Economic consolidation is a prerequisite for Africa to take its rightful place among the top global economies.

This was one of the central themes highlighted during the opening of the inaugural African Economic Expansion Summit, in Durban, on Tuesday.

In his opening address, Trade and Industry Deputy Minister Mzwandile Masina cautioned that fostering economic development on the African continent could not be limited to a single country.

He added that, while the African continent was widely regarded as undeveloped and seen to always be looking for aid, this was not necessarily the case. Africa not only held 60% of the world’s undeveloped arable land but was also the repository of significant mineral resources.

In light of this, he said, African governments were faced with the the task of developing their agricultural potential and persuading subsistence farmers to upscale their operations to become commercial operations. Fiscal policy that included preferential procurement was important.

On the industrialisation front, it was imperative for Africa to expand its factory sector for both local and international markets, Masina stated.

“Africa has been exporting jobs in the area of beneficiation and the manufacturing of finished products,” he noted, adding that it was important to retain natural assets within the African economy. People should not be "exported as commodities" but rather their skills should be harnessed to support the continent’s industrial base.

Further, infrastructure investment had to be anchored around boosting the African economy, he stressed. Rail, road and air linkages were particularly important for the continent.

He added that the South African government’s spending of billions of rands on infrastructure upgrades provided an opportunity for business to interact with the public sector to ensure that infrastructure development across the continent took place to develop intra-African trade.

Meanwhile, KwaZulu-Natal MEC for Economic Development, Tourism & Environmental Affairs Michael Mabuyakhulu told delegates at the summit that bold action was needed to change Africa, pointing out that a good starting point was the fact that African economies had been the least affected by the 2008 global economic downturn, with ten of the fastest-growing economies found in Africa over this period.

He, too, pointed to a myriad of challenges, highlighting that there was still conflict, unemployment and inequality across the continent.

Youth unemployment was his greatest concern. He said 133-million young people, or about 50% of the youth in Africa, were illiterate and those who did have some education frequently had irrelevant skills. As a result, a large portion of the African population was either unemployed or underemployed.

“A high level of youth unemployment does not bode well for the continent. This is cause for concern and we must do something. A crisis is brewing if an urgent solution is not found,” he asserted.

Mabuyakhulu said that, when it came to overall economic development, leaders had to realise that time was not on their side and that practical and pragmatic ideas that could mobilise society at large were needed. However, he cautioned that there could not be “economic growth for its own sake” and that the issue of ownership had to be dealt with so that African people did not become spectators.

Also addressing the issue of diversifying the continent’s overall economy, he said that much of it had been founded on a commodity boom. “But commodities have a limited life span and we need to beneficiate our raw materials,” he said, adding that it was important to eradicate unfair practices that saw raw materials procured in Africa sold back at three times the original price.

He stressed that adding value was fundamental to increasing exports over imports and narrowing the trade deficit.

Mabuyakhulu’s overall view was that it was only through intercontinental growth that African countries could develop comparative advantage and, in light of this, that progress towards developing a common market with a total gross domestic product of $60-trillion and access to over 60-million people was crucial.