI) to their national context.

l National youth reforms and agendas in Cote d’Ivoire are being

revised based on the Centre’s recommendations on youth.

l South Africa’s Treasury Department and Development Bank

have started to design the place-based policies advocated in
the African Economic Outlook 2015.

THE OECD AND AFRICA . 7

The OECD Development Centre The African Economic
Outlook

l Guinea Conakry’s police reported to the international press The African Economic Outlook (AEO) presents Africa’s current
that arrests of former high politicians in 2016 happened state of affairs and forecasts the situation for the next two
because of an anti-corruption drive spurred by the OECD. years, covering the whole continent and for each of the 54
African countries.
The Development Centre is at the forefront of the OECD efforts at
the regional level in Africa. Recently, the Centre in co-operation The AEO is a joint publication by the African Development
with PARIS21, CTP, SWAC and DCD has developed a multi-year Bank (AfDB), the OECD and the United Nation’s Development
co-operation framework, jointly with the ECOWAS Commission. Program. This annual report, currently in its 16th
This ambitious framework aims at leveraging the potential edition, examines Africa’s performance in crucial areas:
and the mandate of the ECOWAS Commission, towards greater macroeconomics, external financial flows and tax revenues,
harmonisation of regional and national policies and data, thereby trade policies and regional integration, human development,
strengthening regional integration of the West African countries. and governance. In each edition, it examines a specific policy
issue -- such as on entrepreneurship and industrialisation
The Development Centre also collaborates with African (2017), sustainable cities (2016) and regional development (2015)
countries and institutions through the annual publication of – and provides practical steps that African governments can
the African Economic Outlook and the International Economic take. A section of country notes summarises recent economic
Forum on Africa. growth, GDP forecast for 2017 and 2018, and highlight the main
policy issues facing each of the 54 African countries.
www.oecd.org/dev
The AEO is an important resource for shaping policy discussions
“Many African countries find a home at in Africa and for helping African countries to realise their
the OECD Development Centre, engaging development aspiration as outlined in African Union’s Agenda
on equal footing with OECD and non-OECD 2063. The AEO feeds into a variety of existing fora, such as the
members. Their membership and engagement AfDB’s Annual Meetings and the
strategically support their domestic reforms. International Economic Forum
That’s why we see their interest in the Centre’s on Africa in Paris. .
Multi-dimensional Country Reviews and policy
work on migration, social protection, youth, www.africaneconomic
gender or rural development. They participate outlook.org
in dialogues on natural resources and economic transformation. The
Centre favours a systematic and comprehensive approach to the
African continent as a whole and values ties with the continent’s
regional multilateral organisations. Such co-operation is key for SCAN TO
READ THE
regional integration as another way to accelerate reforms towards REPORT
productivity, inclusive growth and sustainable development for all.”
Pierre Duquesne, Ambassador of France to the OECD and Chair of the
Governing Board of the OECD Development Centre

8 . ACTIVE WITH AFRICA

 THE OECD AND AFRICA
The International Economic Forum
on Africa

The International Economic Forum on Africa is an annual of the objectives of the African Union’s Agenda 2063 and the
gathering where OECD representatives and African policy- Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
makers engage with leaders from the private sector, academia
and civil society to weigh the continent’s approaches to The 2016 Africa Forum discussed the role of cities as drivers of
present and future challenges. economic transformation and predictable financing for local
governments and municipalities in support of the implement­
Currently in its 16th editions, the Africa Forum has been jointly ation of SDG 11: “Sustainable Cities and Communities”.
prepared in recent years with the African Union Commission. The
Forum attracts more than 500 participants yearly, and receives The Africa Forum will continue to serve as the platform
wide coverage in the press, social media, and the internet. bridging African and OECD country perspectives. This will foster
and broaden the OECD‘s engagement with Africa and more
By drawing attention to emerging systemic issues and specific effectively respond to African priorities.
development challenges faced by African economies, the Forum
gives the opportunity to have an impact on the implementation www.oecd.org/africa-forum

L Alamine Ousmane Mey, (left) Minister of Finance of Cameroon, and L Angel Gurría, OECD Secretary General, delivers a speech at the opening of the
Aisa Kirabo Kacyira, (right) Deputy Executive-Director of UN-HABITAT, at the 2016 Africa Forum, 29 September 2016, Paris, France.
Africa Forum, 29 September 2016, Paris, France.

THE OECD AND AFRICA . 9

The Sahel and West Africa Club

The Sahel and West Africa Club (SWAC) is an international opportunities for growth and development. However, food,
platform whose mission is to enhance the effectiveness of health and security crises are spreading rapidly.
regional inte gration policies and promote West African
initiatives and positions in global debates. The need for regional reflection, analysis and action is more
critical than ever before. This approach is the raison d’être
United beyond national borders by common traditions and of the Sahel and West Africa Club (SWAC). Its Members and
languages, West Africa is home to 400 million inhabitants partners are: Austria, Belgium, Canada, the Permanent Inter-State
and is as large as the United States. Due to rapid population Committee for Drought Control in the Sahel (CILSS), the Economic
growth, settlement basins continue to densify and expand, Community of West African (ECOWAS), the European Union,
reaching across borders, and creating more and bigger cities. France, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Switzerland, the West
Against this regional backdrop, economic, commercial and African Economic and Monetary Union (UEMOA) and the United
social interdependencies are being reinforced, offering immense States. NEPAD, ROPPA and the World Bank are active observers.

L Angel Gurría, OECD Secretary-General greets Jonas Hémou, ECOWAS’ Special Representative to the EU, 11 April 2017, Paris, France.

10 . ACTIVE WITH AFRICA

 THE OECD AND AFRICA
SWAC’s mission is to enhance the effectiveness of regional l Boldness: Without institutional constraints or short-term
policies, promote West African initiatives and positions in global political deadlines, and thanks to its informal character, SWAC
debates and support the strategies of development partners. is able to challenge established ideas, promote unconventional
Three key values – which also constitute SWAC’s working approaches and support drivers of innovation.
methods – have shaped its action for decades:
www.oecd.org/swac
l Dialogue: As an informal platform for dialogue, SWAC is able to www.oecd.org/swac/maps/Maps-acts-enjeux-alimentaires_
spark discussions among a wide diversity of stakeholders. EN.pdf

l Objectivity: SWAC’s analyses are independent and factual.

THE OECD AND AFRICA . 11

Working with Africa at the regional level

The OECD works with Africa through several dedicated regional The Initiative facilitates co-operation between the OECD and the
initiatives, notably with North African countries through the MENA region to promote policies for sustainable and inclusive
MENA-OECD Initiative on Governance and Competitiveness for growth. It addresses regional needs and development priorities,
Development, and with African economies through regional including the integration of women and youth through jobs
networks, such as the NEPAD-OECD Africa Investment Initiative, and greater participation in policymaking. It also takes into
the Partnership with the African Tax Administration Forum account the region’s diversity by providing targeted support to
(ATAF), and the OECD/AfDB Joint Initiative to Support Business individual countries. The Initiative builds on the OECD’s work
Integrity and Anti-Bribery Efforts in Africa. method of policy dialogue, exchange of good practices and
capacity building for the implementation of reforms. To deepen
THE MENA-OECD INITIATIVE ON GOVERNANCE its impact, the Initiative works with regional and international
AND COMPETITIVENESS FOR DEVELOPMENT partners and aligns its efforts with other international
Created in 2005 at the request of MENA countries, the Initiative platforms. Partner organisations include the League of Arab
brings together officials from the Middle East and North Africa, States, the Union for the Mediterranean, UNDP, the EU, the
OECD Members, as well as partner organisations from civil society, Open Government Partnership (OGP), the Arab Administrative
business and multilateral organisations. The Initiative is composed Development Organization (ARADO), the World Bank, the
of two pillars, the MENA-OECD Governance Programme and the African Development Bank, among others, as well as other
MENA-OECD Competitiveness Programme, and is governed by international and regional financial institutions.
a steering group providing strategic guidance. Tunisia, Spain and
Turkey are co-chairs of the Steering Group and regional working www.oecd.org/mena
groups are chaired by MENA and OECD Members.

Photo: © Curt Carnemark / World Bank

12 . ACTIVE WITH AFRICA

 THE OECD AND AFRICA
MENA-OECD INITIATIVE

Steering group
(chairs: Tunisia, Spain and Turkey)

Governance Programme Competitiveness Programme

Public sector reforms for quality More and better investment and private sector
services, inclusive policy making development for inclusive and sustainable
and transparency growth

Regional and national support Co-operation with international

Co-operation with regional/
through initiatives
international partners
A) Policy assessment Deauville Partnership; SIGMA;
AfDB, The League of Arab States; European
B) Policy dialogue Open Government Partnership;
Commission; WB, IMF; AMF; UNDP; etc.
C) Policy advice and capacity building DAC-Arab providers of development
co-operation; etc.

“At a time when MENA countries are “As Co-chair of the MENA-OECD
facing political and economic challenges, Competitiveness Programme, I have
the MENA-OECD Governance Programme personally experienced the value of bringing
is delivering on the needs and demands of together countries from North Africa and
governments and citizens in the region. the OECD to share best practices and
Building on more than ten years of through peer reviews create a climate of
experience and aligned with the Sustainable joint learning in order to advance inclusive
Development Goals, our new mandate for growth and structural economic reforms.
2016-2020 is leveraging the power of the I salute the engagement and leadership
MENA-OECD Governance networks to provide implementation shown by many North African countries in the context of the
assistance in crucial areas such as youth, gender equality, open MENA-OECD Initiative and bilaterally with the OECD. I am
government, rule of law and service delivery. Spain has been a confident that building a bridge between this experience and the
supporter of the MENA-OECD Governance Programme since the growing work of the organisation with the whole African continent
beginning and invites all OECD Member States to join the strategic will be an important OECD contribution for a better link between
partnership in fostering good governance in the MENA region.” African countries and the global economy.”
Jose Ignacio Wert, Ambassador of Spain to the OECD, Co-Chair of the Erdem Başçı, Ambassador of Turkey to the OECD, Co-Chair of the MENA-OECD
MENA-OECD Governance Programme Competitiveness Programme

THE OECD AND AFRICA . 13

The NEPAD-OECD Africa Investment Initiative

The NEPAD-OECD Africa Investment Initiative, launched in In the future, the Initiative, in addition to strengthening its
2006, aims to strengthen the capacity of African countries current activities, will address emerging challenges of the
to design and implement reforms that improve their continent, echoing the growing importance of Africa in the
business climate. It also works to raise the profile of Africa global economy and in global development priorities. In
as an investment destination while facilitating regional particular the Initiative intends to focus on inclusiveness,
co-operation and highlighting the African perspective in enhance local development and job creation, foster regional
international dialogue on investment policies. and global integration of the African economies, and provide
implementation support through additional monitoring tools
Chaired by the CEO of NEPAD, with an OECD country and an and indicators to ensure the sustainability and long-term
African country representative as co-chairs, the Initiative has development impact of reform efforts.
provided over the past ten years a platform for regional dialogue
and peer review, offering policy advice and supporting reform www.oecd.org/daf/inv/investment-policy/aboutthenepad-
implementation at regional and national level in the areas of oecdafricainvestmentinitiative.htm
investment policy, infrastructure, water and sanitation, energy, and www.oecd.org/investment/countryreviews.htm
agriculture. In 2016-17, it worked in particular along three areas:

l Supporting prioritisation and implementation of reforms

through the development of indicators for the recently
adopted Southern African Development Community (SADC)
Regional Investment Policy Framework, an action-oriented
tool to support investment policy reforms in the region, which
is based on the OECD Policy Framework for Investment (PFI)

l Identifying opportunities presented by regional and global

value chains (RGVCs) to accelerate the industrialisation
process in SADC and other African regions. The OECD is
currently conducting a study in partnership with local SCAN TO READ THE REPORTS
partners to derive options for SADC to attract investments
into inclusive supply chains to advance the industrialisation
processes in the region.

l Supporting quality infrastructure investments for

industrialisation. In the context of the SADC Industrialisation
Week 2017, the OECD organised a session on quality
infrastructure with the support of the Government of
Japan highlighting the importance of building a common
understanding among the public and private sector on the
main elements of quality infrastructure for the African context.

14 . ACTIVE WITH AFRICA

 THE OECD AND AFRICA
Partnership with the African Tax Administration
Forum (ATAF)

ATAF aims to facilitate co-operation among 36 African Technical collaboration was strengthened in workshops held
tax administrations, and other relevant and interested in Africa, as well as missions to pan-African events. The
stakeholders, with the aim of improving the efficiency of their first edition of Revenue Statistics in Africa, an annual bilingual
tax legislation and administrations. publication of statistical tables and findings from this dataset
was launched in 2016. The Report covers Cameroon, Côte
The OECD Tax Global Relations Programme, in collaboration d’Ivoire, Mauritius, Morocco, Rwanda, Senegal, South Africa
with ATAF, has delivered over 20 tax-related technical training and Tunisia and mentions that tax to GDP ratios have been
sessions, benefitting more than 600 African participants increasing in these countries as they have undertaken reforms
since 2010. In addition, the OECD Task Force on Tax and and modernised their tax systems and administrations.
Development has supported the ATAF capacity building
programme via bilateral technical assistance with several This project improves the information base for undertaking
African countries including Cameroon, Zimbabwe, Kenya, policy analysis, measuring or forecasting the impacts of
Nigeria, Botswana, Malawi. The programme focused on effective reforms, devising common policies within regional economic
transfer pricing regimes and countering base erosion and profit communities, identifying best practices and engaging in
shifting including increased transparency of financial reporting international dialogue and peer learning.
by multinational enterprises. Opportunities for a partnership
with ATAF on Tax Inspectors Without Borders, an OECD/UNDP Countries that participate in the project can expect a centralised
joint initiative, are currently being explored. and exhaustive database, a benchmark for comparison within
the continent and outside, a detailed understanding of tax
The Global Forum on Transparency and Exchange of categories to raise more revenues, as well as the possibility to
Information for Tax Purposes, in which 26 African countries enter into a policy dialogue with countries and international
are members have a developed a specific Africa Initiative organisations.
to enhance transparency and exchange of information to
combat cross-border tax evasion. It works closely with ATAF in
delivering technical assistance throughout Africa.

ATAF is also working with the OECD to produce Revenue

Statistics in Africa based on the OECD’s global model and
developed in co-ordination with African government officials
and the African Union Commission. The project offers reliable
and comparable tax data to inform fiscal policy and provides
a basis for planning, implementing and evaluating reforms.
The importance of these data is not only their wide public SCAN TO
availability, but that they can be used for comparisons with READ THE
REPORT
other countries in Africa and the rest of the world, thereby
encouraging policy dialogue and greater political co-operation.

THE OECD AND AFRICA . 15

Partnership with the African Tax Administration Forum (ATAF)

The OECD is currently completing the 2nd edition of the Revenue www.ataftax.org/en
Statistics in Africa, as well as updating the revenue statistics www.oecd.org/ctp/tax-global
database, to be released in 2017. This will be followed by a
technical workshop in preparation for the 3rd edition, to be
released in 2018.

Total tax revenue as percentage of GDP

1997 2000 2005 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014
Cameroon 10.9 12.8 13.5 14.8 15.0 14.0 14.8 15.3 15.8 16.1
Côte d’Ivoire¹ 17.1 15.4 15.7 18.4 17.2 16.8 16.1 18.4 18.3 17.8
Mauritius 17.8 19.1 18.8 19.4 20.1 19.8 19.6 20.2 19.9 20.0
Morocco² .. 23.6 24.8 30.5 27.3 27.1 28.7 29.7 28.5 28.5
Rwanda³ 10.3 10.2 12.1 13.5 12.9 13.3 14.0 14.6 15.6 16.1
Senegal⁴,⁵ 15.3 16.8 19.3 19.0 18.9 19.8 19.9 19.5 19.2 20.1
South Africa 22.6 22.4 25.2 27.7 25.7 25.6 26.3 26.7 27.3 27.8
Tunisia³ ... 24.6 24.4 27.0 26.9 27.3 29.2 29.2 30.1 31.3
,
LAC average⁶ ⁷ 16.9 17.2 19.0 20.6 19.9 20.0 20.8 21.4 21.5 21.7
OECD average⁷ 33.9 34.2 33.9 33.6 32.7 32.8 33.3 33.8 34.2 34.4

Note: The figures exclude local government tax revenues for Cameroon, Côte d’Ivoire, 4. Estimated figures for years prior to 2006.
Rwanda, Senegal and Tunisia as the data are not available. Local and provincial data
prior to 2003 are not available for South Africa. 5. Figures include social security contributions from the Institution de prévoyance
retraite du Sénégal (IPRES) and exclude the data from the Caisse de Sécurité Sociale
1. The tax to GDP ratio contains rents and royalties and sales of public goods and (CSS) as they are not available.
services normally classified as non-tax revenues in the OECD classification. They
are considered to be tax revenues in Côte d’Ivoire. The inclusion of these elements 6. Represents a group of 22 Latin American and Caribbean countries (LAC).
represents 0.5% of GDP in 2014 and between 0.1% and 1.5% in the period from 2000
to 2014. 7. Represents the unweighted average for the LAC and OECD countries.

