* I  *  *  Introduction  The Ministerial Round Table discussion this morning has articulated the key issues faced by African economies in the context of the global financial crisis and global recession. These discussions have provided a springboard for further reflections on the effects of the global crisis onto our economies.
The global economic and financial crisis threatens to affect the key drivers (i.e. technology, capital and labor) of sustained economic growth via depressed prices of and demand for primary commodities and lower than anticipated foreign capital inflows and foreign direct investment (FDI).