POWER SUPPLY IS CRUCIAL FOR GROWTH IN AFRICA – AFDB

The African Development Bank (AfDB) has called on African leaders to provide uninterrupted power supply in order to attract investors.

According to a speech read on behalf of AfDB President, Mr. Adesina, his vice, Mr Guislain said when there is power (electricity), there will be growth in the economy, since many investors would need power supply to work.

He said Africans must do all they can to address the huge infrastructure deficits which has crippled the economy, to make way for a brighter future.

He reiterated,  leaders must have the will power for change, saying, political will had brought Cote D’ivoire, Kenya and Ethiopia this far in terms of economic transformation.

Ethiopia has built the biggest dam in Africa and 7th dam in the world because electricity is crucial in development. He is without doubt that in  future, Africa will take over the world in terms  of its population.

“By 2050 Africa will have the same population as China, India.” Adding that by 2050, Lagos which currently has a population of over 80 million will double in size.”

He said that is why Africa needs to significantly boost domestic investments.

The AfDB as part of its agenda for transformation on the continent, continues with the accelerated implementation of light up and power Africa, feed Africa, to industrialized Africa, to integrate Africa and improve the quality of life for the people of Africa.

He admitted that, the driver of growth remains private, however, pragmatic moves are underway to improve business and the investment environment, with Africa accounting for over 30% of all business and regulatory reforms globally in 2015.

Again, foreign direct investment stood at over $57 billion in 2016, but accelerated growth of the private sector will depend on greater efforts to close Africa’s infrastructure gap especially power, transport, Information Communication Technology (ICT) infrastructure, water and sanitation.

He called on the need to expand inter-regional trade and accelerated achievement of the continental free trade area which would subsequently help these objectives.

In the foreword from Dr . Adesina, it read, “ the past years have been tough, with a sharp decline in many economies, as a result of the fall in commodity prices” but added, “When the going gets tough, the tough gets going.”

He said growth in non-oil exporting countries was impressive, boosted by low oil prices, investments infrastructure, efficiencies in public expenditure and growth of non-oil revenue.

He challenged governments to fully embrace and unleash the potential of the private sector in order to boost Africa’s economic growth and lift millions out of poverty.

The Managing Director of Jeune Afrique who doubles as the President of the Africa CEO FORUM, Amir Ben Yamed , in his welcome address explained the urgency to overhaul Africa’s business model, because of the declining growth in African economies.

He emphasized that what was even more alarming was the fact that the two biggest economies in Africa- Nigeria and South Africa, which produce 32% of the continent’s production, have been very badly affected.

He also announced the launch of the African CEO Barometer, an initiative aimed at measuring the confidence in African CEOs and the expectations and prospects of key leaders in the African private sector.

Published on the occasion of the Africa CEO Forum, the Barometer is based on a survey of more than 1,000 active African CEOs across the continent and will be renewed annually.

Mr. Ben Yahmed went on to share some interesting data compiled by the barometer, the first being 61% of African business leaders believed their activities had been negatively impacted by the global economic downturn in the past few months.

The two main demand respondents for governments are to improve the business climate (83%) and to fight against fraud and corruption (65%), which they consider more important than building infrastructure (51%).

With regard to global economic downturn, the barometer further identified three groups of emerging countries; countries that were not affected by the economic decline and are optimistic about the future (Senegal, Morocco), countries that were affected but remain optimistic (Nigeria, Cameroon) and countries that were not affected but are pessimistic about the future (Côte d’Ivoire, Kenya, DRC).

He said it was worth noting, 93% of respondents said they are prepared to commit to ensuring greater representation of women in leadership positions, thus sharing the vision of the Women in Business Initiative, launched at last year’s forum and which is geared towards the promotion of the role women play in business.

Meanwhile, the President of Ghana, Nana Addo Dankwah Akufo-Addo was present at the opening ceremony with his delegation including Captain Koda, the Deputy Chief of Staff Asenso Boakye, the Executive Secretary to the President, Nana Bediatuo Asante, Mr. Yoofi Grant.

By: Maame Agyeiwaa Agyei