2. Estimated figures for 2013 and 2014 and years prior to 2005. Source: Table 3.1.12 http://dx.doi.org/10.1787/888933344347

3. Rwanda and Tunisia do not include social security contributions in their tax to GDP
ratio as neither country classifies them as taxes. They are included as tax revenue in
this publication.

16 . ACTIVE WITH AFRICA

 THE OECD AND AFRICA
OECD/AfDB Joint Initiative to Support Business
Integrity and Anti-Bribery Efforts in Africa

Corruption is a corrosive crime that weakens economies “Transparency and

and erodes citizens’ trust. By working with partners in the accountability provide the
region such as the African Development Bank (AfDB), the pillars for good economic
Organisation can fight bribery and corruption together in governance which itself
order to promote stronger, cleaner and fairer economies forms the foundation for real
throughout the African continent. economic transformation.
It is the duty of all actors on
The OECD/AfDB Joint Initiative to Support Business Integrity the continent, both public
and Anti-bribery Efforts in Africa was launched in 2008. and private to break the
Twenty-one African countries are members of the Initiative: chain of corruption.”
Benin, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Ethiopia, Ghana, Kenya, Akinwumi Adesina, President of
Madagascar, Malawi, Mali, Mauritania, Mozambique, Namibia, the African Development Bank

Niger, Nigeria, Rwanda, Senegal, Sierra Leone, South Africa,

Tanzania, Uganda and Zambia. In 2011, the Initiative’s member The next step for the Initiative is to hold a regional meeting with
countries adopted the Anti-Bribery and Business Integrity Course its member countries along with the private sector to promote
of Action for Africa which outlines necessary steps for countries’ the Anti-Bribery Policy and Compliance Guidance for African
anti-bribery and business integrity efforts. Most recently in 2016, Companies and decide on future work to further implement the
the Initiative published the Anti-Bribery Policy and Compliance Initiative’s anti-bribery and business integrity efforts.
Guidance for African Companies. Developed by anti-bribery
experts at both the OECD and the AfDB, this new guidance will www.oecd.org/daf/anti-bribery/46970303.pdf
help African companies of all sizes set up measures to prevent www.unodc.org/unodc/en/treaties/CAC
bribery and improve the quality of corporate compliance and www.oecd.org/corruption/oecdantibriberyconvention.htm
anti-bribery policies.

The Initiative brings together African policymakers, businesses,

civil society and regional and international organisations.
The OECD and the AfDB work together to design and help put
in place effective policies to combat bribery and corruption.
The Initiative also provides technical support to Africa’s
private sector to improve standards of corporate integrity and
accountability. These policies and standards are grounded in
the anti-bribery and anti-corruption provisions of the African
Union Convention on Preventing and Combating Corruption, the
UN Convention Against Corruption, and the OECD Convention on
Combating Bribery of Foreign Public Officials.

THE OECD AND AFRICA . 17

OECD engagement at the
national level

The OECD is engaged in strengthening bilateral co-operation

with African countries, acknowledging the continent’s
heterogeneity. Several African countries actively participate
in OECD committees and networks, thus bringing to
OECD bodies a wealth of experience and knowledge that
contributes to collective decision-making. Through its
different projects and initiatives, the Organisation works
closely with African Governments to better prepare tailor-
made approaches that can tackle their specific challenges and
needs. The following section offers a quick overview on some
of these examples of bilateral co-operation, which include
work with South Africa as a Key Partner of the OECD, the
Morocco Country Programme, and Multi-Dimensional Country
Reviews.

Key Partner: South Africa

In 2007, backed by the Ministerial Mandate of the OECD member

countries, the Organisation launched an ambitious initiative to
enhance the existing relationship with a series of countries that
would become the OECD Key Partners. They contribute to the
OECD’s work in a sustained and comprehensive manner, and
are encouraged to actively participate in the work of substantive
bodies of the Organisation, including OECD Bodies, OECD
Instruments and integration into OECD statistical reporting and
information systems.

As a Key Partner, South Africa has increased its engagement

with the Organisation and is considered one of its most active
Key Partners. Today, the country participates in 21 OECD Bodies
and Projects, has adhered to 19 legal instruments and regularly
participates in a wide number of OECD activities. South Africa’s
participation covers many areas, including, fiscal systems,
energy, education, investment, labour policies, governance,
SMEs, local development and investment. Moreover, among
the five Key Partners, South Africa is the most integrated in the
OECD statistical tools and databases.

18 . ACTIVE WITH AFRICA

 THE OECD AND AFRICA
Through a secondment programme and active participation in “The OECD is a policy network specialized
working parties, the OECD and its member countries benefit in designing policies for the provision of
from South Africa’s perspectives. domestic and global public goods. Hence, the
OECD needs to keep engaging with Africa!
South Africa benefits from the OECD’s expertise in policy It needs to do it for the benefit of individual
analysis and advice through its involvement in the key activities African countries and for the benefit of the
of the Organisation. This includes regular quantification world community. The OECD is uniquely
exercises, upon request or through the G20 umbrella, which equipped to provide African countries with
study the impact of policy reforms in the country. Additionally, policy tools to improve its public services, to
the OECD monitors South Africa’s progress of reforms through boost entrepreneurship, to become less dependent on agricultural
specific surveys and other reports. The OECD provides deep imports and eventually to reduce extreme poverty and enter the
analyses and policy recommendations on key issues to lift path of sustainable economic development. The OECD also needs to
growth and make it more inclusive, such as education, taxation, include African countries in the design of policies for the provision
green growth, competition and infrastructure. South Africa also of global public goods: from climate policies to migration.”
benefits from coverage in main OECD flagship reports such as Aleksander Surdej, Ambassador of Poland to the OECD and Leader of the
Going for Growth and the Economic Outlook. Informal Reflection Group on South Africa

The OECD publishes a biennial Economic Survey of South Africa, a “The OECD continues to serve as an
survey which focus principally on policies having a potential to important reference point as our country
improve the economy’s long-run performance. The 2017 edition continue to develop policies to implement
focuses on promoting private sector entrepreneurship and small our country’s socio-economic blueprint and
and medium enterprises, and on regional economic integration road map towards prosperity, the National
and South Africa’s role in the Southern African Development Development Plan which is aligned to
Community (SADC), as well as the implementation of the African Union Agenda 2063 and the
recommendations of the 2015 United nations 2030 SDG’s. Our symbiotic
Economic Survey. relationship is continues in many fields and
continue to grow and flourish”
www.oecd.org/southafrica Rapu Molekane, Ambassador of South Africa to France

SCAN TO
READ THE
REPORT

THE OECD AND AFRICA . 19

The Morocco Country Programme

The Morocco Country Programme, signed on 15 June 2015, to the regionalisation process; the improvement of inter-
aims to support the Moroccan reform agenda by providing ministerial co-ordination to reinforce the capacities to
OECD expertise in the design and implementation of the implement strategic horizontal projects and increase the
national strategies developed by Morocco. consistency of public policies.

It has been defined around three main policy priorities: The programme has resulted in the improvement of evidence-
economic growth and competitiveness, social inclusion and based public policies, through improved statistical tools and
good governance. The Country Programme includes 17 policy systematic consultations with civil society and private sector.
reviews, capacity building activities as well as the inclusion of The Country Programme allows Morocco to engage further
Morocco to several OECD statistical tools, 9 OECD instruments within a network of international experts. Participation in
and a strengthened participation in 9 OECD Committees and OECD activities gives Moroccan teams access to the benefits
bodies. of international best practice and peer learning. Exchanges
of experience with experts from OECD Member countries are
Some actions of the Country Programme are directly related to not just an opportunity to strengthen co-operation between
the implementation of the new Constitution of 2011, which was countries, they also tie Morocco more closely to the OECD.
a major step forward in the process of political transformation
designed to develop citizen participation, namely the support www.oecd.org/countries/morocco

Morocco – OECD Coordination Committee Meeting, March 2017.

20 . ACTIVE WITH AFRICA

 THE OECD AND AFRICA
Multi-Dimensional Country Reviews

Multi-Dimensional Country Reviews (MDCRs) are a tool l The MDCRs of Morocco and Senegal are supporting each
adapted to the realities of emerging and developing country’s development strategies through specific policy
countries, supporting them in their efforts towards recommendations to foster and sustain their emerging
sustainable development. National governments request economy aims.
MDCRs in order to identify cross-cutting issues that hinder
their country’s development as well as receive concrete l The MDCR of Côte d’Ivoire has led to a five-year
policy recommendations to address these constraints. Implementation and Policy Partnership between the country
and the Development Centre. This partnership supports
The multi-dimensional review of Côte d’Ivoire, completed in monitoring of the implementation of reforms and connects
2015, was the first Multi-Dimensional Country Review (MDCR) policy makers with peer experts to share experiences of
undertaken by an African country. Morocco and Senegal have implementation.
also initiated multidimensional reviews. In all three countries
policy makers at the highest level have actively engaged with Interest from other African countries is paving the way for what
the review process. would be the first multi-dimensional sub-regional review.

MDCRs mobilise expertise from across the OECD and target it www.oecd.org/development/mdcr
to each country’s specific needs. MDCRs have applied a number
of OECD tools to African countries: the OECD framework for
measuring well-being and progress has been implemented in all
three countries, while the Morocco MDCR is the first application
of the OECD Inclusive Growth Framework in an African country.
MDCRs in the region are also contributing to the development
of a holistic view of development and providing support for
approaches where different parts of the administration work
together towards common goals.

In Côte d’Ivoire, the MDCR recommendations supported the

Plan National de Développement (PND) 2016-2020. The
conclusions of the review were adopted by the Council of
Ministers in April 2016, and 40 recommendations of the action
plan were incorporated into the PND as priority reforms. The
recommendations were based on the five major constraints
identified through the review: structural transformation, SCAN TO
infrastructure, financial sector development, education/skills, READ THE
REPORT
and tax policy. In addition to the PND programme, several
recommended actions and reforms are in the process of being
implemented by ministries or public agencies:

THE OECD AND AFRICA . 21

 SUSTAINABLE
DEVELOPMENT
AND INCLUSIVE
GROWTH
22 . ACTIVE WITH AFRICA
 INCLUSIVE GROWTH
Promoting structural economic
transformation in Africa

Achieving economic transformation is at the core of Africa’s the demand of governments to have better tools to address the
agenda and vision for the future. Over the past decades, uncertainty and maximize the opportunities of the new global
the continent has experienced profound economic and industrial organization. UNECA and the AUC are members of the
social changes. Africa is the second fastest growing Advisory Board of the Initiative and the Initiative also cooperates
region in the world after Asia. Despite this progress, the with ACET (Africa Centre for Economic Transformation). The
continent’s economic performance remains subject to the biannual plenary meetings of the Initiative offer an occasion for
dynamics of international commodity markets. Climate African government leaders and business community to share
change induced by global production and consumption knowledge on key issues, including digitalization, automation
patterns, continues to affect the livelihoods of the and start-ups. For instance, the 8th Plenary Meeting of the
poorest on the continent, and adds to the rising costs of Initiative featured a full session on Start-ups in Africa providing
environmental degradation. Accelerating Africa’s structural a space for African entrepreneurs and investors to share their
transformation and promoting its sustainable development experience and lessons learned, as well as views for the future.
is not only a priority for the continent; it is a global priority. The Initiative has already provided comparative analysis on
key drivers for the economic transformation of some African
The OECD Initiative for Policy Dialogue on Global Value Chains, countries, including Morocco, Ethiopia and South Africa. The
Production Transformation and Development is actively working Initiative has launched cooperation and knowledge sharing
with African countries and institutions to identify policy reforms between Africa and Latin America. The OECD co-organised
that enable sustainable and inclusive economic transformation. the first Africa-Latin America policy dialogue on industrial
Thanks to the exchange and peer learning between Africa, Asia, policies for inclusive development, in collaboration with the UN
Latin America and OECD countries, the Initiative responds to Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA) and the UN Economic

0.6 Africa’s potential demographic dividend

0.5

0.4

0.3

0.2

0.1

0
2011

2021

2031

2041
2001

2003

2005

2007

2009

2013

2015

2017

2019

2023

2025

2027

2029

2033

2035

2037

2039

2043

2045

2047

2049
Note: Potential impact on GDP per capita growth (in percentage points) as calculated by the percentage change in the proportion of the working-age population.
Source: OECD, African Economic Outlook 2017

SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT AND INCLUSIVE GROWTH . 23

Promoting structural economic transformation in Africa

Commission for Latin America. The Initiative has facilitated the “Africa has made great strides in improving
set-up of bilateral cooperation between Ethiopia and Chile on its growth performance and enhancing
industrial policy and FDI attraction. wellbeing of its citizens supported by sound
macroeconomic and structural policies in
The Initiative promotes better statistics in the area of economic many countries. The OECD has been actively
transformation, for instance through the inclusion of countries engaged in this policy dialogue with African
in the OECD-WTO Trade in Value Added (TiVA). The OECD countries. However, important inequalities
will soon publish the first edition of the OECD-UNCTAD- in incomes and opportunities remain,
ECLA-ECLAC-ESCAP Transforming Economies Report (TER). The and peace and stability remain critical for
Organisation also develops the Production Transformation Policy continued growth in many countries and for more people to reap
Reviews (PTPRs) in cooperation with UNECA and UNCTAD. the benefits of growth. The OECD, with its 50 years of experience
in economic policy and the diversity of its members, is ready to
The OECD will continue to support policies for start-up continue to accompany African countries on their journey toward
promotion and identify ways to unleash the potential of African better lives.”
entrepreneurs. Catherine L. Mann, OECD Chief Economist and Head of the Economics
Department
www.africaneconomicoutlook.org/en/theme/global-value-
chains-and-africa-s-industrialisation

24 . ACTIVE WITH AFRICA

 INCLUSIVE GROWTH
Enhancing agricultural productivity and
food security

In the context of rapid population growth, climate Agricultural Outlook, which assesses agricultural trends in many
change and evolving nutrition patterns, governments are sub-Saharan African countries.
increasingly recognising the value of greater investment in
research and development to raise agricultural productivity. The OECD also publishes the Agricultural Policy Monitoring and
The OECD works with countries in Africa, especially Evaluation Report, which provides a unique source of objective
South Africa, to improve innovation, sustainability, and and transparent information across 52 countries that account
competitiveness, for both commercial and smallholder for the majority of global value-added in agriculture. In addition,
farmers alike. it provides the necessary broad perspective on agricultural
policy developments at a time when the global agriculture
The OECD’s work on innovation systems in food and agriculture and food sector is facing both unprecedented challenges and
explores the relationships between innovation, productivity, exciting new opportunities.
and sustainability. It then examines the respective roles for the
government and the private sector in strengthening agricultural The OECD conducts specific work on Western Africa through
innovation systems and facilitating their adoption at the farm the Sahel and West Africa Club (SWAC), including how food
and agro-food firm levels. economy transformations have contributed to the formulation
of ECOWAS’ second generation Regional Agricultural Investment
The OECD and the Food and Agriculture Organisation of Policies. Based on this work, SWAC analysed the impact of
the United Nations (FAO) annually publish the OECD-FAO food economy transformations on food security monitoring

Agriculture as a total share of GDP in 2014

%
50

40

30

20

10

0
Canada

United States

European Union

Australia

Chile

Mexico

Russia

Brazil

Argentina

China

India

Botswana

South Africa

Angola

Zimbabwe

Zambia

Nigeria

DRC

Ghana

Mozambique

Uganda

Sudan

Kenya

Tanzania

Malawi

Mali

Ethiopia

Chad
Rest of the World Sub-Saharan Africa

Note: DRC refers to Democratic Republic of the Congo. Source: OECD-FAO Agricultural Outlook 2016-2025

SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT AND INCLUSIVE GROWTH . 25

Enhancing agricultural productivity and food security

to provide recommendations for the existing early warning future. This study will also explore the emerging spatial and
mechanism of areas at risk and populations affected by food territorial implications of the rapidly developing food economy,
and nutrition insecurity. in particular rural-urban linkages, food flows and regional
market development.
The spatial analyses carried out by SWAC provide important
insights into the territorial dimension of food security. Building African countries could benefit from being part of a broader
on the Africapolis database, it helps to better describe urban- discussion where they can share knowledge with other
rural dynamics taking into account local and regional contexts. countries and benchmark their best practices. For instance, a
This information is a key component in understanding case study on Innovation, Productivity and Sustainability in
local food availability. It provides evidence on the impact of South Africa which is a part of the OECD Food and Agricultural
population patterns, infrastructure constraints and policy Reviews series, presents a possible avenue for co-operation.
environment on observed geographic differences and helps South Africa also participated in the OECD Agricultural
design place based strategies to improve food security. Ministers meeting in 2016 and signed the Declaration on Better
SWAC is studying the current situation and mid-term Policies to Achieve a Productive, Sustainable and Resilient
perspectives of West African food markets with regards to Global Food System.
employment. A focus will be placed on how urbanisation
impacts current patterns of food demand and how it will drive www.oecd.org/agriculture/
the demand for basic and processed food commodities in the www.agri-outlook.org/

