By Francis Ntow
Accra, Jan. 25, GNA – Mr Silver Ojakol, Chief of Staff, African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) Secretariat has challenged business and political leaders to be intentional in utilising the Continent’s vast natural resources for development.
He stated that for the past years, Africa’s resources had powered global development to the detriment of the continent and its people, and asked business and political leaders to change the narrative through AfCFTA.
He said this at a press briefing in Accra, ahead of the 2024 Africa Prosperity Dialogues scheduled for January 25 to 27 at Aburi in the Eastern Region.
The Africa Prosperity Dialogues is a platform for Africa’s leadership to engage, form partnerships and commit to achieving the “Africa Beyond Aid” agenda envisioned by the African Union (AU).
“There is an urgent need for us [Africa] to use our vast natural resources and the demographic advantage for industrialisation, improved infrastructure and energy solutions that will enhance and reduce production cost,” he said.
The AfCFTA Chief of Staff expressed worry about a comment by Mr Ruchir Sharma, Chair of Rockefeller International, who said: “The biggest problem for global growth is Africa, now home to 1.5 billion people.”
Rather, Mr Ojakol said: “Industrialisation in the world is driven by the minerals that are leaving the continent – cocoa, coffee, gold, copper, timber, bauxite, iron and manganese… If we stop our raw materials from leaving our coast, the global economy would grind to a halt,” he noted.
He stated that 18 per cent of the global population was on the African continent, yet its contribution to manufacturing was two per cent, while that of global trade was only three per cent.
That, he attributed to Africa allowing value addition to its resources to be done elsewhere, and urged business and political leaders to use the implementation of AfCFTA as a highway to effectively unravel the continent’s full potential.
“When we look at the economy of late, we all produce literally the same thing. So, once we move up the value chain, and add value to our raw materials, we can improve the volume of intra-African trade,” Mr Ojakol said.
He expressed optimism that the African Prosperity Dialogues would provide a platform for deliberations, collaboration, and development of strategies to leverage the continent’s natural resources to deliver prosperity for the people.
Mr Gabby Otchere-Darko, Founder/Executive Chairman, African Prosperity Network called for “a big push within the first 10 years of the agreement coming into force [2021 and 2031] to achieve Africa’s economic integration.”
He said the summit was aimed at changing the narrative and focusing on the prosperity of the continent from one that’s being noted for poverty.
“We are too rich to be poor! So, we must define our narrative – one that inspires hope and self-confidence and one that speaks to our human dignity,” Dr Eugene Owusu, Board Member, African Prosperity Network said.
He encouraged Africa to transform its development misfortunes by scaling up production, add value to what is produced, and address obstacles and deepen intra-African trade.
GNA