He described Africa's dependence on foreign goods as shameful
Mahama said intra trade must encourage the continent
Former President John Dramani Mahama says it is shameful for Africa to over-depend on imported goods.
Speaking at the 24th African Business Conference organised by the Harvard Business School, Mahama observed that intra-African trade must be encouraged on the continent to boost trade and promote self-reliance.
He said, “We must push for self-reliance for key strategic commodities and supplies such as rice, tomatoes, onions, and vegetable oil for which we have a comparative advantage. It is such a shame that Africa continues to import these commodities when we have favourable conditions to produce them.
”Africa must take greater control of the trade and processing of its natural resources like cocoa, and the minerals and build stronger capacity to respond to global energy shocks stemming out of situations such as the Russia-Ukraine conflict.”
The former President as part of his speech, advocated for the reintroduction of the Debt Service Suspension Initiative (DSSI) to help Africa deal with its rising public debts.
“Many African countries, including Ghana have reached debt distressed levels with debt to GDP ratio ranging between 70% and 80%.”
”I am advocating for a reconstitution of the Debt Service Suspension Initiative to offer our countries some fiscal space to make investments in critical states such as education and health,” John Dramani Mahama stressed.