SCAN TO READ
THE REPORT

26 . ACTIVE WITH AFRICA

 INCLUSIVE GROWTH
Promoting effective development
co-operation

Effective development co-operation plays a crucial role The Nairobi meeting delivered a renewed mandate, signalling
in helping countries meet the ambitious objectives of the the need to re-galvanise the Global Partnership to scale up
2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. Through data, global action and identified six inter-related and mutually
evidence-based policy analysis, exchanges on development reinforcing strategic outputs going forward.
and public forums with key actors, the OECD advances
effective co-operation efforts to address development In addition, by the end of 2017 the DAC’s Temporary Working
challenges in Africa. Group on Refugees and Migration will publish guidance on
addressing forced displacement through Development Planning
The OECD is the Secretariat to the Global Partnership for and Assistance, with focus on displaced populations in countries
Effective Development Co-operation (GPEDC) which brings of origin, transit, and destination– incorporating findings from
together governments, private sector organisations, civil consultations with DAC members, UN, CSOs, MDBs, private
society and other non-state actors committed to ensuring sector and representatives from the government of South
the effectiveness and impact of development co-operation. Sudan, Somalia, Uganda and Kenya. This work is especially
The Global Partnership is currently co-chaired by Uganda, pertinent given that each of the SDGs, with their focus on
Bangladesh and Germany. African countries and organisations equality and universality, necessitates that refugees be
have actively engaged in this Partnership since its inception integrated in the implementation of policies. In 2018, the OECD
in 2011, particularly via participation in voluntary initiatives will also evaluate donor support and engagement in situations
such as the New Deal for Engagement in Fragile States and the of forced displacement with a focus on selected African pilot
Effective Institutions Platform. countries. The initiative will facilitate specialised dialogue
and support an enabling environment for more effective
Thirty-six countries in Africa participated in the 2016 GPEDC
monitoring round. They provided data on ten global indicators,
working in coordination with key development stakeholders – a
process that contributes to strengthening mutual accountability
and dialogue on the ground among all development partners.
The monitoring report showed that development co-operation is
becoming more effective, but at an irregular pace. Africa made
progress or maintained levels similar to 2010 in several Busan
commitments: positive stories emerge in defining national
priorities; more countries have mutual accountability reviews
in place, record aid on budget, and have gender-responsive
budgeting. However, some indicators have deteriorated for
Africa: aid predictability declined; and no progress has been
made in untying aid and strengthening and using country
systems. The Second High-Level Meeting of the GPEDC in
Nairobi in 2016 reconfirmed that effective development co-
operation matters for the achievement of the 2030 Agenda.

SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT AND INCLUSIVE GROWTH . 27

Promoting effective development co-operation

development cooperation in sub-Saharan African countries The OECD also helps governments build public support for
affected by forced displacement which, by the end of 2016 global development and cooperation. Communication is central
had witnessed a 16% increase in refugee populations, with the to building support for development and giving citizens the
vast majority of displaced populations hosted in immediately information they need to hold their governments accountable.
neighbouring countries. The OECD Development Communication Network (DevCom) is an

Benin, Niger and Nigeria: a strong potential for co-operation

Sources: European Space Agency 2010; Moriconi-Ebrard, F.,

D. Harre and P. Heinrigs 2016; Open Street Map 2014; Global
Roads Open Access Data Set 2016; Shuttle Radar Topography
Mission 2014; Global Administrative Areas 2016; LandScan™ 2014
Global Population Database; Research Institute Alterra, University
of Wageningen.

28 . ACTIVE WITH AFRICA

 INCLUSIVE GROWTH
international forum for development communicators to share “As the second fastest growing region of
lessons, test ideas and collaborate to engage with the public the world, Africa remains a top priority
and inform public opinion. Currently this network is developing for OECD countries, receiving the largest
a new Peer Learning Hub for SDG Communicators. Linking share of Official Development Assistance.
closely with partners in the UN, the Hub will bring together Now, we need to go further. We need to
analysis on SDG communication and public engagement, step up our collaborative work with Africa
examples of good practices and innovation, and tools and and strengthen development co-operation
resources that can help communicators achieve greater impact. policies to support real, long-term results for
At the sub-regional level, the SWAC has launched a study on the region’s most significant development
Cross-border Co-operation and Policy Networks in West Africa. challenges, including fostering energy access and climate change
The study analyses border dynamics which are essential to mitigation and adaptation, curbing illicit financial flows, turning
West Africa’s regional and global integration and economic market access opportunities into trade flows, strengthening
development. Based on the analysis of social networks resilience against violence, and empowering women.”
the study maps the existing relationships between 125 Jorge Moreira da Silva, Director of Development Co-operation Directorate
organisations and 618 actors involved in cross-border co-
operation. It also identifies the potential for cross-border co-
operation in 170 West African border areas as well as the shared
vision that political actors in West Africa and Europe have of
cross-border co-operation. Together, these three dimensions
can help draw up a framework for place-based policy making as
well as identify areas where investment could generate greater
regional integration.

The Organisation will provide support for regional policies and

international strategies in order to better anticipate two major
changes impacting the region: the border-related aspects of
urbanisation and climate change. The first area of work will
cross-analyse a set of key variables (physical, socio-economic
and institutional) in order to better understand the development
dynamics of cross-border cities and the role they play in building
regional integration. The second area of work on resilience to
climate change in border agglomerations will seek to assess the
current state of cross-border law and identify shared legislative SCAN TO
and financial levers that could improve the prospects for border READ THE
REPORT
cities to strengthen resilience to climate change.

www.effectivecooperation.org

SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT AND INCLUSIVE GROWTH . 29

Implementing the Sustainable
Development Goals

The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) represent a to reverse the recent decline in flows to the poorest countries.
global commitment to “end poverty, protect the planet, This accountability mechanism forces donors to face up to their
and ensure prosperity for all”. The goals apply to all commitments and correct course to support those countries
countries and require collaboration between and within most in need. With these crucial data, the OECD has also
nations and institutions. OECD countries have a dual role conducted analyses to determine where the financing needs are
in ensuring SDG implementation: achieving them at home greatest and proposed policies to address such concerns.
and helping developing countries achieve them abroad, Starting in 2018, the OECD will produce a Global Outlook
including in Africa. on Financing for Development which will serve as a focal
point for the OECD’s work on tracking trends and assessing
The OECD can help its members and partners implement the challenges across all forms of public and private, domestic
SDGs through data, lessons learned, and policy guidance. One of
the Organisation’s main contributions is through tracking and NO ZERO GOOD HEALTH
leveraging financing for sustainable development. POVERTY HUNGER AND WELL-BEING
At the 2015 OECD Ministerial Conference Meeting, OECD
Ministers reaffirmed their commitment to promoting the
OECD’s contribution to the 2030 Agenda, and welcomed the
preparation of a strategic response to guide the Organisation’s
QUALITY GENDER CLEAN WATER AFFORDABLE AND
work in support of the SDGs. In 2016, the OECD adopted EDUCATION EQUALITY AND SANITATION CLEAN ENERGY
a proposed Action Plan on the Sustainable Development
Goals that sets out how the Organisation will continue its
transformation to best support Members and the international
community in the achievement of the SDGs.
DECENT WORK AND INDUSTRY, INNOVATION REDUCED SUSTAINABLE CITIES
ECONOMIC GROWTH AND INFRASTRUCTURE INEQUALITIES AND COMMUNITIES
In addition to providing annual figures on official development
assistance (ODA), the OECD Development Assistance
Committee (DAC) is devising a new statistical measurement
framework – Total Official Support for Sustainable
Development (TOSSD). This measure will track all financing RESPONSIBLE CLIMATE LIFE LIFE
CONSUMPTION ACTION BELOW WATER ON LAND
provided by official bilateral and multilateral institutions, AND PRODUCTION
capturing cross-border flows as well as support for development
enablers and global challenges. In 2016, the OECD collaborated
with the government of Senegal to conduct a pilot aimed at
developing TOSSD with input from the recipient perspective. PEACE, JUSTICE PARTNERSHIPS
AND STRONG FOR THE GOALS
INSTITUTIONS
Through its annual ODA figures, the OECD holds its members
to account on their aid commitments. The 2016 data on ODA
shows that aid to Africa fell 0.5%, despite DAC members’ pledge

30 . ACTIVE WITH AFRICA

 INCLUSIVE GROWTH
and international finance for development. The Outlook will “The OECD should be fully engaged in
investigate how these flows interact as well as the policies supporting the implementation of the
and good practices required to scale-up the finance needed to Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The
achieve inclusive, sustainable growth. global dimension of the objectives and their
wide policy focus urge the Organisation’s
The OECD is also supporting developing countries to implement Member countries not only to meet the SDG
the SDGs. To this end, the Development Centre-led Multi- targets at home but also to provide all the
dimensional Country Reviews are being fine-tuned to respond necessary support to their achievement
to the need of developing countries to align their development abroad. In collaboration with the United
strategies with the SDGs. Senegal’s Multi-Dimensional Country Nations, the OECD and its member countries can assist African
Review incorporates analysis of progress and likely challenges countries to develop the necessary capacities to monitor and
across 17 SDG targets with in-depth analysis related to SDG 4 implement the SDGs through enhanced statistics, best practices and
on Quality Education and SDG16 on Strong Institutions. At the guidelines, and to encourage better financing to meet the goals.”
same time, the Multi-dimensional Country Reviews’ Mutual Douglas Frantz, OECD Deputy Secretary-General
Learning Group (MDCR-MLG), which offers peer to peer learning
and implementation support on the critical development Total external flows to Africa
challenges facing MDCR countries, will also allow for countries will increase to
to share successful strategies towards achieving the Sustainable
Development Goals (SDGs).
in 2017 USD 179.7
billion
L Remittances (+2.4%)
The OECD is building a strong evidence base on the domestic L FDI (+1.9%)
institutions that are needed to respond to the governance L ODA (+1.4%)
challenges inherent in the implementation of the SDGs. This K Portfolio inflows (-20.3%)
includes how to support whole of government approaches
to delivering the SDGs, integrating the SDGs into the budget Non-resource-rich Total domestic revenues
process, and the role of the centre of government (Prime countries have
increased their revenue USD
Minister and President’s offices). +9.6% 93.8 billion
mobilisation I
2012 2016
www.oecd.org/dac/OECD-action-plan-on-the-sustainable-
development-goals-2016.pdf
www.oecd.org/dac/financing-sustainable-development/ FDI aims to tap growing domestic
www.oecd.org/gov/sustainable-development-goals-and- markets I 56%
of projects
public-governance.htm were motivated
by access
to domestic
markets
in

01
2

Source: OECD, African Economic 5-16

Outlook 2017, OECD Publishing

SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT AND INCLUSIVE GROWTH . 31

Promoting regional development
in view of rapid urbanisation

Africa’s urban population is expected to almost double Currently, the OECD and UN-Habitat are creating a policy
between 2015 and 2035, reaching 893 million people. Over dialogue network to address the financing of African cities and
the next 15 years, 29 million young people will join the to improve analytical work on the role of secondary cities and
labour market each year. These demographic shocks will urban-rural linkages for the development of the region, as well
put significant pressure on urban areas. Addressing the as contribute to the international dialogue on how to address
demand for productive jobs, providing basic services, and the financial gap of African cities.
financing infrastructure initiatives will be some of the key
challenges faced by local and national authorities. The SWAC’s Africapolis project on urbanisation dynamics
in West African countries examines how urbanisation,
The OECD looks at the role of secondary cities in African population and income growth are transforming Africa. The
development in order to better understand how to harness the project provides data on the size, growth and geolocation of all
growth of these types of cities and to identify the mechanisms urban agglomerations exceeding 10 000 inhabitants. The data
promoting mutually beneficial rural-urban linkages. The 2016 highlights the role of small towns and secondary cities in urban
African Economic Outlook edition focused on how the continent’s networks, the emergence of new urban agglomerations and
urbanisation could allow for structural transformation. The the increasing fluidity between urban and rural environments.
Centre has also organised high-level events at the UN General Africapolis data provides the evidence base for a wide range of
Assembly in New York, the Habitat III conference in Quito, as development policies at the local, national and regional levels,
well as the Conference for Africa’s Emergence in Côte d’Ivoire, including Sustainable Development Goal 11 to “make cities and
which have offered platforms to discuss the challenges and human settlements inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable”.
opportunities related to Africa’s rapid urbanisation. SWAC is preparing a continent-wide Africapolis update covering

ODA by income group Sectors in 2015 commitments

1%

1%
6,183 9% Social
Least developed 2,613 Economic
countries 8%
Production
Other low income
43% Multisector
Lower middle income 9%
9,708 General
Upper middle income 29,271 programme aid
Unspecified 10% Debt

3,262 Humanitarian
18% Others

Source: OECD Development Assistance Committee

32 . ACTIVE WITH AFRICA

 INCLUSIVE GROWTH
51 African countries which will be available in the second half co-ordination is not only important at national level, it is also
of 2018. Integrating new census data and satellite imagery, critical to promote between national governments and their
it will provide population estimates for around 5,000 urban regions and cities.
agglomerations, covering all agglomerations with more than
10,000 inhabitants, their precise geolocation and the size Opportunities for the future include new studies and policy
of their built-up areas. For the first time, a comparable and dialogues in African countries on regional, rural and urban
verifiable dataset will cover the African continent, providing policy as well as with specific regions and cities. The OECD,
unique data for analyses on cities and urbanisation dynamics, UN-Habitat and Cities Alliance launched the National Urban
but also for the large variety of topics directly linked to the Policy Programme to support national urban policies, which
ongoing settlement transition in Africa. includes African countries. African cities may also be interested
in a thematic regional project on green growth in African
Through its Regional Development Policy Committee and its cities. African countries can also seek to adhere to the OECD
Working Parties, the OECD also works with African countries to Recommendation on Effective Public Investment Across Levels
support the inclusive and sustainable growth in different cities of Government or participate in country-specific reviews to
and regions across a country. This includes support to develop apply the Recommendation.
internationally comparable indicators at the subnational level
(e.g. in Tunisia and Morocco) and facilitating policy dialogues on www.oecd.org/cfe/regional-policy
territorial development (such as the Morocco-OECD Dialogue www.oecd.org/globalrelations/Active_with_the_UN.pdf
on Territorial Development Policy). The OECD also conducts www.oecd.org/effective-public-investment-toolkit
studies of specific regions and metropolitan areas (e.g. Gauteng
City-Region and Cape Town in South Africa and Casablanca,
Morocco), and collects country-specific data on subnational
governments and their finances through the joint UCLG-OECD
publication Subnational Governments around the World: Structure
and finance.

Furthermore, the OECD is currently working with Ethiopia to

pilot the New Rural Development Paradigm (NRDP). Applying
the NRDP as a pilot in Ethiopia will both improve rural
development outcomes in the country and build capacity at
both national and regional levels.

