Lord Paul Boateng, a member of the UK House of Lords and board member of the African Center for Economic Transformation (ACET), has called on African leaders to stop relying on external development aid and focus on harnessing the continent’s own resources to meet the needs of their people.
Speaking with Bernard Avle on Channel One TV’s The Point of View on Wednesday, November 19, Lord Boateng said Africa must follow the vision of its forefathers, including Ghana’s first President, Osagyefo Dr. Kwame Nkrumah, by placing the continent and regional economic integration at the center of development.
“The future of the continent lies in the decisions that Africans make for Africa. We can no longer rely on external overseas development aid in order to deliver on the needs and aspirations of our people.
“We have to look to the continent’s own resources, mobilising, utilising them better, more effectively, improving our capacity to deliver to our people. We have to do what Kwame Nkrumah and the rest of them did.
“What did our forefathers and our foremothers in the independence movement call on us to do? They called on us to put Africa and the integration of Africa’s trade and economy at the heart of our development. Instead, we have all too often looked externally for our salvation.
He added, “We’ve got to stop doing that. And that means policies that are rooted in the experience and culture of Africa and its people, but policies that don’t just sit on shelves and don’t just exist on paper or on the Internet, but that are actually delivered. It’s all about implementation.”
He warned that Africa cannot depend on global powers or multilateral institutions to secure its future, citing the impact of ongoing trade wars between emerging powers such as China and the East, and Western nations including the United States, EU countries, and the UK.
“When two great beasts fight, it is the grass that gets trampled,” he remarked, stressing that Africa’s future depends on decisions made by Africans for Africa.
Lord Boateng urged governments to better mobilise and utilise Africa’s resources and implement policies rooted in the continent’s culture and experience.
The ACET board member emphasised that African leaders must move beyond rhetoric and ensure that policies are translated into tangible action to create meaningful development across the continent.
