FROM EIR DAILY ALERT

African Bank Head Adesina Explains ‘Africa Will Not Develop Through Aid, But Through Investment’

Feb. 7, 2019 (EIRNS)— African Development Bank President Akinwumi Adesina told diplomats at the Annual Diplomatic Luncheon in Abidjan, Ivory Coast, on Feb. 5 that the future for Africa looks promising, although the continent will not develop through aid but rather via investment, reported a release from the bank on Feb. 5. In its latest report on intra-African investment, the AfDB said there was a significant increase in cross-border investments to $12 billion last year from $2 billion in 2010. Referring to the bank’s publication African Economic Outlook 2019 which forecast growth of 4% this year and 4.1% in 2020, Adesina said,

“economic opportunities in Africa were generating considerable interest globally and that an agreement last March establishing the African Continental Free Trade Area would create the largest free trade area in the world.”

Adesina also pointed out that the bank’s “High 5” priorities were already producing significant impact, with 4.5 million people connected to electrical grids last year. Nearly 20 million more people had access to improved agricultural technologies and industrial investments in the private sector had benefited 1.1 million. “We need to achieve universal access to electricity. We need to help Africa to become self-sufficient in food,” Adesina told the diplomats. “We need to achieve a fully integrated continent. We need to industrialize Africa and improve the quality of life for its people.”

The High 5 website lists as its focus areas: Light up and Power Africa; Feed Africa; Industrialize Africa; Integrate Africa; and Improve the Quality of Life for the People of Africa.