These studies and policy dialogues are building the backbone

SCAN TO READ
for regional policy making and contributing to national debates THE REPORT
across ministries. A greater co-ordination of sectoral policies
to meet the needs in specific types of places within a country
helps to get the most out of limited public resources. This

SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT AND INCLUSIVE GROWTH . 33

Delivering on “no one left behind”
in fragile contexts

By 2035, 80% of the extremely poor will be living in complex humanitarian crises. Thousands of people affected
fragile and crisis affected countries. Between 2011 and by crises, including in Uganda and Somalia, were interviewed
2015, USD 105.2 billion of ODA was spent on fragile and to see if changes to humanitarian aid policies really make a
conflict affected situations in Africa. The OECD is working difference to the lives of the most vulnerable.
to support a better future for states and societies at risk in
Africa, looking to strengthen their resilience by boosting The OECD’s States of Fragility work is the go-to resource
well-being and laying the economic foundations for peace for the most cutting edge thinking, data and analysis on
and stability. fragility, inspired by the 2030 Agenda. The work includes a
multidimensional fragility framework, definitive analysis of
The OECD supports its members to improve the effectiveness financial flows, and short practical papers on key policy issues,
of these investments in four landmark areas. OECD members including violent extremism. The majority of the contexts
provide the majority of global humanitarian funding. The considered fragile in 2016 are located in Africa.
Organisation’s Commitments into Action series helps members
turn commitments into action and deliver better in today’s

Economic dimensions of fragility

Extreme economic
fragility

High economic
fragility

Moderate economic
fragility
Low economic
fragility

34 . ACTIVE WITH AFRICA

 INCLUSIVE GROWTH
The International Network on Conflict and Fragility (INCAF) best practice and formulate the latest thinking on risk and
is a union of dedicated development professionals working resilience. The Organisation also supports OECD members and
together to deliver on the implementation of the SDGs in fragile their partners to undertake common risk informed planning
and conflict affected contexts. INCAF enables OECD members and programming where it matters most: on the ground, using
and their partners, including the African Development Bank, the OECD’s innovative resilience systems analysis tool. Since
to set standards, exchange and drive good practices, and come 2014, the tool has been used in the Democratic Republic of
together around the tough challenges. Critically INCAF looks Congo, Kenya, Ethiopia, Mauritania, Somalia, South Sudan and
to drive better, more effective and impactful support to address Sudan, with further work to support risk informed programming
fragility and conflict where it matters most; on the ground planned across West and central Africa.
including in a number of different contexts across Africa.
For example in 2017, INCAF is supporting Sudan to develop The OECD has also worked to strengthen economic resilience
a financing strategy that brings together international and in selected African countries, such as through fostering SMEs in
national, public and private finance to deliver better results for Libya’s post-conflict reconstruction.
stability in that country.
www.oecd.org/dac/conflict-fragility-resilience/states-of-
The OECD’s resilience work brings together a broad range of fragility-report-series.htm
political, humanitarian and development actors to exchange www.oecd.org/development/humanitarian-donors/

Correlation between human development index

and fragility index
0.70
Egypt
Human development index (average 2010-2014)

0.65 South Africa

Namibia
0.60
Ghana Congo
0.55 Zambia

Cameroon Nigeria
0.50
Togo Mauritania Zimbabwe
Benin Senegal Uganda
0.45 Rwanda Côte d'Ivoire
Gambia
Mali Liberia Congo,
Mozambique Guinea Dem. Rep.
0.40 Burundi
Burkina Faso
Sierra Leone Central
African
0.35 Republic
Niger
SCAN TO READ
0.30 THE REPORT
60 70 80 90 100 110 120
Fragility index

Source: OECD, African Economic Outlook 2017

SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT AND INCLUSIVE GROWTH . 35

Supporting SME development
and entrepreneurship

Enhancing access to finance for small and medium-sized

enterprises is critical to achieving inclusive growth in
Africa.

Since 2012, the OECD has produced an annual report on

Financing SMEs and Entrepreneurs: An OECD Scoreboard. The
report monitors trends in SME access to finance across countries,
provides information on policy developments, and supports
governments in their SME finance data collection efforts. South
Africa has joined this exercise and will be included in the
next 2018 edition. The G20/OECD High-Level Principles on SME
Financing provides broad guidelines for the development of
cross-cutting strategies to enhance access to a diverse range of
financing instruments for SMEs and entrepreneurs.

Access to finance represents one of the most significant

challenges for entrepreneurship and small business development
in Africa. Participation in the OECD Scoreboard enables countries
to improve understanding of SME financing needs and gaps,
enhance the design and evaluation of government policies
and programmes, and assist governments in monitoring the
implications of financial reforms on SME and entrepreneur
access to finance. It also facilitates international benchmarking
and exchange of knowledge and good practices across countries.

The OECD aims to support African countries in their efforts

to enhance SME finance policies, including through better
data collection. Engagement of African countries with the
OECD Working Party on SMEs and Entrepreneurship (WPSMEE)
can help to identify best practices for the promotion of
entrepreneurship and SME development, in areas such as
business environment and regulatory framework, innovation,
taxation, skills, entrepreneurship education, and SME
SCAN TO
integration into global value chains. READ THE
REPORT

www.oecd.org/cfe/smes/

36 . ACTIVE WITH AFRICA

 INCLUSIVE GROWTH
Start-ups in Africa and their distribution by city, 2016

Source:
Forthcoming OECD
publication Start-ups in Africa,
based on AngelList
(www.angellist.com
accessed December 2016)

SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT AND INCLUSIVE GROWTH . 37

Partnerships
for better statistics

Effective methods to benchmark and monitor income In addition, the OECD has been working with Statistics South
inequality and poverty are of increasing importance Africa (SSA) to derive estimates of income inequality and
in policy discussions. The OECD maintains a dedicated poverty following OECD specifications. However, since these
statistical database: the OECD Income Distribution estimates are not finalised yet, provisional indicators of income
Database (IDD), and hosts PARIS21 which partners with inequality and poverty for South Africa have been calculated on
African countries to provide statistical support and the basis of an alternative source (i.e. the Luxembourg Income
encourage data sharing Study (LIS) database).

Tackling inequalities has been identified as a high priority in the Moreover, the OECD hosts the Secretariat of the Partnership in
international economic agenda, to which the OECD has been Statistics for Development in the 21st Century (PARIS21). As
contributing through its Inclusive Growth Initiative. Provisional part of its global mandate, PARIS21 supports African countries
indicators of income distribution and poverty for South Africa in the development of their statistical capacity to achieve
were included in the Income Distribution Database in 2017, national, regional and international development objectives.
providing for the first time information comparable with OECD This work has shown an impact as several African countries
countries and other emerging economies. The release of the have designed or revised their National Strategies for the
data will be accompanied by a report which will provide not Development of Statistics (NSDS) that responds to the 2030
only background and methodological information, but also Agenda. The Advanced Data Planning Tool (ADAPT), an
evidence on inequalities beyond monetary indicators within the innovative planning tool for statistical offices to adapt to new
OECD inclusive growth framework (i.e. inequalities in education, demands and changing data practices, has allowed Cameroon,
health status and job quality). Rwanda and Tanzania to efficiently plan for the production of
SDG indicators.

PARIS21 will continue to support African countries as they

modernise their national statistical systems in response to the
2030 Agenda.

www.oecd.org/social/income-distribution-database.htm
www.paris21.org/

J Leadership training for Directors Generals of National Statistical Offices,

25-26 October 2016, Dakar, Senegal.

38 . ACTIVE WITH AFRICA

 INCLUSIVE GROWTH
PARIS21 supports more than 40 Statistical Development in Africa
African countries through:
Over the last 15 years Statistical Capacity has improved significantly in Africa. However,
l The design, implementation,
given the great demand for data as well as the evolution of data needs, the Africa data
ecosystem needs more capacity development support to leave no one behind.
monitoring and evaluation
of National Strategies for the
Development of Statistics (NSDS) SDG FOCUS
l Peer reviews of National Statistical PARIS21 is the proposed custodian agency for
SDG indicators 17.18.3 and 17.19.1
Systems NO
POVERTY
l Advocacy, monitoring and co-
ordination efforts on funding for
statistical development 57%
of African countries are QUALITY GENDER
l The elaboration of National Quality currently implementing a EDUCATION EQUALITY

Assurance Frameworks National Statistical Plan. All

countries in African have
l Support with SDG indicators developed or are in the Statistical Capacity
process of developping a Indicator in 2016
through the Advanced Data National Statistical Plan.
DECENT WORK AND INDUSTRY, INNOVATION
Planning Tool (ADAPT) 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 ECONOMIC GROWTH AND INFRASTRUCTURE

Source: World Bank’s Statistical

l Data visualisation and data
journalism training 237.7 million Capacity Indicator Dashboard

USD in support for statistics

l Leadership training for director in Africa in 2014, repre- RESPONSIBLE
CONSUMPTION
CLIMATE
ACTION
senting 58% of total aid for AND PRODUCTION
generals of national statistics offices statistics.

l Regional initiatives such as the Praia

© 2017, PARIS21/OECD
Group on Governance Statistics and
PEACE, JUSTICE PARTNERSHIPS
the Strategy for Harmonisation of AND STRONG FOR THE GOALS
INSTITUTIONS
Statistics in Africa (SHaSA)

l Training for school students on

issues relating to the NSDSs and the
2030 Agenda SCAN TO
READ THE
REPORT

SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT AND INCLUSIVE GROWTH . 39

 EDUCATION
AND INCLUSIVE
SOCIETIES
40 . ACTIVE WITH AFRICA
 EDUCATION & SOCIETY
Fostering skills and employability
through education and training

Despite a decade of relatively high investments in education and training in the development strategy of African countries
and training, a large share of the growing young population (Côte d’Ivoire and Senegal). Additional projects are focused on
in Africa is still not equipped with adequate knowledge fostering knowledge sharing and peer-learning regarding skills
and skills to compete in dynamic job markets. Reaping the and employment strategies among African countries (Algeria,
economic dividend of the youth demographic depends Egypt, Morocco, Senegal, Togo, and Tunisia).
on Africa’s ability to offer its young people the possibility
to obtain decent and productive jobs- today and in the The OECD is also developing a policy dialogue and knowledge
future. This can only be achieved through the support of sharing platform on Local Strategies for employment and skills
quality education and lifelong training opportunities for the in Africa (Stratégies Locales pour l’Emploi et les Compétences
continent’s youth and workforce. en Afrique, SECA). This would contribute to strengthening the
capacity of the organisations in charge of employment policies
African countries are on their way to achieving universal in Africa, guide policy makers on the conception of integrated
access to schooling. However, to reap social and economic and strategic approaches to skills, and reinforce knowledge
benefits of this increased participation, it is now important sharing between African countries.
for the countries to ensure that students leave school with
the knowledge and skills required to thrive in the society and Through these OECD programmes, African countries can
find high quality jobs. An educated and skilled workforce can monitor progress towards achieving the SDG goal No. 4 of
help foster innovation, ensure sustainable growth and create creating equitable and quality education for all. The OECD’s
opportunities for a better future. in-depth and system-wide reviews of national education
policies, as well as tailored policy reviews on thematic issues,
The OECD has collaborated with several African countries to also support African governments in identifying and designing
identify and develop the knowledge and skills that drive better policies that drive excellence in education systems and foster
jobs and better lives, generate prosperity and promote social skills.
inclusion. Algeria and Tunisia have participated in the 2015
Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA), and www.oecd.org/pisa/
Morocco and Tunisia will participate in PISA 2018. Senegal and
Zambia are fully participating in the PISA for Development
initiative and Tanzania completed the Capacity Needs Analysis
in 2015. Morocco has engaged in an OECD Review of Evaluation
and Assessment in Education under the Morocco Country
Programme, and South Africa undertook a Skills Beyond School
Review of vocational education and training (VET) in 2014.
SCAN TO
In 2016, the OECD launched a report on Tertiary Education and READ THE
REPORT
Labour Market in Togo aimed at identifying the country’s main
education and skills challenges. Multidimensional Country
Reviews also highlight the central role played by education

EDUCATION AND INCLUSIVE SOCIETIES . 41

 ADAPTING TO CHANGING SKILLS NEEDS: SOUTH AFRICA

South Africa is part of the JPMorgan Chase Foundation-funded imbalances. Best practice examples from other countries given
project “Adapting to Changing Skill Needs”. The country is in the policy note can help South Africa in the development
included in the Skills for Jobs database, an international dataset of new (or improved) policies. The policy notes from other
on skills imbalances that allows comparing the type of skills in countries (France, Italy, Spain
shortage or surplus and the degree of mismatch in South Africa and UK) can also be useful to
compared to European countries. South Africa to compare their
The findings of the project were launched in July 2017 in Paris challenges and existing polices
and a country-specific policy note has been dedicated to South to other countries.
Africa which was presented during the Secretary-General’s visit
to South Africa in July 2017.
The methodology used to assess shortage and surplus can
be used by the South African Department for Higher Education
SCAN TO
and Training to further develop their own assessment exercise READ THE
REPORT
and the recommendations provided in the policy note aim
to help to further improve its data collection and analysis as
well as to implement new or change existing policies to tackle

Primary completion rate, both sexes (%)

East Asia & Pacific (all income levels) Middle East & North Africa (all income levels) South Asia
Latin America & Caribbean (all income levels) OECD members Sub-Saharan Africa (all income levels)
120

100

80

60

40

20

0
2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013
Source: United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization ( UNESCO ) Institute for Statistics

42 . ACTIVE WITH AFRICA

 EDUCATION & SOCIETY
Tackling gender inequalities

Greater participation of women in the economy and in across law-making processes. Several hundreds of female
public life leads to stronger and more inclusive economic candidates were trained to enable them to run effectively for
growth. One of the most important economic and social national and local elections in Egypt, Morocco and Tunisia. In
priorities for African countries is promoting gender addition to this work, the OECD accompanies African countries
equality and developing more equitable laws, policies, and in coming closer to the OECD Recommendation on Gender
institutions that are representative of the whole of society. Equality in Public Life through policy analysis, regional dialogue
The OECD assists Africa in this endeavour. and capacity building.

Building inclusive societies and investing in women increases The Social Institutions and Gender Index (SIGI) measures gender
productivity, improves women’s economic empowerment and equality by looking at social institutions that hamper women’s
reduces poverty and inequality. Addressing barriers to the participation in society and thus complements and improves
participation of women in the economy and in public life is one existing measures that very often only measure outcomes of
of the most important priorities to unleash the development gender inequality. The SIGI database provides in-depth country
potential of African countries. profiles on over 160 countries spanning all global regions.

The new regional MENA-OECD Women’s Economic

Empowerment Forum (WEEF) will be launched in Cairo in
October 2017. This Forum will bring together MENA ministers
and high-level OECD policy makers as well as representatives
from business, academia and civil society to exchange
experiences and advance concrete actions for policy reform.
During the Forum, a new OECD report will be presented on
Women’s Economic Empowerment in Selected MENA Countries:
The Impact of Legal Frameworks in Algeria, Egypt, Jordan,
Libya, Morocco and Tunisia. The report examines how legal
provisions in the countries are impacting women’s ability
to fully participate in economic life, both as employees and
entrepreneurs.

The OECD supports North African countries to mainstream a

gender perspective in parliamentary operations and maximise
women’s integration in public life and policymaking processes.
Analyses provide insights on the challenges and opportunities
characterizing women’s access to decision making, while
capacity building increases the capacity of female electoral
candidates at the national and local levels and improves the
public consultation capacity of parliaments and women’s CSOs

EDUCATION AND INCLUSIVE SOCIETIES . 43

Tackling gender inequalities

The SIGI 2014 includes all African countries in its database. The SIGI has strong impact in the Africa region. It has been
Individual country profiles are available online at www. included in the African Development Bank’s Gender Index, and
genderindex.org. The sub-Saharan Africa, SIGI Regional Report UNECA’s Gender Statistics Programme. There has been increasing
was published in 2016, which included an analysis on the demand for further country studies, given the recognised value
area’s discriminatory social norms and how they will affect the of social norms data for tackling stubborn gender inequalities in
region’s goals in relation to the 2030 Agenda as well as Agenda education, health, and other development outcome areas. This has
2063. included requests by Uganda and UN Women Uganda to engage
in a Part II of the SIGI country study, in order to further advance
Since 2013, two SIGI country studies – one in Uganda and the policy impact at the sub-national level.
the other in Burkina Faso, have produced the first data on
social norms at the sub-national level. In partnership with the The SIGI is currently being updated for 2018, with data
national gender ministry and the national statistical agency, collection taking place in 2017. This data collection is also part
these country studies provide policymakers, researchers and of the SDG 5.1.1 process, as the SIGI is one of the data sources
the development community with data and evidence on how on whether or not legal frameworks are in place to promote,
social norms influence women’s and girls’ empowerment enforce and monitor equality and non-discrimination on
opportunities. These studies feature in UNECA’s Gender the basis of sex. Increased engagement with national gender
Statistics Strategy, and involve key regional partners (AfDB, machineries will be undertaken to ensure quality control and
UNECA, UN Women). stronger awareness of the SIGI results and data.

www.genderindex.org

SCAN TO READ
THE REPORTS

44 . ACTIVE WITH AFRICA

 EDUCATION & SOCIETY
Eastern Europe
and Central Asia
$773
billion

Middle East East Asia

and North Africa and the Pacific
$575 South Asia $2,440
billion $888 billion
OECD Latin America
and the Caribbean billion
$6,116 Sub-Saharan
billion $658
billion Africa
$340
billion

Gender-based discrimination Levels

Levels ofofdiscrimination
in the SIGI
in the SIGI
discrimination

in social institutions is Very low

estimated to cost up to Low

$12 trillion
Medium
High
Very high

to the global economy Not ranked

Source: The OECD Development Centre’s Social Institutions and Gender Index (SIGI)

EDUCATION AND INCLUSIVE SOCIETIES . 45

Promoting youth inclusion into political,
economic and social life

According to the United Nations Department of Economic A national workshop will be organised jointly between the
and Social Affairs (UNDESA) , the youth population in Youth Inclusion Project members and the Youth Ministries in
Africa reached 226 million in 2015 and is expected to more each African partner country to launch the Youth Well-Being
than double by 2055, representing more than a quarter of Policy Review. The intent is to pursue policy dialogues with
the continent’s population. Promoting youth inclusion and individual governments and other key national stakeholders.
well-being in Africa, and strengthening youth involvement In addition, national trainings will be carried out to strengthen
in national development processes, are of prime the capacities of the Youth Ministries in the area of monitoring
importance to achieve sustained economic development, and evaluating youth policies and on other topic related subject
structural transformation and social cohesion in African matters depending on each country’s needs.
societies.
The OECD is also working with North African countries to
The Youth Inclusion Project, co-funded by the European Union promote regional policy dialogue, to strengthen the legal,
and implemented by the OECD, supports African countries – institutional and policy frameworks for youth engagement in
Côte d’Ivoire, Ethiopia, Malawi, and Togo – in better responding public life, to improve horizontal and vertical co-ordination
to the aspirations of young people and strengthening youth of youth policies and to better mainstream youth concerns
involvement in national development processes. A number across public policies and services. In Tunisia, the OECD aims to
of activities are carried out at the country level, including support the Ministry of Youth in preparing the integrated youth
the publication of a youth well-being policy review, national strategy, based on OECD member countries’ experiences, with a
workshops with key stakeholders to foster policy dialogue clear distribution of responsibilities and strong inter-ministerial
on youth inclusion, and training activities to strengthen the co-ordination.
capacities of national policy makers to design evidence-based
policies that promote youth inclusion and well-being. In Morocco, the OECD is helping to galvanise efforts to
implement the national youth strategy adopted in 2014. The
In Côte d’Ivoire, the project supported the Ministry for the Organisation will use recommendations on key tools and
Promotion of Youth, Youth Employment and Civic Service in mechanisms to increase inter-ministerial coordination and
the design and implementation process of the National Youth strengthen dialogue between the Government, the youth
Policy 2016-2020. In Togo, the project supports the Ministry and women. The OECD will support the Ministry of Youth
for Basic Development, Crafts, Youth and Youth Employment in establishing an inter-ministerial committee for youth,
through thematic studies on topics of high relevance to the transforming the national strategy into an action plan and
Ministry (social capital, civic and political engagement, street establishing discussions on the roles and mandates of each
children and youth substance abusers). The Ministry overseeing Ministry involved in developing youth services and policies.
the training activities of the project has great interest and high
expectations in strengthening staff capacities on the monitoring www.oecd.org/dev/inclusivesocietiesanddevelopment/youth-
and evaluation of youth policies. In Malawi, the project will inclusion-project.htm
provide inputs to the youth component of the next Malawi
Growth and Development Strategy (MDGS III) and then identify
actionable policy recommendations at the government’s request.

