“Let Africa evolve” says Zimbabwean President Emmerson Mnangagwa at the Africa CEO forum
ABIDJAN, Ivory Coast, 27th March 2018, -/African Media Agency (AMA)/- Economic recovery and institution building are the challenges faced by all African countries today.
During a panel discussion organised by the Africa CEO Forum around the theme,
When Leaders make History, the President of Zimbabwe, Emmerson Mnangagwa and former President of Nigeria, Olusegun Obasanjo, shared their experiences on the sustainable and inclusive growth of Africa in general and their own countries in particular.
According to President Emmerson Mnangagwa, Africa’s problem is “the failure of leadership”. President Mnangagwa continued, saying, “Geographically, my country is far from Nigeria but that did not stop Nigeria from helping us when we needed it. It is this vision that we African leaders should share: mutual aid. Africa needs to learn how to manage its own problems, and this starts with the balance between leadership and institutions“. He believes that the executive, the legislature and the judiciary should be independent. Each must perform its mission freely and transparently, but play a complementary role.
The sustainable and inclusive growth sought by African countries is only possible if civil society and elected politicians operate without interference. “We have civilian organisations that come to our countries to support our people by building schools and health centres. It’s their role and we welcome that. What we do not accept is that they interfere in our politics. You cannot come from outside and tell us who we need to put at the head of our country, think our politics for us. We must let Africa evolve,” he said.
Zimbabwe has begun its economic recovery through the implementation of an agrarian reform process that enabled 367 families to gain access to land.
“We are attempting to evaluate the situation before launching reforms. But we have started land redistribution. This was one of the major problems that we had to solve in Zimbabwe. Today, we need a structure to fight famine and poverty. For now, we are giving our farmers the means to improve and increase production. The food shortage will be alleviated through this system,” said President Mnangagwa, who also announced that women and young people will be given a prominent place in national decision-making.
In his speech, Nigeria’s former president, Olusegun Obasanjo, said that, in the fight against corruption, there was one principle to be respected: that of having strong institutions and effective leadership. “It’s good to have a law that sets up a strong institution. But you have to have the men who go with them, effective people. If not, we will not complete our mission. Our goals will never be achieved,” he said.
Cost-effective exports and affirmative action for women and young people will also contribute to the success of this highly awaited economic recovery.
The panel discussion ended on these words, after which the Jeune Afrique Media Group’s Publication Director, Marwane Ben Yhamed, closed the sixth edition of the Africa CEO forum.
The AFRICA CEO FORUM is organized by Jeune Afrique Media Group, the publisher of Jeune Afrique and The Africa Report, and by rainbow unlimited, a Swiss company specialized in event organization and economic promotion. With the success of its 2017 edition, which welcomed almost 1,200 business leaders from Africa and the world, the AFRICA CEO FORUM has established itself as the main international event for the African private sector to discuss the continent’s development in a highly professional environment ideal for business networking. The 2018 edition is co-hosted by the International Finance Corporation (IFC, part of the World Bank Group).
