Emergent Senegal Plan, Emergent Gabon Plan, National Development Plan in Ivory Coast, several African governments have launched strategic development programs called « Emerging Plan » for most or « development plan » for others to put up structural projects with high added value. The ambition of the States, through the implementation of such plans is to promote economic growth with strong impact on human development.
Thus, these plans are the repositories of the economic and social policy of the countries. They must carry on a long-term, well beyond a political mandate. Yet with every change of political regime, we are witnessing the development of a new plan or a new strategy. The ongoing projects under the previous plan are left without result at the expense of time and resources used for their preparation. It is a « perpetual renewal. » Thus, it is important, in my humble opinion, to rethink the development of our emerging model planes:
The design of the plan – must, no doubt, ensure that the design of the plan is carried out by competent experts with a proven reputation. In this case, international expertise can sometimes be a good remedy. That said, it is imperative to combine it with local expertise with specialists who have a good command of economic and social context of the country.
Promotion Plan
– Promotion of the plan is a serious matter in the sense that the mobilization of resources for its implementation depends on how it is sold. The authorities in charge of promoting the plan must be trained in professional communication techniques and strategies around it.
The selection of new projects to be implemented – It is important to select and define the key projects to be implemented. We must ensure that these projects are economically viable and will contribute to improving the living conditions of populations.
The continuity of ongoing projects – Carry out ongoing projects implemented by the previous power is essential in a context of good governance and continuity of the State. That said, we must separate public and private projects in terms of preparation, structure and obligations as donors and private operators are attracted differently.
The mobilization of resources for the implementation of the plan – it should be targeted and well organized. Regarding donors, they must propose structural projects capable of increasing productivity of production factors contributing to the economic growth of the country and, above all, the people. To do this, the creation of an advisory group can be crucial to mobilize all actors around the consensual funding priorities. In terms of private projects ,it is their preparation that makes the difference. Hence the importance of consulting.
The local private sector -We must take into account the private stakeholders in implementing the plan from the conceptualization phase with the support of local expertise, as mentioned above, to promote the local private sector by encouraging participation in the preparation of structuring projects.
Managing expectations – The plan should have short, medium and long term objectives and meet specific expectations based on the needs of the country. Thus, the plan should have short-term goals for the lives of people; medium-term objectives for the country’s economy; and long-term, broad vision with targets for the future generations.
Institutional follow-up plan – The establishment of a monitoring office is imperative, provided it has some independence and that its recommendations have a weight. The observation made in some countries is that monitoring offices are obscured by other agencies and stronger institutions.
Anything mentioned thus allow the countries:
- To provide political, economic and social vision in the medium and long term regardless of the change of the government.
- To establish a strong governance and strong institutions.
- To implement flagship projects (energy, infrastructure, etc.) to improve the living conditions of the populations.
Ultimately, emerging plans are to be encouraged throughout Africa. That said, policy must be flexible both in the conceptualization of the plans and their implementation. The plans must be developed in the long term, well beyond a mandate with a main objective of improving the living conditions of citizens.
By Ibrahima Cheikh Diong, founder and CEO of Pan Africa Consulting firm and Trading (ACT) based in Dakar, Senegal.