46 . ACTIVE WITH AFRICA

 EDUCATION & SOCIETY
Harnessing migration
for development

The international development agenda increasingly community data on both public policies and migration. The
acknowledges migration’s positive contribution to final comparative report, as well as the African country reports,
development and policies in countries of origin and were launched in 2017. The report mentions that migration is at
destination aim to maximise its benefits. More research is its highest since 2007 with permanent migration flows to OECD
needed though to understand how migration affects key countries reaching 4.7 million entries in 2015. The reports
development sectors, how policies in those sectors affect highlight the importance of integrating a whole-of-government
migration decisions, what the economic contribution of approach to migration strategies and integrating migration into
labour migration on host countries’ economy is, and how national development strategies.
to monitor policies and ensure institutional coherence for
migration and development. The OECD also works with the European Commission and the
International Labour Organization on a four-year project aimed
To fill these knowledge gaps, the OECD has partnered with at assessing the economic contribution of labour migration
several African countries. In 2013, the OECD Development in developing countries as countries of destination (ECLM).
Centre launched an empirically-based project with the Côte d’Ivoire, Ghana, Rwanda and South Africa are among the
European Commission on the Interrelations between Public ten partner countries. The final report, which addresses the
Policies, Migration and Development (IPPMD) in ten developing contribution of labour migrants in several aspects of the economy
countries, including Burkina Faso, Côte d’Ivoire and Morocco. in South-South contexts, will be released in early 2018. Country
The project collected, for the first time, household and reports will be followed by policy dialogue in each partner country.

EDUCATION AND INCLUSIVE SOCIETIES . 47

Harnessing migration for development

Since 2014, through its role as one of the chairs of the Global of migration to development in their countries. In this respect,
Knowledge Partnership on Migration and Development the OECD has engaged directly with policy makers in African
(KNOMAD), the OECD Development Centre has been developing partner countries through consultation meetings and policy
a Dashboard of indicators to measure policy and institutional dialogue. In 2017, it organised policy dialogue and capacity-
coherence for migration and development. The project is building events in Abidjan, Ouagadougou and Rabat, in the
operationalised in 15 partner countries, among which three are framework of the IPPMD project. In 2018, similar events will
in Africa: Cabo Verde, Kenya and Morocco. The Dashboard of be held in Accra, Abidjan, Kigali and Pretoria, for the launch of
indicators will be released early 2018. the ECLM reports. Based on this and other OECD tools, several
African countries have adopted, or plan to adopt, migration and
The OECD has helped African countries better understand the development strategies.
complex links between migration and development, and the key
role that public policies can play in enhancing the contribution www.oecd.org/dev/migration-development/

SCAN TO READ SCAN TO READ

THE REPORT THE REPORT

48 . ACTIVE WITH AFRICA

 EDUCATION & SOCIETY
Improving social protection
and care policies

Over the last decade, social protection schemes have

expanded rapidly across Africa. Today, most countries
are in the process of weaving disparate schemes into
comprehensive social protection systems. Creating a solid
foundation for these nascent systems requires careful
analysis and forecasting to inform policy choices.

The OECD recently published a report on Social Protection

in East Africa about the future of social protection systems,
covering six countries Ethiopia, Kenya, Mozambique, Tanzania,
Uganda, and Zambia. The report examines the long-term
demographic, economic and environmental trends over the next
50 years in order to show how key socio-economic variables
such demographics, urbanisation, poverty and the structure of
the economy are likely to evolve, and how this will affect social
protection needs.

In addition, the OECD has been supporting social protection

systems in six countries in Africa since 2015 (Ethiopia,
Mozambique, Namibia, Tanzania, Togo, and Zambia). This has
included assessments of specific social protection programmes
(e.g. a public works programme in Tanzania) as well as broader
analyses. In Ethiopia, for example, it currently supports the
government with a long-run fiscal space assessment for the
social protection sector.

The OECD has built a close partnership with policy-makers

working on social protection in six countries in Africa. In Togo,
the OECD Development Centre is advising the government on
the development of a new social protection strategy. The OECD
has also built a close partnership with regional institutions,
leading to the organisation to the second meeting of the
African Union’s Specialized Technical Committee on Social SCAN TO
Development, Labour and Employment which took place in READ THE
REPORT
Algiers in April 2017. A number of policy dialogue events at
national and international levels are planned for 2017 and 2018.

EDUCATION AND INCLUSIVE SOCIETIES . 49

 INVESTMENT,
TRADE AND
CONNECTIVITY
50 . ACTIVE WITH AFRICA
 INVESTMENT & TRADE
Enhancing the investment
environment

Africa’s rapid urbanisation, emerging middle class and The 2017 EMnet business meeting on Africa will focus on
unprecedented demographic growth are generating industrialisation, followed by an analytical policy note, building
important investment opportunities for the private on key messages from the event.
sector. Business has a large scope to contribute to the
transformation and growth of Africa. www.oecd.org/dev/oecdemnet.htm

Improving Africa’s infrastructure, building new urban areas,

and supplying goods and services to an emerging middle class
are opening up new markets for private investment. The OECD
Development Centre’s Emerging Markets Network (EMnet) acts Invitations EMnet
to OECD events meetings
as a platform for leading multinational corporation executives,
policy makers and OECD experts to discuss investment barriers
and opportunities in Africa and other emerging markets.
In 2016, the network’s annual Africa meeting, “Investing in On-demand
bilateral
Growing African Cities”, held back-to-back meetings with the meetings
Webinars
International Economic Forum on Africa. Following these with
OECD experts
discussions, the 2017 edition of the EMnet Business Insights was
produced to provide analysis and policy recommendations from
the private sector’s perspective on investment on challenges
Access
and doing business in Africa. to OECD Thematic
publications Working Groups
and analysis
The Emerging Markets Network (EMnet) is a business platform
EMnet
for dialogue and analysis on policy challenges, economic trends
Policy Notes
and business strategies. With a focus on investing in emerging
markets, the network brings together high-level officials, leading
multinational corporation executives and OECD experts. It
also produces analytical policy notes to expand on meeting
discussions on how investment can help support Africa’s growth
from the private sector’s perspective and how governments
and local authorities can increase the region’s attractiveness to
potential investors.

INVESTMENT, TRADE AND CONNECTIVITY . 51

Achieving economic growth
through competition

Competition in markets makes firms more productive The OECD has worked closely with several African competition
and helps stimulate economic growth. Restraints on authorities in recent years to set in motion a process of
competition reduce output and limit the entry and competition assessment of regulations. Such work has typically
expansion of more productive firms, reducing productivity taken the form of training courses and capacity building to
growth in the longer term. This is particularly true for support the national competition authority, for instance in
emerging and developing markets where barriers to South Africa and in Egypt. The Competition Commission of
competition, either in the form of collusion by incumbents South Africa has undertaken an ambitious review of the retail
or through excessive bureaucracy and regulation, sector in the country to assess the level of competition in the
disproportionately affect SMEs and the poor. sector and an assessment of the regulations in the retail sector
will form part of the inquiry.

Successful outcomes in other economies have demonstrated the

significant positive impact of competition assessments, which
can help to reduce red tape or lengthy licensing and permits
processes for business operations, and support productivity
growth. With OECD support, several transition and emerging
markets, such as Greece, Romania, Mexico and Portugal,
have undertaken competition assessments and have found
substantial benefits in terms of expected increased turnover
for businesses and lower prices for consumers by expanding
opportunities for entry into the market.

The African Competition Forum (ACF), which was held in

November 2016 in Paris with OECD support, stimulated interest
for competition assessments in Africa. In particular, Botswana,
Egypt, Morocco, Tunisia, Senegal and South Africa, have
expressed an interest in incorporating competition assessments
into policy making, and to carry out a sector evaluation with
OECD support. With the support of national governments, the
OECD could undertake a regional capacity-building programme
to support the work of competition agencies, for the four main
regions of Africa. In-country work to do a full sector analysis
should also be considered. The OECD continues to support the
ACF with an annual event.

www.oecd.org/daf/competition/assessment-toolkit.htm

52 . ACTIVE WITH AFRICA

 INVESTMENT & TRADE
Promoting trade and integration
of Africa into global value chains

The OECD supports African countries as they seek to move minerals, metals and wood; a number of African countries are
up global value chains and enhance the contribution covered by the database.
of international investment and trade to their growth
agendas. The OECD and African countries are mutually The OECD Initiative for Policy Dialogue on Global Value
benefiting from the cooperation and inclusion of African Chains, Production Transformation and Development is a
countries in different OECD databases and initiatives. This global, country-led platform for policy dialogue and knowledge
enables them to benchmark against their performance in sharing, set up in 2013 as part of the implementation of the
other regions, sharing experiences and best practices. OECD’s Strategy on Development. The Initiative responds to
the development challenges faced by countries in the changing
The OECD and African countries collaborate on a range of global economic landscape and actively engages in the
trade-related issues. The Trade Facilitation Indicator (TFI) promotion of better policies to achieve sustainable and inclusive
covers the full spectrum of border procedures for more than 160 growth around the world.
countries, including a significant number of African countries.
The OECD Inventory of Restrictions on Exports of Industrial The Initiative, through a policy dialogue network of high-level
Raw Materials reports export taxes, prohibitions, licensing policy makers from ministries and government agencies from 17
requirements and other measures by which governments participating countries, including Egypt, Ethiopia, and Morocco
regulate the export of industrial raw materials including (as of January 2017), is responsible for promoting discussion on

INVESTMENT, TRADE AND CONNECTIVITY . 53

Promoting trade and integration of Africa into global value chains

development strategies, competitiveness, innovation, in dustrial Looking forward, the Initiative will publish the first edition of
and trade policies. The network offers a unique space for peer the forthcoming Transforming Economies Report (TER). This
learning, knowledge sharing, and collaborative policy oriented report, which is the result of strong institutional cooperation,
research between OECD and non-OECD countries. It also offers looks at the comparative perspectives of intra-regional trade
a platform to identify future trends and promote forward and FDI flows of trade in Africa and other regions, as well as
thinking to support strategy setting and policy implementation their impact on economic transformation and industrialisation.
through broad consultation with multiple stakeholders, The publication also intends to trigger further dialogue with
including a wide set of OECD committees and working parties, African countries in the context of the Initiative’s network,
international organisations, the private sector and other and in the form of regional seminars taking place in African
development stakeholders. countries.

The OECD has strengthened its partnership with the United www.oecd.org/trade
Nations Economic Commission on Africa (UNECA), notably http://oe.cd/gvc
on the implementation of Africa 2063 – the African Union
agenda setting the main objectives for the continent for the OECD trade facilitation indicators
next 50 years. A major element of this agenda is “economic
transformation” and the overarching theme of UNECA’s last West Africa Central Africa
East Africa South and south-eastern Africa
Ministerial Conference. As the result of the renewed effort to
deepen the cooperation with the Centre on industrial policy Information availability
issues, UNECA has joined, alongside other international Governance 2.0 Involvement of
and impartiality trade community
organisations, the Initiative for Policy Dialogue on Global Value
Chains, Production Transformation and Development. 1.5
Border agency
co-operation 1.0 Advance
In addition, the OECD and the World Trade Organization WTO – external rulings
are leading the work stream on the OECD-WTO Trade in Value
0.5
Added (TiVA) Database, which in the past year has expanded
the country coverage into the developing economies in Africa, Border 0.0
focusing on robust international trade data. agency Appeal
cooperation procedures
– internal
The OECD-WTO Trade in Value Added (TiVA) database
currently covers 63 countries, including Morocco, Tunisia and Formalities Fees and
South Africa. The Services Trade Restrictiveness Index (STRI) – procedures charges
Database covers 44 countries in 22 services sectors, including
South Africa. Formalities Formalities
– automation – documents

Source: OECD

54 . ACTIVE WITH AFRICA

 INVESTMENT & TRADE
Meeting infrastructure
and transportation needs

Africa urgently needs to expand and improve its

infrastructure, and access to finance is a significant
obstacle. Investments not meeting their objectives,
corruption scandals, and cost overruns are well known.
Substantial economic and social development benefits
could be realized by better governance of public
investments.

Infrastructure governance is complex; mistakes can be costly

and have long-term consequences. To help countries in Africa
strengthen their infrastructure management systems, the OECD
is launching a joint project with the World Bank (WB) and the
Global Infrastructure Hub (GIH) to provide a forum for high-
level dialogue and learning on the main needs and challenges
that face decision-makers. The project will address issues such
as infrastructure planning and delivery, as well as disseminate
knowledge and evaluation tools on infrastructure management, Private participation in infrastructure across regional
developed by the OECD network of infrastructure, PPP officials, groupings between 1992 and 2015
the World Bank and the GIH. Topics will be aligned with the Total investment commitments (in millions of USD)
OECD Framework on Infrastructure Governance, to include
infrastructure planning mechanisms, delivery choice, PPP Middle East
and North Africa
selection, transparency, and the disclosure of information on
public contracting
Sub-Saharan Africa
Through this initiative, infrastructure practitioners in Africa
will have an opportunity to share their experiences and work Europe
with experts from across the continent and around the world. and Central Asia
The first two roundtables to be in Africa in the 2nd half of 2017
(Cape Town and Abidjan), with practitioners from around the East Asia
continent invited to participate
Latin America
www.oecd.org/gov/the-oecd-framework-for-the-governance- and the Caribbean
of-infrastructure.htm
0 200,000 400,000 600,000 800,000 1,000,000 1,200,000

Note: The database covers only projects awarded in low- and middle-income
countries as classified by the World Bank.
Source: World Bank’s Private Participation in Infrastructure Database

INVESTMENT, TRADE AND CONNECTIVITY . 55

Promoting responsible
business conduct

Responsible business conduct (RBC) is an essential part The need to provide access to remedy for victims of adverse
of an open international investment climate. It involves impacts from business operations is recognised in all major
both the positive contribution that companies can make international instruments for responsible business conduct and
for sustainable development, avoiding adverse impacts is a key consideration in promoting sustainable supply chains.
and addressing them when they do occur. Within this The OECD Guidelines are the only international instrument
framework, the OECD is collaborating with African on responsible business conduct to include a non-judicial
governments to promote responsible mineral supply chains. grievance mechanism through the National Contact Points
(NCP). The dual mandate of NCP allows them to both provide
The governments of Burundi, the Democratic Republic of Congo advice and information to help enterprises understand and
(DRC), and Rwanda have integrated the OECD Due Diligence implement responsible business standards, and to provide
Guidance for Responsible Supply Chains of Minerals from a mechanism for stakeholders to submit complaints when
Conflict-Affected and High Risk Regions (OECD Minerals enterprises do not respect those standards.
Guidance) into their legal frameworks. The International
Conference on the Great Lakes Region (ICGLR) developed NCPs provide a mediation and conciliation platform for
a comprehensive approach to put an end to the predatory resolving issues that arise from the alleged non-observance of
use of natural resources, setting up a Regional Certification the Guidelines. Since 2000, over 400 submissions were made
Mechanism (RCM) for mining and trading of minerals from the to NCPs by NGOs, workers’ unions and individuals. As of April
region, designed to be consistent with the Guidance. Pursuant 2017, 57 closed cases involved impacts occurring in 19 countries
to United Nations Security Council calls, the OECD has been and territories from across Africa.
working with the Government of Côte d’Ivoire since 2014 to
support its efforts to regulate the domestic artisanal gold The OECD reiterates its commitment to partner with African
mining sector. governments to promote responsible sourcing of minerals and
other natural resources. Within this context, the OECD seeks
As part of the implementation programme, a biannual multi- to promote the alignment and capacity building of industry
stakeholder Forum meeting has been held each year, and is co- within the minerals sector with the OECD Minerals Guidance.
hosted by the OECD, the ICGLR, and the UN Group of Experts on The OECD also provides technical assistance to countries to
the DRC. It brings together the stakeholders that play an active create an enabling environment for the responsible sourcing of
role in the implementation programme. minerals in-line with OECD Guidance.

