Committee of Ten

Meeting of the C-10 Ministers and Governors in Washington DC, 10 April 2014

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The next meeting is tentatively scheduled for Yaoundé at the end of September 2014, with Cameroon as Chair.

Meeting of the C-10 Ministers and Governors in Washington DC, April 2013

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The next meeting is tentatively scheduled for Dar es Salaam at the end of October 2013, with Tanzania as Chair.

Meeting of the C-10 Ministers and Governors in Washington DC, April 2012

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The next meeting will be held in Algiers towards the end of 2012, with Algeria as Chair. Dates for the next meeting will be communicated to members in due course.

Meeting of the C-10 Ministers and Governors in Cairo, October 2011

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The next meeting will be held on the sidelines of the Spring Meeting in Washington D.C., with Egypt as Chair and the following meeting will be held in Algeria towards the end of 2012, with Algeria as Chair.

Meeting of the C-10 Ministers and Governors in Washington DC, October 2010

The fifth meeting of the C-10 Finance Ministers and Governors took place in Washington, DC on 6 October 2010, preceded by the second meeting of the C10 Deputies on October 5. The meeting in Washington followed the recent Korea-Africa Economic Cooperation (KOAFEC) ministerial meeting in Seoul. It was intended to help put development and Africa at the center of the agenda for the G20 Summit of 11 – 12 November in Seoul. The following topics were discussed: (i) Africa’s economic recovery; (ii) domestic resource mobilization; (iii) financing of sustainable energy solutions in Africa. Participants also endorsed conclusions of the paper on ‘Achieving Strong, Sustained, and Shared Growth in Africa in the Post-crisis Global Economy’ prepared for the recent KOAFEC Ministerial Conference.

In addition, the IMF governance reforms were discussed at the meeting, with the objective to enhance the Africa’s voice. In this context, participants noted the establishment of the G20 Working Group on Development and tasked South Africa to articulate Africa’s issues and concerns. They agreed that the number of African chairs on the IMF Board should be increased to ensure that Africa’s voice is adequately heard and to enhance legitimacy of the IMF and its standing in lower-income countries.

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The next meeting of the C-10 Ministers and Governors is scheduled to take place in Cairo in March 2011.

Meeting of the Deputies of the C-10 Governors and Ministers, Abidjan, May 2010

The first meeting of the C-10 Deputies took place on the sidelines of the African Development Bank (AfDB) Annual Meetings in Abidjan. The meeting was chaired by Ms. Mmakgoshi Phetla-Lekhethe, Deputy Director General of the International and Regional Economic Policy Division at the National Treasury, Ministry of Finance, South Africa. In addition to representatives from the C-10 Ministries of Finance and the Central Banks, representatives of the AfDB, the AUC, and the UNECA were present.

The purpose of the meeting was to: (i) discuss the update on the economic recovery, exit strategies from crisis intervention policies, and measures for sustained and inclusive growth; (ii) hear the chair’s report on developments since the February 2010 meeting in Cape Town regarding G-20 related activities; and (iii) determine the scope for, and focus of, Africa’s input for the G-20 Summit Meetings in Canada (June 2010) and the next C-10 meeting in Egypt (September 2010).  The AfDB, in cooperation with the UNECA and AUC, and in discussion with RMCs, will prepare background documents for the meeting.

Key conclusions 

• Africa’s rebound from the crisis has been faster and more robust than expected, but risks remain. The key one is a slower recovery in advanced economies, a concern that has been exacerbated by the recent debt turmoil in Europe.
• While there are substantial differences across countries, overall exits from expansionary policies should not be abrupt, but gradual and coordinated across countries and policies.
• Over the medium term, African countries need to restore macroeconomic stability. Supporting high and inclusive growth is the key policy priority.

Meeting of the C-10 Ministers and Governors in Cape Town, February 2010

In February 2010 the C-10 held its first meeting of the year in Cape Town, South Africa, Topics discussed included: (i) taking stock of the impact of the crisis; (ii) measures to support Africa’s recovery and medium term growth; (iii) matters arising from the G20 work plan; (iv) financial issues arising from the Copenhagen Climate Change Summit; and (v) the way forward.

Key Outcomes

In addition to IFI reforms and exit strategies from the expansionary policies undertaken in a number of countries during the crisis, the C-10 members identified the following priority areas going forward:

• Providing Africa’s perspective into debates on the revised banking and financial regulatory standards prepared by the Basel Committee to ensure that their impact on the continent’s financial markets and development is taken into account.
• Finding innovative financial resources for adaptation to and mitigation of the climate change in Africa.

On the organizational side, the C-10 Governors and Ministers agreed to meet formally twice a year; next meeting was set for Egypt in September 2010. They also agreed that Deputies of the C-10 Ministers and Governors would meet in the margins of other events or before the C-10 meetings. South Africa would chair the Committee during 2010, with Egypt as vice chair. Finally, the African Development Bank was entrusted to provide the Secretariat for the C10, with assistance from the ECA and AUC. Read More

Meeting in Abuja, Nigeria, 14 July, 2009

At the invitation of the Nigerian Federal Minister of Finance, Dr. Mansur Muhtar, the Committee of Ten met for its third session in Abuja on 14 July 2009, under the auspices of the African Development Bank, the Economic Commission for Africa (ECA) and the African Union Commission (AUC). 

The meeting was opened by VP Goodluck Jonathan, with inputs from Minister Muhtar, ECA & AUC heads of Delegation and AfDB President Kaberuka.

It reviewed the latest information pertaining to the impact of the crisis on Africa, to take stock of recent internal and international developments, and to agree African perspectives to be fed into the global discussions, in particular those leading up to the next G20 Leaders Summit in Pittsburgh on 26 September 2009.

The full effects of the global slowdown remain uncertain and vary from country to country, yet the impact on African countries, although initially limited had become, in some cases severe, for example countries dependent on mineral products such as diamond and copper. Growth is still contracting in all regions and the onset and pace of African recovery is likely to lag substantially behind global recovery. The crisis therefore presents a major challenge as to how to implement short term responses to the crisis while staying focused on long term sustainability. 

The committee considered some of the key developments since the G20 Summit in April 2009, including by assessing the extent to which African economies have benefited from the implementation of commitments made in London and subsequent international developments engagements. 

On the basis of this assessment, it identified a set of key messages to input processes leading up to and at the Pittsburgh G20 Summit. Read more

Meeting in Dar Es Salaam, Tanzania, March 2009

The Committee regrouped on the margins of the IMF Conference in Dar Es Salaam, to prepare a submission to the G 20 Meeting documented in a report titled ‘Impact of the Crisis on African Economies – Sustaining Growth and Poverty Reduction: African Perspectives and Recommendations to the G20’. This report was presented to the British Prime Minister Gordon. Mr. Brown host of the G20 Summit in London in April 2009 and supported the inputs made by the NEPAD delegation participating in the Summit. Some of its recommendations, for instance the sale of IMF gold and issuing of Special Drawing Rights to support emerging and low-income economies were incorporated in the Communiqué of the London G20. Read more

Meeting in Cape Town, South Africa, January 2009

The Committee first met in Cape Town in January 2009. It stressed the importance of mobilizing G20 members to support a strong African participation in the London Summit. Read more