Build value-added economies; Prez calls on African countries at German-African Economic Forum
The fifth German-African Economic Forum opened in Dortmund, Germany yesterday, with a call on African countries to build value-added industrialised economies, with modernised agriculture which takes full advantage of the digital revolution, to create jobs and prosperity for their people.
Describing Africa as a rich continent, if not the richest, President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, who made the call, said Africa had the world’s second fastest economic growth rate, the world's fastest-growing region for foreign direct investment and was in possession of nearly 30 per cent of the earth's remaining mineral resources, with a young, vibrant population.
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“Indeed, six of the world’s 10 fastest-growing economies in 2018 are in Africa. And, yet, the masses of the African people remain poor when we have no reason to be poor,” he added.
“In order to create prosperity for the African people, our first priority must be to change the structures of the economies on the continent, which are dependent largely on the production and export of raw materials. It is this reliance on raw material exports that feeds our dependence on foreign aid and subjects us to the politics of the West,” President Nana Akufo-Addo said.
The willingness of many African youth to cross the Sahara Desert on foot and drown in the Mediterranean Sea, in a desperate bid to reach the mirage of a better life in Europe, he said, should serve as a wake-up call for governments on the continent.
“Africa needs to transform stagnant, jobless economies, built on the export of raw materials and unrefined goods, to value-added economies that provide jobs to build strong middle-class societies and lift the masses of our people out of dire poverty. We can only do so if we participate in the global marketplace on the basis not of the export of raw materials but on the basis of things we make,” he added.
Second priority
The continent’s second priority, he said, should be to increase trade and investment co-operation, and not aid, as it was one of the ways healthy economic relations could be developed between Africa and Germany and, indeed, with the rest of the world.
“With Africa’s population set to reach some two billion people in 20 years’ time, there are immense opportunities to bring prosperity to Africa, and to Germany too, with hard work, enterprise and creativity. I urge German organisations and companies present to take advantage of this and enhance their trade relations with Africa,” the President said.
“The time to deepen German-African trade and investment is now. We must generate investments in agro-industry, the energy and power sectors and infrastructural development of Africa, capable of producing positive outcomes for the private sector, especially small and medium enterprises (SMEs), of Germany and Africa,” he added.
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Third strategy
Thirdly, President Akufo-Addo expressed the need for co-operation between Germany and Africa to ensure the promotion of transparent and inclusive policy and decision-making processes at the local, national, regional, continental and global levels.
In order for us to build an Africa that met the aspirations of the African people and opened up opportunities for all, especially its youth, he said, there was also the need for Africa to prioritise its budgetary arrangements to ensure that funds were available to strengthen key institutions of state, such as the Legislature, the Judiciary and fiscal institutions.
“It is important that we promote and develop a culture of accountable governance, free of corruption, whereby these institutions of state see themselves as independent public entities serving the wider public interest, not the temporary conveniences of governments of the day.
“We have a responsibility to make our countries attractive to our young people. They should feel they have a worthwhile future if they stay and help build their nations,” the President said.