Dr Akinwumi Adesina, President of the African Development Bank Group on Monday, said state intervention is crucial in the drive for Africa’s industrialisation to becoming the powerhouse and a global centre for trade and manufacturing.
He said with the right policies and regulations, enabling environment, fiscal discipline and adequate financing and partnering with the private sector, Africa could become the global industrial hub.
“The time to start is now,” he said.
Dr Adesina was speaking at a media breakfast meeting to kickstart the Group’s 53rd Annual Meeting of the Board of Governors of the Bank and Boar of the African Development Fund in Busan, South Korea under the theme, “Accelerating Africa’s Industrialisation”
Nearly, 3,000 participants are expected with 80 governors from 80 member countries and representatives from African States, 26, non-African States for three-days of dialogue.
He said Busan was chosen as venue for the annual meeting for its exceptional success as one of the world’s leading industrial and economic powerhouse after consciously transforming its economy through industrialization.
“This was achieved by dint of vision, creativity, ingenuity, fiscal discipline and willingness to make hard decision in order to secure its future. We have a lot to learn from the Korean experience and its rapid growth.”
Dr Adesina said India was selected for its 2017 annual meeting under the theme, “Feeding Africa,” for its example to feed about a billion of its population.
He noted that Africa was blessed tremendously and have abundant sunlight, labour force, Oil, forest products, minerals, metals and holds of about 65 percent of arable land to feed the whole world population but found itself exporting commodities in raw form.
For example, he said Ghana, Cote D’Ivoire and Nigeria produces about 85 percent of the global cocoa needs but held only two percent of the chocolate industry, totalling $120Billion, stating “no country develops by exporting raw commodities”.
The Bank’s Group President said its partnership with the media was to allow them to listen, see and feel to tell the evidence-based impact stories of Africa in a coherent and constructive manner.
He said the events during the annual meetings were targeted around discourses that would change the narrative, creative ways and pathways to engender growing Africa’s industrialisation and infrastructural capacity towards wealth creation and generation.
He said a dynamic industrial base was sine qua non for Africa’s growing young population and accelerated industrialisation held the trump card to technological, economic and social development as well as creation of higher-skilled jobs and the development of value chains.
By Maxwell Awumah, GNA Correspondent, Busan, South Korea
