Kumasi, June 03, GNA – Africa should shrug itself off the negative mentality and attitudes that tend to stagnate the sustainable development of the continent, Africans Rising, a Pan-African movement, has cautioned.
It is imperative for the people to take ownership and control over their destiny in respect of the continent’s economic, political and cultural dimensions, says the movement.
“We no longer should accept the state of affairs where corruption and bad governance reign supreme everywhere on the continent.
“No more should we allow our resources to be extracted for the benefit of foreign companies while our people live in abject poverty. We no longer should allow ourselves to be divided,” the Pan-Africanists advocated.
This was contained in a statement issued by Africans Rising, signed by Ms Ann Njiagi, the Media Consultant, and copied to the Ghana News Agency (GNA), Kumasi, in commemoration of the ‘2022 African Liberation Week’.
The statement drew attention to the need for the people to be empowered and supported to harness the wealth and resources available on the continent for their wellbeing.
“There is the need for Africans to take center stage in protecting the continent’s wealth, environment, people and future,” says the movement.
This year’s Liberation Week was marked on the theme, “Africa for Africans”, and in line with the event, various activities were organised across the continent to remind the people of the development potential of the region.
It also discussed some pertinent issues, ranging from decolonization, equal access to healthcare, gender justice and climate change to environmental justice.
In spite of the advancement in science and application of technology for development, extreme poverty continues to persist in most African countries, with the majority of the people still having to live on less than 1.25 US Dollars a day, according to the World Bank.
More than a quarter of the hungry in the world live on the African continent, and one fifth of people living in this region are considered malnourished – this gives the continent the highest rate of malnourished people worldwide, says the world’s financial body.
In addition to complications at birth and malnutrition, there are diseases such as pneumonia, diarrheal diseases and malaria, which lead to the early death of many children.
In the view of Africans Rising, these and other development challenges could be overcome given good leadership, accountable and transparent governance, people-centred and pro-poor development policies, as well as unity of purpose amongst all Africans.
“We no longer should sit down and allow leaders to molest and harass activists, journalists, the civil society fraternity and other like-minded individuals with dissenting views for daring to challenge the status quo,” the statement advised.
It called for a borderless continent “where African citizens can travel from one place to another without inconvenience and costly visas, an Africa where the true philosophy of ‘Ubuntu’ is restored and where we live side by side as one people with a common destiny.”
GNA