The Founder of the Mo Ibrahim Foundation, Mohammed Ibrahim has urged African leaders to create an environment of policy certainty, rule of law, and regional integration to drive huge investments on the continent.
He made the call in an interview at the ongoing Africa CEO Forum in Geneva, Switzerland.
The Sudanese telecom investor stated: “We always say Africa, but Africa has 54 countries with borders and with customs between them. Some of these are a nightmare to go through.
We need a single market. The EU is a single market. Trucks move and goods move … We need to break the borders between the African countries otherwise we will remain 54 countries fighting among ourselves.”
Mr Ibrahim however observed that xenophobia did not help drive the course of regional integration which is why Africa is still lagging behind.
When asked by the newspaper how should Africa deal with the xenophobia attacks? He answered: “We need to educate our people about xenophobia, we should not afraid one another because we are one people”.
Touching on the current energy crises which plunged 30 African countries including Ghana, South Africa, and Nigeria into darkness, Mr Ibrahim audaciously blamed the situation on the huge dependant on fragmented hydro dams for electricity supply.
In his opinion, Africa should work as a collective and share some of the bigger hydroelectricity dams such as the Inga in DR Congo by co-investing in the facilities.
On telecom, Mr Ibrahim lauded telecom operators in Africa for connecting the masses to voice and data services saying “they have done very well in coverage”.
“To achieve almost 500 million subscribers is a great achievement but they should continue to investment in the telecom sector”, he urged.
Meanwhile, a renowned international economist, Jeremy Rifkin noted: “Africa is about to enter into a promising new economic era. Even though the stakes and challenges are many, the benefits linked to the creation of a digital Africa constitute a real and significant potential for transformation”.
The Vice President of Groupe Jeune Afrique, Amir Ben Yahmed who is the co-organiser of the annual Africa CEO Forum added: “Today, our mission is to highlight the success of the African private sector to inspire entrepreneurship among young generations and the leaders of tomorrow”.
The President of the African Development Bank (AfDB), Dr Donald Kaberuka stressed that the private sector is acknowledged to be one of the key drivers of the growth of African economies, and the continent is today seen as a continent of private investment opportunity-the last emerging investment frontier.
According to him, this was driven by a combination of trade and investment, foreign direct investment (FDI) which had increased by a factor of seven.
African Eye News.com
