Integration and development will certainly be hard knots to crack for Dr. Carlos Lopes.
The United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (ECA) now has a new Under Secretary-General and Executive Secretary. Dr Carlos Lopes is the man in place following the retirement of Abdoulie Janneh at the end of August 2012 after seven years at ECA. According to an ECA press release, Lopes has been serving as Director of the United Nations System Staff College (UNSSC) at the level of Assistant Secretary-General and Executive Director of the United Nations Institute for Training and Research (UNITAR) since 2007. He previously served as UN Assistant-Secretary-General and Director for Political Affairs in the Executive Office of the Secretary-General.
Analysts say taking over from Abdoulie Janneh whose thoughts and actions during his stay in office centred on regional integration, partnerships and sustainable development, Dr. Carlos Lopes must redouble efforts to fight on and break new ground. Janneh’s commitments to partnership, his revival of a joint ECA/African Union/AfDB Secretariat and transforming the Regional Coordination Mechanism (RCM) from a mere consultative forum into a coordination mechanism reportedly won for him admiration from within and without the structure. “Under your leadership, ECA has issued topical, relevant publications and analytical products on timely issues and given voice to Africa’s aspirations on the global financial crisis, the food and fuel price increase, as well as on climate change,” Lamin Barrow, Resident Representative African Development said of Abdoulie Janneh in a recent sendoff ceremony in Addis Ababa.
Africa’s infrastructure, international trade, African integration, mineral resources, economic growth, governance and globalisation are some of the areas staff of ECA have written on and which seem to be challenges worth surmounting for the new Under Secretary-General and Executive Secretary. With his wealth of experience as researcher on development issues, Dr Lopes is said to be worth the job. Specialised in development and strategic planning, he has authored or edited 22 books and taught at Universities and academic institutions in Lisbon, Coimbra, Zurich, Uppsala, Mexico, São Paulo and Rio de Janeiro.
