The Vice
President of Ghana, Dr Mahamudu Bawumia has said it is time for Africa to
change the narrative of poverty and underdevelopment that has been fostered on
the continent.
According to the
Vice President, Africa has every single resource needed to become a global
superpower once its leaders find ways to unlock that potential.
Dr Bawumia made
these remarks whilst addressing the Africa Prosperity Dialogue currently
ongoing at Safari Valley in the Eastern Region of Ghana.
“The time has
come for Africa and Africans to define our own narrative. We cannot allow
poverty and underdevelopment to be the destiny of Africa, a continent so
blessed with every natural resource imaginable – oil, gas, minerals, and
sunshine,” Ghana’s Vice President said.
“We have
approximately 65% of all available arable land available to feed 9 billion
people globally by 2050 and we are home to the most youthful population in the
world. We have everything we need to transform Africa into a global powerhouse
of the future,” Bawumia said the crux of the matter is that African nations
trade so little between themselves, despite collectively controlling a
significant enough portion of the world market to create a truly powerful bloc.
He pointed out
that Africa only accounts for about three per cent of global trade and
intra-African trade is one of the lowest of any region globally, attributing it
to what he described as largely “colonial” economic models characterised by
small individual economies, fragmented and disconnected regional markets,
over-reliance and low productive capacities that we have practised for 60
years.
Bawumia said the
African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) is the solution to this and its
successful implementation would lead to Africa fulfilling its potential.
LET YOUR KIDS FALL
IN LOVE WITH SCIENCE
“As growing
economies, we often struggle to attract much-needed investments. However, with
the collaborated strength from all 55 Member States, we have a population of
1.2 billion, the majority of whom are young, and a GDP of US$ 2.5 trillion,
making Africa the eighth (8th) largest economy in the world. With the right
investment, we will be able to sustain economic growth and create the job
opportunities that the continent desperately needs,” he said.
Bawumia called
AfCFTA a real game-changer that once fully realised “…can increase
intra-African trade by some US$ 35 billion and reduce external imports by some
US$ 10 billion annually.
“This will mean
more opportunities for growth for our small businesses and the potential to
lift more than three million people out of poverty.”
LET YOUR KIDS FALL
IN LOVE WITH SCIENCE
Speaking
further, Bawumia outlined critical areas African countries need to upgrade in
to take full advantage of this new era of trade, including investments in his
beloved ‘digital’ sector.
“As a continent,
we need to produce and trade our way out of poverty and underdevelopment, and
we cannot do that without investing in smart infrastructure across the
continent. While the last decades have seen some positive investments, there is
the need for additional resources to finance the ‘arteries for trade’, which
include the physical infrastructure such as roads, rail, and energy; digital
infrastructure such as data centres to facilitate the digital transformation
and financial infrastructure to allow for integrated financial markets.
“These investments
will be critical to delivering the success of the AfCFTA… We must create
platforms for knowledge brokerage and access to information on critical
products and services on the continent to allow 445 million small businesses
across the continent to plug into the value chains of these mega industries.”
Dr Bawumia added.
The Africa
Prosperity Dialogues is organised by the Africa Prosperity Network, founded by
Ghanaian legal luminary, Gabby Otcher-Darko.
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