KWAZULU-NATAL economic development MEC Mike Mabuyakhulu has appealed to all Africans to "make compromises" and preserve jobs in these recessionary times.

"As a country and as a province we all have to come up with a road map to mitigate the effect of this economic situation and ultimately address the challenges brought about by the recession," he told delegates at the 11th African Renaissance Festival Conference in Durban yesterday.

"All of us will be required to make compromises in the interests of our country and our economy," Mabuyakhulu said.

He said economists predicted that the global crisis would be felt most severely in developing countries.

"It therefore becomes the duty of all African countries to act collectively to mitigate the effect of this economic contraction and to come up with innovative means to deal with the situation."

He said given the inter-connectedness of the world, people had to decide what "we can collectively do to ensure that we reduce the effect of this economic turbulence on our African economies.

"Put differently, what effect will this tectonic shift on planet finance have on us as an emerging market?" he asked.

Mabuyakhulu said because Africa relied heavily on foreign direct investment the continent had been very hard hit.