Africa Must Fund Itself – Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala

Africa Must Fund Itself: Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala Fires Back As Trump Cuts USAID! Makes Case With African Leaders!

In the wake of United Stated President Donald Trump’s decision to suspend the United Stated Agency for International Development (USAID) operations globally, citing financial mismanagement; the Director General of the World Trade Organization (WTO), Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, has challenged African leaders to move beyond mere dependency on foreign aid and instead to look inwardly in order to harness the continent’s highly endowed natural resource for sustainable economic development.

She made the clarion call while speaking at the African Union headquarters in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia where she heartily emphasized the urgent need for African to be self –reliant.

The former Nigeria finance and co-ordinating minister of the economy highlighted the need for African governments to mobilize domestic resources and attract investments rather than relying on external assistance, which no longer guaranteed.

“African must change its mindset. Access to aid should now be seen as a thing of the past.” So she declared. Insisting that; “We must focus on attracting investments and mobilizing our own resources.”

She systematically pointing out that Africa has approximately $250 billion in pension funds that could be strategically deployed to finance development projects instead of being invested abroad. She stressed the importance of strengthening African financial institutions such as the African Finance Corporation and Afrexim Bank to boost economic growth – rather than seeking external funding.

“Instead of always looking outside for help, we should strengthen our own institutions. Our development banks and financial institutions need better capitalization to expand their balance sheets and fund critical projects.”

She exposed. And charting the way forward, she said,

“Instead of exporting raw materials for processing abroad, we must attract investments that add value locally.”

The WTO Director General, Concluding, she makes case write African leaders, insisting that;

“The only way African can finance itself is by growing its economy, adding value to its products, and trading more. At the WTO, we are committed to identifying and eliminating trade barriers that hinder Africa’s economic progress.”

What a wonderful helping hands she is offering to Africa?