Vice President Dr Mahamudu Bawumia said it is time for Africa to change the narrative of poverty and backwardness that has developed on the continent.
According to the Vice President, Africa has all the resources it needs to become a global superpower if its leaders find ways to unlock that potential.
Dr Bawumia made the comments while addressing the ongoing Africa Prosperity Dialogue in 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 fate of Africa, a continent blessed with all imaginable natural resources – oil, gas, minerals, and sunlight,” said Vice President of Ghana.
“We have approximately 65% of all arable land available to feed 9 billion people worldwide by 2050 and we are home to the world’s youngest population. We have everything we need to transform Africa into a global power of the future,”
Bawumia says the crux of the matter is that African countries trade very little among themselves, despite collectively controlling a significant enough share of the market to form a powerful bloc.
He points out that Africa accounts for only about three percent of global trade and that intra-African trade is one of the lowest in the world, as he describes a “colonial” economic model characterized by small, fragmented individual economies. and disconnected regional markets, over-reliance and low productive capacity that have been practiced for 60 years.
Bawumia said the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) is the solution to this and its successful implementation will lead Africa to fulfill its potential.
“As a growing economy, we often struggle to attract the necessary investments. However, with the strength of the collaboration of 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 is the eighth (8th) largest economy in the world. With the right investment, we will be able to maintain economic growth and create much-needed job opportunities on the continent,” he said.
Bawumia called the AfCFTA a real game-changer that “…can increase intra-African trade by some US$ 35 billion and reduce external imports by some US$ 10 billion annually.
“This means more opportunities for small business growth and the potential to lift more than three million people out of poverty.”
Speaking further, Bawumia outlined the critical areas African countries must upgrade to take full advantage of this new era of trade, including investment in the beloved ‘digital’ sector.
“As a continent, we must produce and sell our way out of poverty and underdevelopment, and we cannot do it without investing in smart infrastructure throughout the continent. While the last decade has seen some positive investments, there is a need for additional resources to finance the ‘artery trade’, which includes physical infrastructure such as roads, rail, and energy; digital infrastructure such as data centers to facilitate digital transformation and financial infrastructure to enable integrated financial markets.
“These investments will be critical to the success of the AfCFTA … We need to create a platform for knowledge brokers and access to information about critical products and services on the continent to allow 445 million small businesses across the continent to connect to the value chain. mega industry.” Dr. Bawumia added.
The Africa Prosperity Dialogue is organized by the Africa Prosperity Network, founded by Ghanaian legal luminary Gabby Otcher-Darko.
Source: Peacefmonline.com/Ghana
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