………. As Summit Session Holds Via Zoom
Story: Mohammed A. Abu
Amidst the geopolitical tensions and fragmentations, emerging new alliances and the evolutionary process the global financial infrastructure is currently going through, Dr. Alexander Chisango, President of the World Economic Congress has called on Africans to look inwardly in finding solutions to the continent’s myriad of development challenges rather than banging too much hope on others elsewhere.
Dr. Chisango who was speaking during a zoom meeting on Thursday on the topic, “Discussion: Acceleration of Africa’s Reconstruction”, noted that, what was more crucial for Africans to do, was to well package, rebrand and market themselves as a people who respect themselves and people who deserve respect and honour.
Hosted by the World Economic Congress in Partnership with El-Ecojay Developments Group & African Partner Agencies for Reconstruction within the context of a weekly series of Africa Reconstruction & Development Summit Sessions, the event brought together high profile participants from across the continent.
Touching on the nagging issue of being aligned to the West or East, Brinks, or G20 and so on, Dr. Chisango noted that, Africa need to be circumspect on the matter bearing in mind what best suits Africa’s own economic interest eventually.
The issue of regional blocs’ alienation he noted, was one that isn’t of common knowledge to many Africans including traditional rulers, local government authorities, among others. That being the case, it could eventually be a “We and them” affair as in the time past.
Africans Dr. Chisango said, should strive to become what they are uniquely as a people rather than having to be referenced to as belonging to either here or there.
Touching on the celebration and fun fair that has come to be associated with some natural resources discoveries in Africa with particular reference to oil, he observed that, it is not merely the discovery that matter but to what extent has the exploitation of the resources impacted the lives of the people meaningfully is what is most important.
He lamented how Africans in resource rich countries would grow old and die without feeling any direct meaningful benefit of their country’s natural resources endowment in their lifetime.
Dr. Chisango noted that there was the need to draw lessons from the exploits of others elsewhere as it relates to natural resource impact so as to be guided by them and avoid making mistakes of the past . Discussions on natural resources impact results and issue of sustainability, he said was crucial.
In discussing Africa’s development challenges and efforts there was the need to interrogate how, where, why did an endeavor fail, what has become better after the coup in Mali, Burkina Faso and what has become worse do matter.
Planning and vision Dr. Chisango emphasized, was very crucial and minus which people perish adding that, the is the need to trend “who we are, where we must be and what we want to become”.
The zoom meetings on the reconstruction of Africa Dr. Chisango disclosed, would be in series and would entail clusters.
Various participants made contributions bordering on the relevance of finding solutions to the Africa’s development challenges, the new wave of African youth consciousness and their contributions towards changing the Africa narrative, the need for inter relationship between politics and economics, among others.
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