Statement by Mr. Claver Gatete at the 49th Ordinary Session of the Executive Council of the African Union

49TH ORDINARY SESSION OF THE EXECUTIVE COUNCIL OF THE AFRICAN UNION

Theme:

"Assuring Sustainable Water Availability and Safe Sanitation Systems to Achieve the Goals of Agenda 2063"

Statement

By

Mr. Claver Gatete

United Nations Under-Secretary-General and

Executive Secretary of ECA

Addis Ababa, Ethiopia

28 July 2026

H.E. Edouard Bizimana, Minister of Foreign Affairs, Regional Integration and Development Cooperation of the Republic of Burundi & Chairperson of the Executive Council;

H.E. Mahmoud Ali Youssouf, Chairperson of the African Union Commission;

H.E. Dr. Gedion Timothewos, Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia;

Honourable Ministers;

Esteemed Partners and Colleagues;

Ladies and Gentlemen:

It is an honour to address this 49th Ordinary Session of the Executive Council of the African Union.

I thank the Government and people of the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia for their continued warm hospitality and enduring commitment to African unity, multilateralism and continental development.

I also commend the Chairperson of the Executive Council, the Chairperson of the African Union Commission, and all those whose efforts have made this Session possible.

I am particularly encouraged that this Council is considering implementation of the African Union Theme of the Year 2026: "Assuring Sustainable Water Availability and Safe Sanitation Systems to Achieve the Goals of Agenda 2063."

But allow me to first reflect on the world situation.

Indeed, Excellencies,

We are convening at a time of considerable global uncertainty. Growth remains subdued and uneven.

Trade tensions, geopolitical fragmentation, conflicts (including the conflict in the Middle East), climate shocks, declining development finance and high debt-servicing costs continue to impact investment and development prospects.

Although inflation has eased in many economies, the cost of food, energy and finance remains persistently high.

Given the present realities, it is clear that Africa cannot rely indefinitely on external financing to transform its economies.

Africa must finance more of its development from within.

This is why ECA continues to promote domestic resource mobilization as the foundation of Africa's economic transformation.

We are helping Member States to strengthen tax administration, digitize revenue systems, combat illicit financial flows, deepen domestic capital markets, mobilize innovative financing, and build stronger fiscal institutions to finance industrial development.

In view of this, we are also supporting the African Development Bank's New Africa Financial Architecture for Development which aims to keep African savings and investment on the continent while mobilizing long-term finance for infrastructure, industrialization and innovation.

Yes, resources matter, but so does how we deploy them.

For Africa, the implications are unmistakable.

The challenges confronting our continent do not occur in isolation; they reinforce one another, amplifying their impact across economies, societies and ecosystems.

Our response therefore must be as integrated as the challenges themselves.

We need to accelerate structural transformation, advance industrialisation, expand productive capacities, deepen regional integration and mobilize resources at the scale required to deliver both the Sustainable Development Goals and Africa's Agenda 2063.

This is why the 2026 theme matters so profoundly.

Water is the foundation of sustainable development. It sustains agriculture, powers energy systems, supports industry, protects public health, enables resilient cities and strengthens our capacity to adapt to climate change.

When water systems fail, food systems, health systems, industries and communities all suffer.

Today, more than 400 million Africans still lack access to basic drinking water, while over 700 million people remain without safely managed sanitation.

These deficits undermine health, productivity, food security and human dignity, while slowing progress towards Agenda 2063.

Excellencies,

Water sits at the centre of every major development challenge confronting Africa today.

For instance, Agriculture continues to sustain millions of livelihoods and remains the backbone of many African economies.

And yet rainfall is becoming less predictable with climate-related shocks already reducing agricultural productivity and costing some African economies as much as 5% of GDP each year.

Urbanization is accelerating, but so too is the demand for productive jobs, resilient infrastructure and essential services - particularly reliable water supply and safe sanitation, without which cities cannot become engines of inclusive growth.

Every year, approximately 15 million young Africans enter the labour market. Creating productive employment for them requires a renewed commitment to industrialization.

It is through industrialization that we create productive jobs, build competitive value chains and transform demographic growth into shared prosperity.

But industrialization cannot succeed without reliable energy, secure access to water, efficient transport and logistics, and the beneficiation of Africa's abundant natural resources through competitive regional value chains.

The same is true of Africa's digital future. Artificial intelligence, modern data systems and digital infrastructure all depend on abundant, reliable and affordable electricity.

And it is not right that about 600 million Africans still lack access to electricity, constraining productivity and competitiveness.

None of these development priorities can be realised without sustainable water security.

Water is the common thread that underpins agriculture, energy, industrial production, resilient cities and the digital economy.

The integrated solutions approach, in this regard, is therefore non-negotiable.

Excellencies,

The encouraging news is that Africa enters this period with significant advantages.

We have abundant renewable energy resources, the world's youngest population, a growing market of more than 1.5 billion people under the African Continental Free Trade Area, and many of the strategic minerals required for the global energy transition.

The challenge, however, is to convert that potential into inclusive prosperity that reaches every African through value addition, integrated markets and resilient economies.

Excellencies, Distinguished Ladies and Gentlemen,

The progress we seek will not unfold on its own.

It demands deliberate policies, strategic investments and collective action.

Allow me to offer four priorities for our consideration.

First, we must embrace integrated planning across water, agriculture, energy, climate, industry and urban development.

The Water-Energy-Food-Ecosystems nexus should guide policy, investment and implementation because our development challenges are interconnected and our responses must be equally interconnected.

Second, we must mobilize finance more effectively.

Sustainable development cannot be built on unsustainable financing.

It requires stronger domestic resource mobilization, innovative financing instruments, sound public financial management, and stronger domestic and regional capital markets.

These should expand local-currency financing, mobilize pension and insurance assets, and develop bankable project pipelines so that African savings can finance Africa's own transformation.

Africa still collects only about 16% of GDP in tax revenue, compared with an OECD average of around 34%, while losing close to US$90 billion annually through illicit financial flows.

This must change.

We cannot continue to lose with one hand what we seek to mobilize with the other.

Every dollar lost through illicit financial flows is a dollar unavailable for water, infrastructure, education and industrial transformation.

Third, we must implement the African Continental Free Trade Area at greater speed to build competitive regional value chains and increase trade in value-added products.

This means advancing agro-processing, renewable energy technologies, critical minerals beneficiation, manufacturing and modern services.

If fully implemented, the AfCFTA could boost intra-African trade by 45% in 2045, creating productive employment for the millions of young Africans across the continent.

And fourth, we must invest in resilience through stronger data systems, digital infrastructure, climate services, institutions and human capital.

Expanding digital infrastructure will improve planning, early warning systems, public service delivery and economic productivity.

Resilience is not simply about responding to shocks. It is about building economies capable of anticipating, absorbing and transforming through them

Excellencies,

Africa's future depends not on pursuing isolated priorities, but on connecting water security, industrialization, climate action, finance and regional integration into a single development agenda.

As Ethiopia prepares to host COP32 in Addis Ababa in 2027, Africa has a unique opportunity to demonstrate that climate ambition must be matched by implementation and supported by finance that is accessible, predictable and affordable, and translated into practical solutions that advance our continent's development priorities.

The Economic Commission for Africa remains steadfast in its commitment to support the African Union, Member States and all our partners with evidence-based policy advice, technical expertise and strategic partnerships to accelerate the implementation of Agenda 2063 and the Sustainable Development Goals.

I thank you very much for your kind attention.