Pretoria - The 20th World Economic Forum (WEF) on Africa, which kicks off on Wednesday in Tanzania, needs to look beyond just the "talk" and come up with concrete implementation plans.
The forum is expected to bring together over 1000 participants from 85 African countries, including President Jacob Zuma.
Economic analysts, who spoke to BuaNews on the eve of the forum, said it should focus on the Millennium Development Goals among other things. They also hinted that the poor should be at the centre of the dialogue.
Azar Jammine, a chief economist at Econometrix, said the real challenge for African governments and its economies is to expedite infrastructure development and education.
"The critical issues is that Africa can use the opportunity of the commodity price doom to make a lot of progress economically but for this to be achieved they have to develop infrastructure and human capital resources faster than they have ever done before."
Dawie Roodt, an economist with the Efficient Group was of the view that the leaders should work together to eliminate the stigma that the African continent and its governments are weak, corrupt and incompetent.
"They do not necessary need to do more but they need to do what ever they are doing better."
Another factor that Roodt raised was that African governments needed to work together by encouraging cross border trade and labour.
However, both economists warned against the forum being another talk shop. Jammine and Roodt felt that the recommendations that often come out of these forums were difficult for African countries to implement because of the lack of leadership, political tensions and volatile markets.
"It might be another talk shop because the decisions that they take at the meetings are controlled more by what is happening on the international financial markets," Roodt said.
This year, the African edition of the big business jamboree is themed "Rethinking Africa's Growth Strategy."
But the WEF-Africa has taken a bold decision to rotate the forum, in alternating years, around the various regions of the continent.
In a break from WEF-Africa traditions, the forum is taking place in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania. In the last five years it has always been held in Cape Town and has drawn robust support from the South African government.
Regional expansion, growth opportunities, risk and education are key issues that will be high on the agenda, a statement from the WEF said.
The WEF on Africa, which is renowned for its informal style that engenders frank conversations among the most influential leaders with a stake in the region, will provide leaders with a platform for how they are facing up to the challenge and using the economic crisis as an opportunity to redesign a sustainable roadmap for Africa's future.
WEF discussions will also address how a more conducive business climate and regulatory reforms can encourage both local and international investments and most importantly, how can low-carbon, sustainable development plans be designed for Africa's economic drivers including its natural resources, agriculture and tourism.
South Africa, which will also be taking part in the talks, will among others things, highlight the importance of trade, industrialisation, agricultural development, infrastructure development and innovation, as key drivers for sustained economic growth.
The country, which is the economic powerhouse of Africa, leading the continent in industrial output and mineral production, will also promote and obtain support for Africa's regional economic integration agenda.
