Improved competitiveness needed in Africa- Mboweni

And to address this challenge BuaNews reported, African countries need to create the right conditions for high economic growth and they must also ensure that the achieved growth is equitably distributed to the poor.

Mr Mboweni was addressing black accountants at a Convention in Durban on Friday.

'This challenge can only be overcome if there is a concerted joint effort by all stakeholders, namely government, business, labour and civil society,' the Reserve Bank governor said.

He told delegates that globalization brought in its wake the urgent need to be highly competitive.

The convention was held under the theme 'Promoting Good Governance, Transparency and Independence for Sustainable Growth.'

Commenting on the impact of globalization on the African continent, Mr Mboweni advised governments to foster market-friendly policies in order to stimulate competition and economic transformation and to ultimately deal with the challenges brought by competitiveness.

'Africa's success is dependent on sound, transparent, acceptable and accountable policies. And world-class best practice and performance are expected from African governments and central banks.'

Mr Mboweni identified HIV/AIDS among others, as a critical challenge for sustainable economic development.

'HIV/AIDS threatens the competitiveness of Sub-Saharan Africa. According to the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS), approximately 3.5 million Africans became infected in 2001, bringing the total number of adults and children living with HIV/AIDS in the region to 28.5 million.'

Meanwhile, Mr Mboweni said African countries should use new cellular technologies and make access to the Internet easier and cheaper in order to improve their competitiveness.