"Stop worshiping Politicians"

The Chief Executive Officer of the Chamber of Bulk Oil Distributors (CBOD), Mr Senyo Hosi has charged African citizens to stop worshipping politicians.

He has encouraged them to rather focus on demanding for accountability and true service.

Speaking at the 2018 African Development and Investment Convention (ADIC) on the topic “Africa Rising- Lacing Politics, Industry and True Partnership for Sustainable Development”, in Zurich, Switzerland, Mr Hosi said the eagerness to flaunt political power was too common a sight in Africa, adding that it was despairing in the quest for an industrial Africa.

“The worship of politicians must stop and the demand for accountability and true service must rise in Africa, especially from its middle class.

“Politicians must realise that public service is not a Chiefdom. Electorates do not queue in the scorching sun to vote them into power to be lorded over.

“The electorate or the citizen risk so much to cast their ballot because they need to be served, their common interests placed above individual, parochial or partisan interests,” he continued.

He noted that the biggest hindrance of Africa was its weak policymaking and weak institutions, which were also superintended by poor leadership.

Mr Hosi said Africa needed strong and effective institutions to attract the needed capital to spur its industrialisation and not the current trend of excessive politicisation and tribalisation of institutions.

Investment Flow
He also indicated that the desired investment flow to Africa was hindered by the short-term view investors hold for Africa due to political risks and from the politicisation of institutions such as central banks, regulators and state-owned enterprises.

“These weaknesses translate into the inconsistency and arbitrariness of policy, infringements on the sanctity of contracts and distortion of markets.

“It is no wonder that only one African country – Mauritius – has been ranked in the top 50 most competitive countries in the world out of 137 countries according to the World Economic Forum (2017-2018) and just about ten in the top 100”, he added.

Mr Hosi noted that Africa’s openness to do business has also not been any prettier, adding that, “out of 190 countries usually ranked on the World Bank's Ease of Doing Business Report, Africa performs sub-optimally. In the 2018 report, Africa has only one nation ranking amongst the top 50 and just seven countries in the top 100.”