The OECD Minerals Guidance is widely considered by www.oecd.org/investment/toolkit/policyareas/

governments and the global private sector as the international responsiblebusinessconduct/
standard and benchmark for companies to use in order to carry
out due diligence and set up risk identification, assessment, and
management processes for supply chains from conflict-affected
and high-risk areas. The OECD Minerals Guidance is a tool that
promotes responsible engagement in high-risk regions within
Africa rather than disengagement.

56 . ACTIVE WITH AFRICA

 INVESTMENT & TRADE
Boosting tourism in Africa

Tourism plays an important economic role and offers strong A study is also underway to identify and promote the
potential to promote more inclusive growth in Africa. development of tourism clusters in Morocco, within the
Tourism represents an important source of income, jobs, framework of the OECD’s Morocco Country Programme.
export earnings and investment in countries like Egypt, Active tourism policies are required in Africa to leverage
Morocco and South Africa. tourism’s potential to support small businesses and
communities, as well as promote more inclusive economic
South Africa has experienced a surge in tourism since the growth and development. The OECD Tourism Committee is
country’s first democratic elections in 1994, and now represents a unique forum for multilateral co-operation, which aims to
one of the six pillars underpinning its economic growth strategy. strengthen the role of public policy and support the sustainable
As one of the world’s major emerging tourism economies, South economic growth of tourism through multidisciplinary action.
Africa joined Egypt as the second African Participant in the OECD The next edition of OECD Tourism Trends and Policies will
Tourism Committee in 2012, with Morocco following in 2016. The be published in early 2018, and will again involve countries
three countries play an active role in OECD Tourism Committee from the region. It will include a focus on megatrends and
activities, and contribute to the OECD’s flagship publication, sustainable tourism investment and financing.
OECD Tourism Trends and Policies 2016. The publication provides
an in-depth analysis of tourism trends and policy developments, www.oecd.org/industry/tourism
and analyses tourism data from 50 countries, including all OECD
members and emerging tourism economies.

SCAN TO
READ THE
REPORT

INVESTMENT, TRADE AND CONNECTIVITY . 57

Expanding capacity
in the steel industry

As part of their economic development plans, African Global excess capacity is putting pressure on local producers,
economies have been investing in new steelmaking resulting in heavy financial losses, bankruptcies, and localised
capacities. The OECD’s work on steel markets and policy job losses. The South African steel industry is going through
brings transparency and international dialogue to this a challenging period and a key concern is that the steel
critical industry segment. producing downturn will threaten the country’s national
development. South Africa has been actively involved in the
Africa accounts for a relatively small share of global crude excess capacity and other discussions taking place at the OECD
steel production (0.8%) and steelmaking capacity (1.5%) but Steel Committee since 2006, and through this co-operation has
steel production capacity in the region is expected to expand strengthened the process. Egypt also joined the Steel Committee
by around 10% between 2016 and 2019, with new investments in 2006 and industry associations representing steel producers
foreseen mainly in North African economies. The OECD from North African economies have also participated in several
monitors steelmaking capacity developments and publishes OECD Steel Committee meetings.
regular updates covering all regions in the world. South Africa
and Egypt, which participate in the OECD discussions on steel, In September 2016, G20 Leaders called for increased
are the largest steel producing economies in the region. information sharing and co-operation through the formation
of a Global Forum on Steel Excess Capacity (GFSEC), to be
Crude steel production by region facilitated by the OECD. The Global Forum was established in
Metric million tonnes, 2015 Berlin in December 2016. The GFSEC currently has 33 members,
including South Africa, which together account for more than
European Union (28) 90% of world steel production. The work of this Forum aims
Other regions 166.1
172.9 North America to promote more stability in steel markets around the globe
110.9 and help members develop effective steps to address excess
South America
43.9 capacity, for the benefit of all participants.

South Africa www.oecd.org/sti/ind/steel.htm

6.4

Africa 13.7

Egypt
5.5

Other African
Asia economies
1,112.9 1.8

Source: Steel Statistical Yearbook 2016, World Steel Association

58 . ACTIVE WITH AFRICA

 GOVERNANCE
PUBLIC
GOVERNANCE
AND RESOURCE
MOBILISATION
PUBLIC GOVERNANCE AND RESOURCE MOBILISATION . 59
Promoting public sector integrity
and good governance

The OECD partners with African countries to implement Tunisia has adopted a Code of Conduct for its public officials,
public sector reforms to unlock social and economic engaged in a dialogue with civil society to implement open
development meet citizens’ growing expectation to benefit government reforms and adopted an access to information
from quality public services, inclusive policy making and law. Morocco is enhancing its openness towards citizens and
transparency. civil society and reforming its local governance and it has
adhered to the OECD Recommendation on Digital Government
Through the framework of the MENA-OECD Governance Strategies. Egypt is developing a legislative drafting manual
Programme several North African countries (Egypt, Morocco, which will enhance the quality and transparency of policy
Tunisia) are supported in the reform of their public sectors to making processes. These reforms build more efficient, open and
strengthen open government policies, enhance public sector responsive public sectors to deliver quality services to citizens
integrity, create efficient local governments and reinforce the and businesses.
rule of law. In Morocco and Tunisia, the OECD is supporting the
implementation of the new Constitutions’ provisions which call www.oecd.org/mena/governance/
for transparency, citizen participation and integrity. In Egypt, a www.oecd.org/mena/governance/benchmarking-digital-
more efficient court system and improved legislative drafting government-strategies-in-mena-countries-9789264268012-
aims to improve the rule of law. en.htm
www.oecd.org/countries/tunisia/open-government-in-tunisia-
As a contribution to the second phase of the Multidimensional 9789264227118-en.htm
Country Review of Senegal, the OECD is reviewing the country’s www.oecd.org/fr/pays/maroc/renforcer-l-integrite-du-
Modernisation of the Public Administration agenda in the context secteur-public-au-maroc-9789264253612-fr.htm
of the Plan Sénégal Émergent. The objective is to formulate www.oecd.org/fr/pays/maroc/renforcer-l-integrite-du-
policy recommendations which will support the design of the secteur-public-au-maroc-9789264253612-fr.htm
governance component of the next phase of the plan.

In March 2017, the OECD contributed to the 1st annual

Methodology Forum of the African Peer Review Mechanism
(APRM). The OECD shared its experiences related to peer-
reviewed governance reviews and discussed relevant insights for
further fine-tuning the APRM’s methodological approaches.

North African countries continue to be engaged in cutting-

edge discussions on public sector reforms through the annual
meetings of the regional working groups of the MENA-OECD
Governance Programme as well as bilateral cooperation
providing best practices, policy advice and implementation
support in the fields of good governance.

60 . ACTIVE WITH AFRICA

 GOVERNANCE
Improving revenue collection
and fiscal management

Domestic resources are the largest and most important To date, TIWB assistance and TIWB-style support have led
source of financing for development. They are country- to over USD 192M of increased revenues for Africa. Host
owned and are more stable than external sources of finance. administrations also report increased confidence of their audit
Domestic resources are the best way to support long-term staff in performing tax audits of MNEs.
economic growth and poverty reduction. One limiting factor
in the ability of governments to raise tax revenues is lack of The first South-South TIWB programme between Kenya and
capacity. This might limit the amount of funds for education Botswana was launched in 2016, as co-operation between
and health-care, and fewer resources for investment in UNDP/OECD and ATAF is being expanded, to further promote
essential infrastructure, such as energy and transport. South-South co-operation under TIWB. A programme
commenced in Uganda in 2017 and incorporates a South
The Tax Inspectors Without Borders (TIWB) initiative, a African expert. New programmes are being planned for
joint OECD-UNDP initiative, facilitates peer-to-peer expert Cameroon, Cote D’Ivoire, Swaziland, the Republic of the Congo,
deployments, providing a hands-on approach to assistance Rwanda, and Zimbabwe.
on real tax audit cases focusing on international tax issues, .
transfer pricing and general audit practices. Depending on Monitoring progress on longer term impact of TIWB has been
country demand, assistance is delivered in key business sectors identified as critical and the TIWB Secretariat is developing
including the extractive, manufacturing, telecommunications improved measurement tools for this purpose.
and financial industries. TIWB assistance is also integrated in
OECD/African Tax Administration Forum (ATAF)/World Bank In 2016, the Secretariat produced a short video on the operation
Group (WBG) workshops on transfer pricing. African TIWB and impact of the Liberia TIWB programme.
programmes currently run in Botswana, Egypt, Ethiopia, Ghana,
Kenya, Lesotho, Liberia, Malawi, Nigeria, Senegal, Uganda, www.tiwb.org
Zambia, and Zimbabwe.

Eastern Europe
USD 1.5 million
(2016) Asia
USD 57.3 million
Cumulative increases in tax collection as a Latin America (2013-2016)
result of TIWB Programmes have totalled over and the Caribbean
USD 278 million Africa
USD 278 million, including: (2012-2014) USD 192.7 million
(2012-2014)

PUBLIC GOVERNANCE AND RESOURCE MOBILISATION . 61

Enhancing tax transparency
and compliance

Worldwide, countries and jurisdictions are working instance, Uganda has recovered USD 9 million from 20 requests
together to fight international tax evasion through in 2015.
improved international standards of transparency
and exchange of information under the umbrella of Based on the success of the first three years, a second phase of
the Global Forum on Transparency and Exchange of the Africa Initiative will be launched in the fourth quarter of
Information for Tax Purposes (Global Forum). The 2017 during the 10th Global Forum plenary meeting to be held
improvements in international tax transparency that in Cameroon. The focus of this new round will be to support
it has brought about will go a long way to providing African countries’ involvement in Automatic Exchange of
tax administrations everywhere with a much more Financial Account Information as well as the implementation of
comprehensive picture of the full spectrum of their beneficial ownership information requirements.
taxpayer’s international activities enabling them to
enforce their own tax laws and address public concerns The Pilot Africa Academy Programme for Tax and Financial
about the fairness and equity of the international tax Crime Investigation was launched in 2017 through the signing
system. of a Declaration of Intent between Germany, Italy, Kenya and
the OECD. This initiative, supported by the G7 Bari Declaration,
The OECD-hosted Global Forum has a strong relationship aims to provide demand-driven training to address the specific
with Africa, with a total of 26 African countries participating needs of African countries and build on Africa-wide experiences
in its work. Almost all African members have received or are and best practices in tackling illicit financial flows. The pilot
receiving technical assistance from the Global Forum in the programme will include two courses held over 2017 and 2018
implementation of the international standard of Exchange of and will cover all aspects of conducting and managing financial
Information (EOI) on request. The 16 countries that have already investigations, including complex money laundering and the
been assessed against the standard scored at least a Largely role of tax investigators, investigative techniques, identifying,
Compliant rating. freezing & recovering assets, managing international
investigations, as well as specialty topics such as VAT/GST
The Global Forum launched in 2014 its “Africa Initiative”, a fraud.
three-year programme aimed at ensuring that African countries
can seize the opportunities offered by improvements in global www.oecd.org/tax/transparency
tax transparency to enhance their revenue collection. The www.oecd.org/tax/crime/africa-academy-programme-for-tax-
first phase of the Initiative has been instrumental in providing and-financial-crime-investigation.htm
assistance to African countries in implementing EOIR standard
and putting in place an adequate organisation and processes to
request, answer and utilise the information received from their
treaty partners. Most African countries now have well-resourced
EOI units and 13 of them have signed the Convention on
Mutual Administrative Assistance in Tax Matters, which now
includes 112 participating jurisdictions. Some countries have
already recovered large amounts of taxes as a result of EOI. For

62 . ACTIVE WITH AFRICA

 GOVERNANCE
The Inclusive Framework on Base Erosion
and Profit Shifting

The Inclusive Framework on Base Erosion and Profit In practical terms, members of the Inclusive Framework on
Shifting (BEPS), which held its inaugural meeting in 2016 BEPS have joined the key OECD decision-making bodies in the
in Japan, allows all interested countries and jurisdictions area of international tax, the Committee of Fiscal Affairs (CFA)
to participate on an equal footing in all the work related to and its Working Parties (WPs). The participation of African
the implementation of the outcomes of the BEPS Project countries enriches the work of these bodies and ensures their
and the finalisation of the remaining technical work to views are taken into account. Through their participation
address BEPS challenges. African countries can significantly strengthen their tax
systems and global standing and train their officials. As part
The Inclusive Framework on BEPS represents a step-change in of a wider community of exchanges of practice, they can share
inclusivity for developing countries, from engagement through experiences with other countries.
(regional) consultations to an equal footing. One hundred and
two countries and jurisdictions (19 from Africa) now participate In November 2016, a Regional BEPS/Inclusive Framework
in the Inclusive Framework. These countries have committed Meeting for Francophone countries organised in Tunisia by
to the BEPS package and its consistent implementation. More the OECD in partnership with the Centre de Rencontres et
are expected to join in the coming months. South Africa, Egypt d’Etudes des Dirigeants des Administrations Fiscales (CREDAF)
and Nigeria are members of the Steering Group of the Inclusive brought together 56 delegates from 13 countries (Algeria, Benin,
Framework guiding the work and ensuring efficiency and Burkina Faso, Côte d’Ivoire, Democratic Republic of the Congo,
effectiveness. Senegal is a deputy chair of this group. France, Gabon, Guinea, Madagascar, Mauritania, Morocco,

L Seminar for Tax Administration Directors on transfer pricing problems within CREDAF member countries, 13 – 17 February 2017, Brazzaville, Republic of Congo.

PUBLIC GOVERNANCE AND RESOURCE MOBILISATION . 63

The Inclusive Framework on Base Erosion and Profit Shifting

Senegal and Tunisia). The OECD also supported the African Tax “Conscious that there can only be global
Administrations Forum (ATAF) Consultative Conference on the solutions to a global issue such as BEPS,
Inclusive Framework on 6 October 2016 in Durban, South Africa. we progressed towards a fairly balanced
The second Regional Meeting of the Inclusive Framework on geographic and economic diversity among
BEPS for Francophone countries, organised in partnership with the Inclusive Framework membership.
CREDAF and the Pôle Stratégies de développement et finances While we have recently welcomed our
publiques (a joint initiative of UNDP and France), took place in [96th] member, the goal is now to provide
July 2017 in Benin. The meeting was attended by 50 delegates all member countries and jurisdictions
representing 11 countries (Belgium, Benin, Burundi, Chad, Côte with tailor-made services including
d’Ivoire, France, Mauritania, Democratic Republic of Congo, capacity building initiatives, together with our partners among
Republic of Congo, Senegal and Togo). Among others, countries international and regional organisations.”
highlighted the need to raise the awareness of the political Mr Martin Kreienbaum, Chair of the Inclusive Framework
authorities at the highest level in order to successfully achieve
the timely implementation of the BEPS measures together with
the need to foresee appropriate deadlines for the implementation www.oecd.org/tax/beps
of the minimum standards by developing countries.

Total tax revenue as percentage of GDP, 1990-2014

OECD Average Tunisia Morocco South Africa LAC Average

% Senegal Mauritius Côte d'Ivoire Cameroon Rwanda
40

35

30

25

20

15

10

0
1990 1992 1994 1996 1998 2000 2002 2004 2006 2008 2010 2012 2014

Source: OECD, Revenue Statistics in Africa

64 . ACTIVE WITH AFRICA

 GOVERNANCE
Combating corruption

Corruption is detrimental to economic, political and social

development. It distorts markets, undermines productivity
and hampers sustainable economic growth. While sub-
Saharan Africa has become a commercially significant
market, bribery and corruption risks are deterring higher
rates of investment and companies’ ability to conduct
business fairly on a level playing field.

