Let's depart from the mindset of aid, dependency and charity - Nana Addo to African leaders at G-20 summit

Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, the President of the Republic of Ghana has criticized African leaders to assume responsibility for the transformation of their economies, and depart from
the mindset of aid, Charity and dependency.   

According to President Nana Akufo-Addo, “If we are to transform our stagnant, jobless economies, mainly built on the export of raw materials and unfinished goods, to the value-added economies which will provide jobs for our people, and to build strong middle-class economies and lift the majority of our people out of poverty, then we as Africans should take our destinies into our hands and therefore assume responsibility for this”.

 President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo made this statement known on Monday, 12th June, 2017, when he was addressing the G-20 Partnership for Africa Summit, which is currently taking place in Germany and Berlin, to be precise. Assuming responsibility means that African leaders must, facilitate the building of a new, African civilization, sustainable, where there is accountability in governance, total respect for the rule of law, respect for individual liberties and basic human rights, and also where the principles of democratic accountability are well guaranteed. 

This seemingly new, sustainable, African civilization, requires that all African leaders “mobilise the incalculable, vast resources of of our continent to resolve our problems of poverty and development, and also free ourselves from the mindset of aid, charity, dependency, and handouts.” 

Also, the president of Ghana also urged Africans to begin and implement policies which will empower and also encourage the private sector to grow our respective economies.

“It is obvious that when the private sector flourishes and our enterprises become competitive, not just on the African continent, but also in the global level, then can we generate thousands of jobs for our teeming masses of unemployed youth,” President Akufo Addo said. He also continued, 

“Thirdly, we can no more remain comfortable as just producers and exporters of raw materials but we have to add value to our natural commodities which will also create wealth for our peoples. Our sole dependence on raw materials has increased in the past decades. It is basically due to this dependence that feeds our dependence on foreign aid and charity.” 

The President was blunt that Africa all the natural resources and means, material and human, women and the youth, to help transform the structures of our economies.

Nana Akufo-Addo also noted that reforms being undertaken in Ghana, concerning the management of the economy and in the governance structure, should definitely qualify Ghana as a candidate for inclusion in the investment compacts that are the main substantive outcomes of this G-20 Africa Partnership Summit conference. 

 He also added that, the investment compact; will empower us as a country to increase our possibilities of economic growth in order to deal with the problem of unemployment in Ghana, which is the major social issue of our times in Africa. President Akufo Addo stated that when young people are busy with their lives and earning a living, they would hardly allow themselves to be used as tools for wrecking havoc on society. 

Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo thanked Angela Merkel, the German Chancellor for putting Africa’s development at the heart of Germany’s presidency of the G20 summit, which has resulted in the G-20 Africa Partnership on the theme “Investing in a Common Future.”