Akufo Addo appeals to US Governors not to ignore Africa

 President Nana Akufo-Addo has appealed to Governors of the United States not to ignore Africa because he believes that “this can be Africa’s century”.

According to President Akufo-Addo, six out of the world’s ten fastest growing economies in 2018 are in Africa hence Governors of the United States cannot afford to ignore Africa.

“We are rich in natural resources, and in possession of nearly 30 percent of the earth’s remaining mineral resources. We have a vibrant young population, and, though we still have important security challenges, we are more at peace than before,” he said.

Speaking at the National Governors Association 2018 Winter Meeting, in Washington DC on Sunday February 25 2018, President Akufo Addo disclosed that with the historic decision of the African Union to bring into being, on 21st March, 2018, the Continental Free Trade Area, the agenda of regional integration, which will establish a market of some 2 billion people in 20 years, presents immense opportunities to bring prosperity to Africa with hard work, enterprise and creativity.

Whilst acknowledging the disheartening spectre of African youths crossing the Sahara desert on foot and drown in the Mediterranean Sea, in a desperate bid to reach the mirage of a better life in Europe, President Akufo-Addo explained that the current structure of African economies, which are dependent on the production and export of raw materials, cannot create prosperity.

“These economies cannot produce wealth and prosperity for the masses on the continent. It, therefore, drives the determination to seek a much better standard of living out of Africa, thereby, fueling the refugee crises and the numerous counts of illegal migrations,” he said.

The large wave of migrations into the United States from Ireland and Italy, in the 19th century, the President added, has completely subsided because the economies of the two countries are working properly.

It is for this reason that President Akufo-Addo stated that “the only way to ensuring prosperity in Africa and jobs for our young populations is through value addition activities, in a transformed and diversified, modern economy, in which we take full advantage of the digital revolution.”

He continued, “In other words, the industrial development of our continent, and we are determined to ensure the realization of this so that our young people can stay and devote their great energies to the building of a great Africa.”

primenewsghana.com/Ghana News