In 2016, the AfDB-OECD Joint Initiative to Support Business

Integrity and Anti-Bribery Efforts in Africa published the
Anti-Bribery Policy and Compliance Guidance for African
Companies. It serves as a practical, concise guide to help ensure
adequate measures are in place to prevent bribery and was a
product of fruitful cooperation between anti-bribery experts at
the OECD and the AfDB.

The Initiative aims to increase capacity for effective anti-

bribery enforcement, support international anti-bribery efforts,
enhance public and private sector integrity, and contribute
to transparent and accountable business conduct in Africa.
The Initiative builds on the global standards of anti-bribery
instruments such as the OECD Anti-Bribery Convention, of
which South Africa is currently the only African State Party.
The next Regional Expert Meeting of the Initiative will take
place at the end of 2017 and will be an opportunity to discuss
the Initiative’s future priorities in order to ensure continued
implementation of the Initiative’s Anti-Bribery and Business
Integrity Course of Action for Africa. Given the importance
of effective inter-agency and international cooperation in
corruption cases, the meeting will also include a session
dedicated to law enforcement authorities to strengthen their
ability to effectively investigate, prosecute and cooperate in
corruption cases. SCAN TO
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REPORT
www.oecd.org/corruption/oecdantibriberyconvention.htm
www.oecd.org/daf/anti-bribery/businessintegrityandanti-
briberyeffortsinafricaoecdafdbinitiative.htm

PUBLIC GOVERNANCE AND RESOURCE MOBILISATION . 65

Efficient public procurement
and budgeting

Implementing policies to make public spending more amended the draft project organic law on budget, set up
sustainable whilst expanding the quality of the public the National Council for standards of public accounts, and
services represents a pressing challenge for governments launched a series of capacity building activities for budget
worldwide. With a public sector under constant officials in all line ministries to enhance their capacities to
transformation, African states face ordeals to efficiently implement the Performance-Based Budgeting reform.
finance the delivery of basic services for its population.
Improving dialogue and mutual understanding between The OECD co-ordinates the Methodology on Assessing
service providers and finance officials is critical to ensuring Procurement Systems (MAPS), which a number of African
the fiscal sustainability of the system. countries have used as a basis for their public procurement
reforms. An updated edition of the MAPS will be available in late
The OECD supports African countries efforts to improve their 2017. The new edition targets all public procurement systems,
public financial management with country-focused support, regardless of income level or development stage. Senegal,
as well as regional networks such as the OECD Joint Network Zambia and the African Development Bank are among the
of Senior Budget and Health Officials. The Joint Network partners that contributed to the MAPS revision from an African
aims to identify and disseminate good practices in managing perspective, as part of the stakeholder group on the revision
healthcare budgets, alongside other policies that can ensure fiscal of the MAPS. Senegal was one of three countries to test the
sustainability. This Joint Network joined efforts with other key revised MAPS in early 2017, alongside Norway and Chile, and
international partners - the Collaborative Africa Budget Reform with support from the AfDB. Additional African countries have
Initiative (CABRI) and the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis expressed interest in conducting a MAPS assessment.
and Malaria - to strengthen engagement between national health
and budgetary officials in Africa. Within this context, the OECD The OECD has also worked with South Africa through the
has carried out a case study to analyse good practices and specific Centre for African Public Debt Management. The Centre was
challenges in health financing and budgeting practices for health established in 2011 as a joint South African and OECD initiative
in South Africa. This will be published in a forthcoming edition of to create stronger securities markets and to help build the
the OECD Journal on Budgeting. necessary market infrastructure in Africa. It focuses on sharing
best practices in public debt management and the development
In Tunisia, the OECD contributes to the ongoing reform of bond markets, enhancing the skill levels of debt managers
processes in public financial management and local governance. in Africa, and promoting the collection and dissemination
The OECD has provided hands-on practices and solutions based of public debt data and statistics. Since 2014, the Centre is
on the experience of similar reform efforts in OECD member managed by CABRI. It has been very successful in creating a
countries and supported Tunisia in integrating its strategic plan dedicated network of African debt managers and in supporting
into medium-term fiscal frameworks and the annual budget the development of sound practices for public debt in both sub-
process. The OECD’s analytical and implementation assistance Saharan Africa and North Africa.
helped Tunisia move towards a fully operational system of
performance-based budgeting, with mid-term budgeting www.oecd.org/gov/budgeting/
frameworks, and appropriate audit systems at the local level. sbonetworkonhealthexpenditures.htm
Based on OECD recommendations, the Tunisian government www.oecd.org/gov/public-procurement/methodology-
assessing-procurement/
66 . ACTIVE WITH AFRICA
 INNOVATION & GROWTH
LEVERAGING
INNOVATION FOR
GROWTH AND
DEVELOPMENT
LEVERAGING INNOVATION FOR GROWTH AND DEVELOPMENT . 67
Building a knowledge
economy

Seizing innovation’s potential and turning it into growth, An important new area of co-operation, under the OECD’s
jobs and improved health and well-being remains a Global Science Forum, is on achieving better co-ordination and
challenge for many countries, including in Africa. Policy more efficient exchange of science advice and data in crisis
makers need to foster a sound environment for innovation situations. For instance, the scientific assessment of the 2014
by investing in the foundations of a knowledge economy – Ebola pandemic in West Africa was seriously limited by access
such as research, education and knowledge infrastructure to essential data and information. This work, co-chaired by
– and addressing critical barriers to innovation South Africa, aims to develop a framework for international co-
operation, to facilitate better and more evidence-based policy
The OECD increasingly supports Africa’s efforts to build its choices.
innovation capacity. Through the Committee for Scientific and
Technological Policy (CSTP), which encourages co-operation www.oecd.org/sti/sci-tech/oecdglobalscienceforum.htm
in the field of science, technology and innovation to support
growth, job creation, sustainable development and improved
well-being, the OECD works closely with South Africa and also
co-operates with Egypt and Morocco. South Africa contributes
to the OECD’s Science, Technology and Innovation Outlook, which
monitors recent developments, informs on global patterns in
science, technology and innovation, and allows benchmarking
against peers in critical STI policy areas. South Africa, as well
as Morocco, signed the OECD Daejeon Declaration on Science,
Technology, and Innovation Policies for the Global and Digital
Age, joining the call for excellence in public research and
boosting the impact of science and technology.

Creating a knowledge economy requires strong co-ordination

across government policy areas and benefits heavily from cross-
country learning and sharing of policy experiences. Engaging
with Africa brings new perspectives to the table and allows a
broader debate about different policy approaches that can boost
innovation and bring opportunities for all members of society.
A good example is the OECD’s work on Innovation for Inclusive
Growth, where South Africa is a member of the Advisory
Group and has contributed case studies and policy insights of
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68 . ACTIVE WITH AFRICA

 INNOVATION & GROWTH
Harnessing the digital
transformation

The ongoing and pervasive digital transformation of Revolution (NPR), which hinges critically on usage of digital
economies and societies offers great potential for inclusive technologies, the OECD’s work programme offers African
growth. African nations should seize on their vibrant nations opportunities to engage on important digital policy
entrepreneurial spirit to boost uptake of new emerging issues.
technologies and harness them for well-being.
www.oecd.org/sti/goingdigital.htm
Infrastructure improvements and uptake are connecting an www.oecd.org/sti/ieconomy/Digital-Economy-Ministerial-
increasingly broad group of users in Africa to information and Declaration-2016.pdf
communication technologies (ICTs), offering connectivity to
previously un-served communities and boosting more inclusive
development. The OECD’s work on digital economy policy
underscores the importance of competition in communications
markets, stable regulatory frameworks and the provision of
public broadband access for boosting the broadband networks
that are the foundation of digital economies. The adherence of
Egypt to the OECD Cancún Declaration on the Digital Economy
signals the growing commitment of countries in Africa to use
the digital economy as a catalyst for innovation, growth and
social prosperity.

Africa has the potential to leap-frog over old generations of

technology, achieving efficiencies in production processes,
increasing access to international markets and providing real
opportunities for improvements in areas such as health and
financial inclusion. But rates of adoption and use of digital
technologies vary, raising concerns about the inclusiveness of
the transformation. The OECD can bring important evidence
to bear on the policy directions needed to address skills gaps
and trust issues, including through comprehensive toolkits
that provide a holistic view of the supply and demand issues
involved in expanding digital networks.

The OECD’s Going Digital new cross-cutting project on digital

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transformation aims to provide policy makers with a whole- READ THE
REPORT
of-government perspective to maximize the benefits of an
increasingly digitalised world and adequately address its
challenges. Along with follow-up work on the Next Production

LEVERAGING INNOVATION FOR GROWTH AND DEVELOPMENT . 69

Promoting productivity

Boosting the productivity of African firms is essential laggards, due to the lack of technology and knowledge diffusion,
to ensure their further integration into global and and the important implications it has for inclusiveness.
increasingly digitalised markets. The OECD is at the cutting
edge of productivity analysis and can offer insights to The OECD is open to engagement with African counterparts to
African policy makers looking to boost the productive share and extend its cross-country analysis of firm productivity
capacities of their economies. and dynamics. The OECD’s work programme on productivity is
strengthening, including through the work of the Global Forum
Productivity is fuelled by healthy firm dynamics, and relies on on Productivity (GFP). Following a focus on productivity and
a broad set of enabling conditions ranging from skilled human inclusive growth in 2016, in 2017 the spotlight turns to openness,
capital to the availability of finance for investment in knowledge- global value chains and productivity-enhancing policies. The
based assets, to the ability of firms to access and use emerging GFP brings together national and supra-national efforts, so as
productivity-enhancing ICT technologies. The challenge ahead to leverage country-specific experiences to the benefit of other
for Africa will be to put in place the enablers for its firms and countries and help answer critical questions about improving
people to innovate and thrive, and remove the barriers to their future prospects for productivity growth and innovation.
growth and success. The OECD’s analysis based on firm-level data
highlights how global frontier firms co-exist with productivity www.oecd.org/global-forum-productivity/

Photo © Dominic Chavez/World Bank

70 . ACTIVE WITH AFRICA

 ENVIRONMENT & ENERGY
ENVIRONMENT
AND ENERGY
ENVIRONMENT AND ENERGY . 71
Promoting green growth

The environmental risks faced by emerging and developing Africa highlights some challenges for green growth related to
countries today call for a fundamental shift in approaches waste, water management and sanitation services as well as
to growth and development. By integrating environmental energy supply in the country. As a follow up of to the 2013 OECD
considerations and the value of natural capital into Environmental Performance Review of South Africa, a workshop
economic decision making and development planning, on environmentally related taxes was also organised in South
green growth can help South Africa and other countries in Africa in March 2017.
Africa secure a stronger and more sustainable future.
An increasing number of developing countries have formulated
The OECD’s Green Growth Strategy, including its key publications and started to implement innovative policies to pursue green
Towards Green Growth, Towards Green Growth: Monitoring Progress growth, including in Africa. The context for green growth in
– OECD Indicators and Tools for Delivering on Green Growth, has Africa and other developing countries is different from that in
set out a comprehensive guide to encouraging green growth and OECD and emerging countries, as high poverty rates and the
measuring progress towards it. The OECD has mainstreamed need for accelerated development change the trade-offs between
green growth into its national and multinational surveillance environmental benefits and human welfare. Each country needs
exercises, including in the emerging and developing countries. to devise a strategy tailored to its own circumstances.

For example, OECD Economic Surveys of South Africa include The 2013 OECD report Putting Green Growth at the Heart of
a number of policy recommendations that can help South Development proposes an agenda to guide policy action in
Africa achieve greener growth. The 2017 Economic Survey of South support of green growth in developing countries. It examines

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72 . ACTIVE WITH AFRICA

 ENVIRONMENT & ENERGY
74 policies and measures from 37 developing countries and five South Africa and other countries from the Africa region are
regional initiatives. In the Development Assistance Committee invited to contribute information to the OECD Database on
(DAC) Network on Environment and Development work has Policy Instruments for the Environment (PINE).
been carried out on good practices in development cooperation
that supports developing countries’ efforts to make growth As part of the 2017 OECD Week in South Africa, the OECD
more green and inclusive. The 2014 OECD study on Green Secretary-General presented the G20 report ‘Investing in
Development Co-operation in Zambia illustrates the foundations Climate, Investing in Growth’ at an event hosted by the
of green growth in Zambia, one of the “frontrunners” in the Institute for Global Dialogue at the University of South Africa
green planning in Africa, and also provides an overview of green in Pretoria in July 2017. An academic event on the G20 was
development co-operation efforts in the country. organised with the Energy Research Centre of the University
of Cape Town with business, civil society, and academia
The Green Growth and Sustainable Development Forum representatives.
(GGSD Forum) will be held on 21-22 November 2017 at the
OECD headquarters in Paris. The focus of the 2017 Forum will www.oecd.org/greengrowth/ggsd-forum.htm
be on investment, innovation and employment aspects of the
fast-growing ocean-based industries, together with policies to
preserve and sustainably use marine and ocean resources and
ecosystems. These are relevant topics also to most of the African
countries, which are encouraged to participate in this event.

ENVIRONMENT AND ENERGY . 73

Combating climate change, biodiversity loss
and desertification

Climate change poses serious, wide-ranging risks that include policy practices on emerging climate change related issues
drought, floods, damage to coastal infrastructure, shifting between countries and thereby help many developing countries
patterns of infectious diseases and loss of biodiversity and integrate projected climate change impacts into their planning
food security. These risks disproportionately impact the poor for economic growth. These events have regularly benefitted
and developing countries, including in Africa. The OECD from insights on mitigation, adaptation and climate finance
is helping countries with policy analysis and guidance from many different African countries, and have helped identify
at the domestic and international level to prepare their areas of convergence between a wide range of countries active
mitigation and adaptation responses, to track private and in the international climate negotiations.
public climate financial flows and mainstream biodiversity Efforts to engage South Africa more actively in the OECD
concerns into development. environment related work include joint research by the OECD
and Trade & Industrial Policy Strategies (TIPS) in collaboration
Recent climate change adaptation work has analysed how to with the government to improve the measurement and
improve understanding of the impacts and liabilities, which can understanding of private climate finance flows in South Africa.
help countries to better manage their exposure to climate risks. A case study on publicly-mobilised private finance for climate
Improving water management is also one of the key priorities for action is planned to be published in the fall of 2017.
countries affected by droughts and desertification derived from
climate change. The OECD Principles on Water Governance, www.oecd.org/env/cc
adopted in June 2015 and already endorsed by South Africa, www.oecd.org/environment/resources/mainstream-
and a new OECD Council Recommendation on Water adopted biodiversity
in December 2016 provide useful frameworks for countries to
implement their water policy reforms. The latter captures main
OECD policy guidance on water.  The OECD also encourages
African countries to adhere to the Recommendation on Water.
Adherent countries will have access to an implementation toolkit
that can facilitate the implementation of the Recommendation.

An OECD Workshop on Biodiversity and Development in

February 2015 brought experts together to share experiences
and lessons learned on mainstreaming biodiversity into
sectors such as agriculture, forestry and fisheries.  Insights are
feeding into an on-going project that examines good practice in
biodiversity mainstreaming from a range of countries including
Ethiopia, Madagascar, South Africa and Uganda.
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The OECD/IEA Climate Change Expert Group (CCXG) and its
Global Forum on Environment events and seminars provide a
useful platform for policy dialogue to share analyses and best

74 . ACTIVE WITH AFRICA

 ENVIRONMENT & ENERGY
Strengthening chemical
and biological safety

The chemicals industry is one of the world’s largest industrial South Africa is also a regular Participant in the OECD’s Chemicals
sectors. As many of the same chemicals are produced in Committee and an active member of the Working Group on Good
more than one country or traded across countries, the Laboratory Practice (GLP). Furthermore, it has a well-established
OECD supports its Members and non-members, including strategy for addressing the emerging field of nanotechnology and
African countries, to avoid duplicated testing and share the nanoscience and participates actively in the OECD’s programme
burden of chemical assessments through the internationally on the safety of manufactured nanomaterials.
accepted OECD guidelines.
Kenya and South Africa have participated in the Global Forum
The OECD programme of Mutual Acceptance of Data (MAD) on Biotechnology. The OECD also collaborates with the New
in the Assessment of Chemicals is a multilateral agreement Partnership for Africa’s Development (NEPAD) African Biosafety
which saves governments and chemical producers at least Network of Expertise t (ABNE) to address the needs of the
EUR 150 million every year by allowing the results of non- region. This has enabled expert input from international
clinical safety tests done on chemicals and chemical products agricultural research centres into the drafting of science-
– such as industrial chemicals and pesticides – to be shared based documents which are used in the risk assessment of
across adhering countries. By participating in the OECD’s MAD genetically-engineered organisms.
programme since 2003, South Africa has created economic
opportunities for national laboratories, and removed potential www.oecd.org/env/testguidelines
trade barriers for chemicals produced in South Africa and www.oecd.org/env/ehs/biotrack
exported to adhering countries (OECD Members, as well as
Argentina, Brazil, India, Malaysia and Singapore).

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ENVIRONMENT AND ENERGY . 75

Ensuring reliable
and clean energy

The OECD promotes the use of clean energies to support The IEA’s 2014 energy policy review of Morocco was the first
a sustainable and environmentally friendly economic dedicated to a country in the Middle East and North Africa
development. The policy advice on energy market reform region. Earlier in 2016, the IEA published a report under its
of the OECD Policy Guidance for Investment in Clean Energy Partner Country Series setting out the findings of a pilot
Infrastructure offers manifold advice specifically for African study testing the IEA’s Clean Energy Technology Assessment
countries. Methodology (CETAM) in Morocco, one of only three countries
chosen for the case study.
The International Energy Agency (IEA) welcomed Morocco as
an Association Country on 14 November 2016, deepening the The IEA and Morocco plan to develop new joint programmes
partnership started in 2007. The announcement was made in under Association to support Morocco in its transition toward a
Marrakech, host city of the United Nations Conference of Parties low-carbon economy. Both parties are expected to cooperate in
(COP22) summit. areas including energy modelling, energy efficiency or capacity
building and training.
Morocco became the first African country to join the IEA’s
Association initiative aimed at opening its doors to emerging www.iea.org/newsroom/news/2016/november/morocco-
economies. Morocco is now the IEA’s sixth Association country, becomes-iea-association-country-a-first-for-the-middle-
joining China, India, Indonesia, Thailand, and Singapore. east-and-africa.html
The Association programme provides a platform for the IEA to
engage more extensively with partner countries including on
energy security, energy data and statistics, and energy policy
analysis. It also enables partner countries to participate in a
variety of activities, including IEA committees, and training and
capacity-building activities.

Morocco has abundant renewable energy resources, mainly

solar, wind and hydro-power, and is a regional leader in
deploying clean energy technologies. The government is
pursuing a policy of reducing its dependence on imported fossil
fuels and increasing the share of renewable energy in power
generation. It was also among the first countries of the Middle
East and North Africa to cut fossil fuel subsidies and introduce
energy efficiency measures.

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76 . ACTIVE WITH AFRICA

Annexes

ANNEXXES
TODAY’S OECD: BETTER POLICIES FOR BETTER LIVES ADHERENCE OF AFRICAN COUNTRIES TO OECD LEGAL INSTRUMENTS
The OECD is an intergovernmental organisation created to promote policies Convention on Mutual Administrative Assistance in Tax matters as amended
that will improve the economic and social well-being of people all over by the Protocol Amending the Convention on Mutual Administrative
the world. The OECD provides a forum in which governments can work Assistance in Tax Matters – Burkina Faso1, Cameroon, Gabon1, Ghana, Kenya1,
together to share experiences and seek solutions to common problems. Mauritius, Morocco1, Nigeria, Senegal, Seychelles, South Africa, Tunisia, Uganda
Governments of Member and Partner countries work with the Organisation
Convention on Combating Bribery of Foreign Public Officials in International
to understand the key drivers of economic, social and environmental change.
Business Transactions – South Africa
The OECD measures productivity and global flows of trade and investment, it
analyses and compares data to predict future trends, and it sets international Daejeon Declaration on Science, Technology and Innovation Policies for the
standards on a wide range of issues. Global and Digital Age – Morocco, South Africa
Decision of the Council on Conflicting Requirements being imposed on
GLOBAL RELATIONS Multinational Enterprises – Egypt, Morocco, Tunisia
Through its relationship building over the last 50 years, the OECD has Decision of the Council on International Investment Incentives and
transformed itself into a global organisation, with 35 Members from America, Disincentives – Egypt, Morocco, Tunisia
Europe, Asia, and Oceania, including developed and developing countries.
Since 2007, the OECD has identified Brazil, China, India, Indonesia and South Decision of the Council on the OECD Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises
Africa as “Key Partners” and has been co-operating substantially with these – Egypt, Morocco, Tunisia
countries. Colombia, Costa Rica and Lithuania are in the accession process Decision of the Council Revising the OECD Scheme for the Application of
towards OECD membership. The OECD’s global relations also cover regions of International Standards for Fruit and Vegetables – Kenya, Morocco, South Africa
strategic importance including South-East Asia, South-East Europe, Eurasia,
Decision of the Council Revising the OECD Schemes for the Varietal
the Middle East and North Africa, as well as Latin America and the Caribbean.
Certification or the Control of Seed Moving in International Trade – Egypt,
The OECD also hosts the secretariats of several international programmes
Kenya, Morocco, Senegal, South Africa, Tanzania, Tunisia, Uganda, Zimbabwe
such as the Financial Action Task Force on Money Laundering.
Decision of the Council establishing the OECD Scheme for the Certification
FAST FACTS of Forest Reproductive Material Moving in International Trade – Burkina Faso,
Kenya, Madagascar, Rwanda, Uganda
History: established in 1961
Decision of the Council concerning the Mutual Acceptance of Data in the
Headquarters: Paris, France
Assessment of Chemicals – South Africa
Membership: 35 countries
Decision-Recommendation of the Council on Compliance with Principles of
Key Partners: 5 countries (Brazil, China, India, Indonesia, South Africa) Good Laboratory Practice – South Africa
Accession: 3 countries (Colombia, Costa Rica, Lithuania) Declaration on Better Policies to Achieve a Productive, Sustainable and
Country Programmes: 3 countries (Kazakhstan, Morocco, Peru) Resilient Global Food System – South Africa

Regional Programmes: 5 Declaration for the Future of the Internet Economy (The Seoul Declaration) –
Egypt, Senegal
Secretary-General: Angel Gurría
Declaration on Automatic Exchange of Information in Tax Matters
Publications: 250 new titles per year – South Africa
Committees: Almost 300 Committees, Working Groups and Task Forces Declaration on Base Erosion and Profit Shifting – South Africa, Tunisia
Declaration on the Digital Economy: Innovation, Growth and Social
Prosperity (Cancún Declaration) – Egypt

ANNEXES . 77
Annexes

Declaration on International Science and Technology Co-operation for Recommendation of the Council on Member Country Exceptions to National
Sustainable Development – South Africa Treatment and National Treatment Related Measures in the Category of
Official Aids and Subsidies – Egypt, Morocco, Tunisia
Declaration on International Investment and Multinational Enterprises –
Egypt, Morocco, Tunisia Recommendation of the Council on Member Country Exceptions to National
Treatment and National Treatment Related Measures concerning the Services
Declaration on the Fight Against Foreign Bribery – vTowards a New Era of
Sector – Egypt, Morocco
Enforcement – Mozambique, Sao Tome and Principe, South Africa
Recommendation of the Council on Member Country Measures concerning
Declaration on Green Growth – Morocco, Tunisia
National Treatment of Foreign-Controlled Enterprises in OECD Member
Declaration on Propriety, Integrity and Transparency in the Conduct of Countries and Based on Considerations of Public Order and Essential Security
International Business and Finance – Morocco, Tunisia Interest – Egypt, Morocco, Tunisia
Istanbul Ministerial Declaration on Fostering the Growth of Innovative and Recommendation of the Council on Principles of Corporate Governance –
Internationally Competitive SMEs – Algeria, Egypt, Ghana, Kenya, Morocco, South Africa (endorsement through the G20)
Nigeria , Senegal, Tunisia
Recommendation of the Council on Tax Measures for Further Combating
Joint Declaration on the Security of Supply of Medical Radioisotopes – South Bribery of Foreign Public Officials in International Business Transactions –
Africa South Africa
Paris Declaration on Aid Effectiveness – Benin, Botswana, Burkina Faso, Recommendation of the Council for Further Combating Bribery of Foreign
Burundi, Cabo Verde, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Chad, Comoros, Côte Public Officials in International Business Transactions – South Africa
d’Ivoire, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Djibouti, Egypt, Ethiopia, Gabon,
Recommendation of the Council on the Governance of Critical Risks –
Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Kenya, Lesotho, , Madagascar, Malawi,
Morocco, Tunisia
Mali, Mauritania, Morocco, Mozambique, Namibia, Niger, Nigeria, Republic of
the Congo, Rwanda, Sao Tome and Principe, Senegal, Sierra Leone, South Africa, The Bologna Charter on SME Policies – Algeria, Egypt, Morocco, South Africa,
Sudan, Swaziland, Tanzania, Togo, Tunisia, Uganda, Zambia Tunisia
Recommendation of the Council concerning Member Country Exceptions Third Revised Decision of the Council concerning National Treatment – Egypt,
to National Treatment and National Treatment related Measures concerning Morocco, Tunisia
Investment by established Foreign-Controlled Enterprises – Egypt, Morocco,
1. Not yet ratified
Tunisia
Recommendation of the Council on Digital Government Strategies – Egypt, ON-GOING PARTICIPATION OF AFRICAN COUNTRIES IN OECD BODIES
Morocco AND OTHER PROJECTS
Recommendation of the Council on Due Diligence Guidance for Responsible OECD co-operation with African non-Members facilitates a greater
Supply Chains of Minerals from Conflict-Affected and High-Risk Areas – participation of these countries in the work of OECD bodies. In accordance
Morocco with the relevant OECD rules, “Associates” participate in OECD bodies,
including projects or the development or revision of OECD legal instruments,
Recommendation of the Council on the OECD Due Diligence Guidance for
for an open-ended period, with almost the same rights and obligations as
Responsible Supply Chains in the Garment and Footwear – Egypt, Morocco,
OECD Members. “Participants” take part in the work of in OECD bodies for an
Tunisia
open-ended period, except in discussions marked as confidential, but do not
Recommendation of the Council for Development Co-operation Actors on take part in bodies’ decision-making processes.
Managing the Risk of Corruption – South Africa
Competition Committee – EgyptP, South AfricaP
Recommendation of the Council on Member Country Exceptions to National
Committee on Consumer Policy – EgyptP
Treatment and Related Measures concerning Access to Local Bank Credit and
the Capital Market – Egypt, Morocco, Tunisia Committee for Scientific and Technological Policy – South AfricaP

78 . ACTIVE WITH AFRICA

Annexes

ANNEXXES
Committee on Statistics and Statistical Policy – South AfricaP PARTNERSHIPS IN OECD SELECTED KEY INITIATIVES
Committee on Digital Economic Policy – EgyptP ,South AfricaP Development Global Forum BEPS
Centre on TEI1 Project2
Committee on Fiscal Affairs – South Africa P
Algeria – – –
Investment Committee Freedom of Investment Roundtable – Egypt,A Angola – – ✓
Morocco,A Tunisia,A Benin – ✓ ✓
Investment Committee in enlarged session for work related to the Botswana – ✓ ✓
Declaration on international investment and Multinational Enterprises –
Burkina Faso – ✓ ✓
Burundi – – –
Egypt,A Morocco,A TunisiaA
Cabo Verde ✓ – –
International Transport Forum – MoroccoM Cameroon – ✓ ✓
Joint Meeting of the Chemicals Committee and the Working Party on
Central African Republic – – –
Chad – ✓ –
Chemicals, Pesticides and Biotechnology related to the Mutual Acceptance of
Comoros – – –
Data in the Assessment of Chemicals (MAD) – South AfricaA
Republic of Congo – – ✓
Joint Meeting of the Chemical Committee and the Working Party on Côte d’Ivoire ✓ ✓ ✓
Chemical, Pesticides and Biotechnology (non-MAD-related bodies) – South Democratic Republic
– – ✓
AfricaP of Congo
Djibouti – ✓ ✓
Joint Working Party on Agriculture and Trade – South AfricaP Egypt ✓ ✓ ✓
Local Economic and Employment Development Programme (LEED) – South Equatorial Guinea – – –
AfricaA Eritrea; Ethiopia – – –
Gabon – ✓ ✓
Public Governance Committee – EgyptP , MoroccoP, South AfricaP Gambia – – –
Regional Development Policy Committee – MoroccoP , South AfricaP Ghana ✓ ✓ –
Guinea – – –
Tourism Committee – EgyptP , MoroccoP, South AfricaP
Guinea-Bissau – – –
Steel Committee – EgyptP , South AfricaP Kenya – ✓ ✓
Lesotho – ✓ –
Working Party on Financial Statistics – South AfricaP
Liberia – ✓ ✓
Working Party on Private Pensions – South AfricaP Libya – – –
Madagascar – ✓ –
Working Group on Bribery in International Business Transactions – South
Malawi – – –
AfricaA
Mali – – –
M – Member, A – Associate, P – Participant Mauritania ✓ –
Mauritius ✓ ✓ ✓
Morocco ✓ ✓ –
Mozambique – – –
Namibia – – –
Niger – ✓ –
Nigeria – ✓ ✓
Rwanda – – –
Sao Tome and Principe – – –
Senegal ✓ ✓ ✓
Seychelles – ✓ ✓

ANNEXES . 79
Annexes

Development Global Forum BEPS The OECD Global Parliamentary Network serves as the Organisation’s primary
Centre on TEI1 Project2 vehicle for engagement with legislators in OECD and partner countries.
Sierra Leone – ✓
Somalia – – – African legislators are increasingly active in the Network, including through
South Africa ✓ ✓ ✓ collaboration with parliamentary networks and organisations active in the
South Sudan – – – region, such as the Parliamentary Network on the World Bank and the IMF
Sudan – – – and the Women Political Leaders Global Forum. Members of Parliament from
Swaziland – – – Algeria, Cameroon, Republic of Congo, Madagascar, Malawi, Morocco, Nigeria
Tanzania – ✓ – and Tunisia have participated in recent meetings.
Togo – ✓ –
Tunisia ✓ ✓ – The OECD Forum is the Organisation’s key annual multi-stakeholder
Uganda – ✓ – conference where policies and ideas are shared between governments,
Zambia – – – business, trade unions, civil society, academia and media. It is vital to the
Zimbabwe – – – OECD mandate to deliver better policies for better lives. It takes place each
1. Global forum on transparency and Exchange of Information for Tax Purposes year during OECD Week, overlapping with the main annual Ministerial
2. Project on Base Erosion and Profit Shifting meeting. The Forum is increasingly attended by representatives from
government and civil society in Africa.
DIALOGUE AND DATA
www.biac.org
The OECD reaches out to stakeholders in the business and labour community
www.tuac.org
and garners diverse perspectives in its policy dialogue through the Business
www.oecd.org/parliamentarians
and Industry Advisory Committee to the OECD and the Trade Union Advisory
www.oecd.org/forum
Committee to the OECD, as well as fostering increased participation of
elected officials through the OECD Global Parliamentary Network.

The Trade Union Advisory Committee to the OECD (TUAC) works closely
with the International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC) and the ITUC-Africa
to ensure that the voice of workers in non-OECD countries is heard. These
organisations contribute to the work undertaken by TUAC to prepare the
positions taken by Global Unions in the G20 and other forums. The Federation
of Unions of South Africa (FEDUSA) is an associate member of TUAC and
regularly attends its working groups. TUAC also works closely with the Trade
Union Development Co-operation Network (TUDCN) which convenes trade
union organizations from across Africa, including regional, sub-regional News and information about OECD work
and national organizations. Through TUAC, the TUDCN is able to intervene with Africa is available at
regularly at development policy debates at the OECD across different www.oecd.org/africa
directorates.

Business at OECD (BIAC) stands for policies that enable businesses of all sizes
to contribute to growth, economic development, and prosperity. BIAC offers
a unique channel for the private sector to engage with the OECD to improve
the enabling environment for businesses in and across developing markets, Discover reports, data and analysis about Africa and the Caribbean
and implement the Sustainable Development Goals. alongside the world’s leading economies on OECD iLibrary, the
global knowledge base – www.oecd-ilibrary.org

80 . ACTIVE WITH AFRICA

 The OECD: A Global Policy Network

EURASIA
ACTIVE WITH

November 2016

The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development The OECD Member countries are: Australia, Austria, Belgium,
(OECD) is an international organisation helping governments tackle Canada, Chile, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France,

Brochure design by baselinearts.co.uk

the economic, social and governance challenges of a globalised Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Japan, Korea, Latvia,
economy. It provides a setting where governments can compare Luxembourg, Mexico, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Poland,
policy experiences, seek answers to common problems, identify good Portugal, the Slovak Republic, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland,
practice and work to co-ordinate domestic and international policies. Turkey, the United Kingdom and the United States of America.
Global Relations Secretariat
OECD, 2 rue André Pascal
75775 Paris Cedex 16
France

www.oecd.org/globalrelations
www.oecd.org/africa
[email protected] October 2017